Wednesday 27 October 2010

Ivor Novello: Portrait of a Star - Paul Webb 2006 * * * *

Biographies are another of my 'phases'. I love them and have started drooling over all the possible books I can read on my favourite old stars ( as long as I can find them in the library!)
I have only seen Novello in 'The Lodger' and so couldn't really say I was a hard-core fan of his but after reading about his life in a lovely easy and entertaining way and seeing numerous pictures of him through various stages of his life I was hooked. Sad really that 'The Lodger' is the only film of his that is now properly accessable as all others have been lost or destroyed ( it always upsets me to hear that rare silent films have been lost of detroyed - my generation will never be able to see them) and therefore anyone who wants to know more about Ivor would do well to watch that first. I feel awful not knowing that it was Novello who was responsible for 'Keep the Home Fires Burning' which was one of the most popular songs of WW1. He was an incredibly talented and charismatic individual that doesn't seem to have been matched today on account of his quantity and quality of work complete with drop dead handsome looks. To be a genius is one thing, but to be an amazingly jaw-droppingly handsome genius is quite different as his looks opened up many doors for him in film and theatre.
Amazing book and so easy to read. I'm now an Ivor Novello fan.

Started 20th October
Finished 27th October

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