Starring Roles: How Movie Stardom in Hollywood Is Won and Lost

Kelly J. Saxberg is a freelance writer and filmmaker in Winnipeg,
Manitoba.

Ron Base’s “history of movie stardom throughout the sound era” is
an intelligent, enjoyable read, filled with remarkable stories gleaned
from a huge variety of sources.

Base begins the book with an excellent example of fame won and fame
lost: Al Jolson was immortalized in The Jazz Singer; George Jessel, who
could have had the leading role in the film, remained on the sidelines
the rest of his life. The comparison of Jessel’s and Jolson’s
careers captures perfectly the main themes of the book—the
behind-the-scenes drama of movie-making; the fragile complexity of the
Hollywood star system; and the sometimes cruel, sometimes happy twists
of fate that determined who would make it and who would not. The author
manages to weave biography and social history to create a larger context
for the successes and failures of such actors as Clark Gable, Marlon
Brando, Vivien Leigh, Dustin Hoffman, John Travolta, Jodie Foster, Jack
Nicholson, and Julia Roberts. Best of all, Base does not romanticize
Hollywood or these “icons of the twentieth century.” As a result,
Starring Roles is a wonderful example of good research, good writing,
and fascinating Hollywood lore.