Once Upon a Time in Paradise: Canadians in the Golden Age of Hollywood

Susan Patrick is a librarian at Ryerson University in Toronto.

In this book, the author of Stardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early
Hollywood, moves on to the talkies era. Foster, who has worked as a
television writer and entertainment industry publicist, interviewed all
but one of the 14 individuals profiled here. They range from the well
known (Walter Pidgeon, Ruby Keeler, Jack Warner, Raymond Massey, etc.)
to the relatively obscure (Ben Blue, Bobby Breen, Fifi D’Orsay, etc.).
Billed as the “bombshell from Paris,” D’Orsay was actually a
Montrealer who never set foot in France!

Foster doesn’t dish any dirt. The entries are respectful and the
personalities are presented as decent people, perhaps even chosen for
that reason. The book is peppered with quotations, but there is usually
no indication as to their sources. In some cases, the author alludes to
personal conversations, or “as reported in the New York Times in
1940,” or the like. A proper bibliography would have improved the
book, giving interested readers the opportunity to research and learn
more about the subjects and/or ascertain the veracity of the
information.

Nevertheless, Once Upon a Time in Paradise is an interesting read and a
necessary and important addition to the history of Hollywood.