The Forgotten Star of the 1940s, Dana Andrews.
Hollywood Enigma by Carl Rollyson
Anyone who is interested in Dana Andrews or the history of
old Hollywood should read this enjoyable and comprehensive biography. This is a
real American story of rags to riches, reinvention, fall, and redemption. It is also a great love story, unusual even
in the Hollywood of the 1940s. It can be
rather depressing at times because of Andrews’s sad descent into alcoholism,
however.
Dana Andrews is the forgotten star of the 1940s, an actor
who never achieved his true dues.
However, he was an “actor’s actor”, the master of film noir. He is
remembered mainly for his mysterious role in Laura, a great classic which is
recommended for all film-lovers. Someone once wrote that Vivien Leigh would
have walked over broken glass in bare feet if she thought that this would make
her a better actress. Dana Andrews would
have done that too.
When Dana Andrews met President Johnson, he remarked that
they had both been “poor boys from Texas” once.
Andrews had a somewhat troubled upbringing. His father was an Elmer Gantry-type
character, a Baptist minister who couldn’t resist women. He was strict and didn’t believe in movies or
dancing. His mother was clever and
hard-working. She once invited one of
her husband’s girlfriends to stay the night and see the family. That was the end of that affair!
The couple had several children. Two siblings died when Andrews was young and
he found it difficult to get over their deaths.
Although they were a close family, Andrews had a love/ hate
relationship with his strict father and he left the family to stay in
California, determined to make it as an actor.
He studied accountancy but after trying acting and singing and being
told that he had talent he focused on getting ahead in Hollywood. It was a long road to the top and he didn’t
achieve major success until he was over 30.
Two businessmen, impressed with his determination, backed his career
with money. Andrews really put his heart
into it.
His happy marriage with Mary Todd, who willingly gave up her
bright career to be a wife and mother, gave Andrews a solid base from which to
work. He even refused the attentions of
other actresses! He loved to be at home with his wife and children.
Unfortunately, Andrews’s troubled background, thwarted
ambitions, and the rigors of the studio system inclined him to drink. This
finally affected his career and his marriage but he was able to give it up in
the end.
Hollywood Enigma is easy to read and simply written. Rollyson had access to Andrews’s and Mary’s
letters, extracts from Andrews’s diaries, and interviews with Andrews’s children,
extended family, and friends. These make
the biography more intimate. The biography includes lots of interesting or
amusing anecdotes. It’s a worthy tribute
to this elegant, charismatic, and apparently extremely nice man.
Hollywood Enigma does include lengthy analyses of all of
Andrews’s films. This is probably to be
expected in a Hollywood biography.
However, I found it a bit wearisome.
Comments
Thank you so much for commenting!
My mother was a fan of Dana Andrews and pointed him out to me.
Unfortunately, I only knew that he was a great actor who became an alcoholic until I read this fascinating biography. I wanted to watch some of his movies again before I wrote my review but I will have to watch them now! I saw Laura a long time ago.
Thank you so much for reading my review so quickly and commenting!
I enjoyed the book very much. I also liked looking at the photos.
I looked at your website and many of your subjects are after my own heart, especially Sylvia Plath. I read a biography of Ted Hughes's third wife recently and I've often seen programs about Sylvia and Ted on TV. Her poetry is wonderful and much easier to understand than Ted's! I'm certainly looking forward to reading your biography.