ANN BLYTH: ACTRESS. SINGER. STAR.
Multitalented and remarkably versatile, Blyth began on radio as a child, appeared on Broadway at the age of twelve in Lillian Hellman's WATCH ON THE RHINE, and enjoyed a long and diverse career in films, theatre, television, and concerts. A sensitive dramatic actress, the youngest at the time to be nominated for her role in MILDRED PIERCE (1945), she also displayed a gift for comedy, and was especially endeared to fans for her expressive and exquisite lyric soprano, which was showcased in many film and stage musicals. Still a popular guest at film festivals, lovely Ms. Blyth remains a treasure of the Hollywood's golden age.
The book contains an in-depth exploration of Ms. Blyth’s long career, with detailed appendices on her films, television, radio, and theatre appearances. The 8 ½ x 11 “coffee table” sized book includes over 275 photographs.
Reviews:
"Lynch’s book is organized and well-written– and has plenty of amusing observations – but when it comes to describing Blyth’s movies, Lynch’s writing sparkles." - Ruth Kerr, Silver Screenings
"Jacqueline T. Lynch creates a poignant and thoroughly-researched mosaic of memories of a fine, upstanding human being who also happens to be a legendary entertainer." - Deborah Thomas, Java's Journey
"One of the great strengths of Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. is that Lynch not only gives an excellent overview of Blyth's career -- she offers detailed analyses of each of Blyth's roles -- but she puts them in the context of the larger issues of the day."- Amanda Garrett, Old Hollywood Films
"Jacqueline's book will hopefully cause many more people to take a look at this multitalented woman whose career encompassed just about every possible aspect of 20th Century entertainment." - Laura Grieve, Laura's Miscellaneous Musings
"Jacqueline T. Lynch’s Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. is an extremely well researched undertaking that is a must for all Blyth fans." - Annette Bochenek, Hometowns to Hollywood
AND HERE IT IS IN AUDIOBOOK:
Read by actress Toni Lewis.
Here's what her fans are saying:
I have to get back to your book and that luscious voice which invites me to join her in this fantastic journey. Thank you and Ms. Lewis for creating this luxurious and enticing experience.
Your narrator has an cool intensity in her delivery. She has my attention, engaging, and I suppose I'll have a crush on her before the book's end.
*****
I read Toni's biography and she is as beautiful as she sounds. I love the way she slightly changes her voice when quoting others. It isn't as though she's trying to imitate, the slight, but effective effort, is just letting us know she is reading a quotation. To say I'm impressed with you both would be a massive understatement. The book is wonderfully researched with critiques of Ms. Blyth's movies, talents, career and fascinating side stories about the supporting characters …
I am fascinated by your attention to detail, even the most minute detail has little chance of escaping your commitment to accuracy.
Read by actress Toni Lewis.
Here's what her fans are saying:
I have to get back to your book and that luscious voice which invites me to join her in this fantastic journey. Thank you and Ms. Lewis for creating this luxurious and enticing experience.
Your narrator has an cool intensity in her delivery. She has my attention, engaging, and I suppose I'll have a crush on her before the book's end.
*****
I read Toni's biography and she is as beautiful as she sounds. I love the way she slightly changes her voice when quoting others. It isn't as though she's trying to imitate, the slight, but effective effort, is just letting us know she is reading a quotation. To say I'm impressed with you both would be a massive understatement. The book is wonderfully researched with critiques of Ms. Blyth's movies, talents, career and fascinating side stories about the supporting characters …
I am fascinated by your attention to detail, even the most minute detail has little chance of escaping your commitment to accuracy.
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CHRISTMAS IN CLASSIC FILMS
Christmas turns everyone who celebrates it into a classic film fan—at least for that special season. We find a vast treasure of Christmas scenes in films that were never meant to be “Christmas movies” but which are now part of the holiday canon, and this collection of essays spotlighting Christmas in classic films brings you all the warmth and memories that have become as dear a custom as decorating your home and holiday baking. Unwrap this package and relive the moments and discover Christmas nostalgia anew, from Cary Grant’s mysterious angel in The Bishop’s Wife to poor Ralphie pining for a Red Ryder BB-gun in A Christmas Story. There’s lots more here waiting for you under the tree. |
HOLLYWOOD FIGHTS FASCISM
Classic films were often extraordinary chroniclers of their own times. Despite the cozy nostalgia that may come to mind when we think of classic films, they could also deliver an unflinching look at society's evils. Foremost among them: fascism, in its varying oppressive forms.
Hollywood Fights Fascism is an examination of these movies and a celebration of integrity.
Classic films were often extraordinary chroniclers of their own times. Despite the cozy nostalgia that may come to mind when we think of classic films, they could also deliver an unflinching look at society's evils. Foremost among them: fascism, in its varying oppressive forms.
Hollywood Fights Fascism is an examination of these movies and a celebration of integrity.
Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain: 70 Years of Summer Theatre on Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Massachusetts. Comedy and Tragedy on the Mountain covers seventy years of live theatre on Mt. Tom, Holyoke, Massachusetts, from vaudeville, operetta, WPA-sponsored shows in the Great Depression, and its heyday from 1941 to 1962 with a resident repertory company called The Valley Players. In the early 1960s, two new incarnations: The Casino-in-the-Park, and finally, the Mt. Tom Playhouse with touring packaged shows featuring well-known stars from television and movies. Many stars of stage and screen, and many newcomers who would one day become stars, performed over several decades on Mt. Tom. Through interviews, newspaper reviews, and many photographs, relive their performances, and go backstage for personal experiences that were both comic and tragic, and enjoy again the excitement of opening night. WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT COMEDY AND TRAGEDY ON THE MOUNTAIN... George Murphy, western Massachusetts radio and television personality: "This is the true history of a building on a plot of land in Holyoke that was the entertainment center to hundreds of thousands of people over a plethora of summers. "You have somehow managed to tell the story of that theater with information and people that have been thought to have vanished from history, but this book...this AMAZING book has changed all of that. "You have told me stories and events that I was never aware of. You brought the shadows back to life. This book you worked so hard on is the story of where it came from, how it survived up to the time that magnificent old structure was destroyed....removed...and almost deleted, but then Jacqueline Lynch came along and resurrected the history of this magnificent edifice so that once again all who read those pages can experience the days of wonder that happened in and around the Casino in the Park. "I thank you so very much for including me in this amazing book as a sense of pride came over me after reading it, as I was a small part of the later years of the Grand Old Theater. "J.L, you have hit a home run with this one...." |
The Ames Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts - A Northern Factory Town's Perspective on the Civil War -
The three articles that comprise this book tell different stories about the Ames
Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts, which played an important role as an arms manufacturer during the American Civil War. Together, they make up a kind of composite of the Northern Civil War experience in the small, but dynamic, universe of a factory town.
We meet Nathan P. Ames and James T. Ames, brothers who founded the firm, the younger burdened with the responsibility to continue the company after the tragic and grisly death of the older brother.
We meet two workers in the factory, one of whom, Charles Tracy, was a machinist who left his position to join the Army and came home without a leg—and was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was cared for by Clara Barton and comforted by President Abraham Lincoln in the hospital ward.
The other man, Melzar Mosman, just a boy of nineteen, worked in the foundry department of the factory, forging canon. He also left to join the army, but after the war would become celebrated for forging bronze statuary, including a number of Civil War monuments.
The three articles that comprise this book tell different stories about the Ames
Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts, which played an important role as an arms manufacturer during the American Civil War. Together, they make up a kind of composite of the Northern Civil War experience in the small, but dynamic, universe of a factory town.
We meet Nathan P. Ames and James T. Ames, brothers who founded the firm, the younger burdened with the responsibility to continue the company after the tragic and grisly death of the older brother.
We meet two workers in the factory, one of whom, Charles Tracy, was a machinist who left his position to join the Army and came home without a leg—and was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was cared for by Clara Barton and comforted by President Abraham Lincoln in the hospital ward.
The other man, Melzar Mosman, just a boy of nineteen, worked in the foundry department of the factory, forging canon. He also left to join the army, but after the war would become celebrated for forging bronze statuary, including a number of Civil War monuments.
STATES OF MIND: NEW ENGLAND
This is a collection of essays which originally appeared on my New
England Travels blog, some of which were also previously published in
magazines and newspapers. This is New England as it was in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. The 19th century chapters seem to illustrate the spawning of ideas and inventions which made history; the 20th century seems to show us reacting to events, like hurricanes, and juggling consequences. In the 19th century, through the Industrial Revolution, we drew upon a new workforce (women), and created a market for manufactured goods. In the early 20th century—we shopped—in grand, family-owned department stores just as paternalistic as the factories of the previous century.
These then are slices of New England, not just the place, but the idea and social movement, and the force that largely determined what the new middle class would be like.
Nearly 200 photographs (b/w and color).
This is a collection of essays which originally appeared on my New
England Travels blog, some of which were also previously published in
magazines and newspapers. This is New England as it was in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. The 19th century chapters seem to illustrate the spawning of ideas and inventions which made history; the 20th century seems to show us reacting to events, like hurricanes, and juggling consequences. In the 19th century, through the Industrial Revolution, we drew upon a new workforce (women), and created a market for manufactured goods. In the early 20th century—we shopped—in grand, family-owned department stores just as paternalistic as the factories of the previous century.
These then are slices of New England, not just the place, but the idea and social movement, and the force that largely determined what the new middle class would be like.
Nearly 200 photographs (b/w and color).
Movies in Our Time: Hollywood Mimics and Mirrors the Twentieth Century -
Essays from Another Old Movie Blog - a collection of essays on classic films as reflections of the eras in which they were made.
Essays from Another Old Movie Blog - a collection of essays on classic films as reflections of the eras in which they were made.
CLASSIC FILMS AND THE AMERICAN CONSCIENCE
Collected essays, from film noir to comedy, observations on classic films in the context of the eras they were made, taken from my Another Old Movie Blog.
Available in eBook only.
Collected essays, from film noir to comedy, observations on classic films in the context of the eras they were made, taken from my Another Old Movie Blog.
Available in eBook only.