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From her first appearances on the stage and screen, Maureen O'Hara (b. 1920) commanded attention with her striking beauty, radiant red hair, and impassioned portrayals of spirited heroines. Whether she was being rescued from the gallows by Charles Laughton ( The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 1939), falling in love with Walter Pidgeon against a coal-blackened sky ( How Green Was My Valley, 1941), learning to believe in miracles with Natalie Wood ( Miracle on 34th Street, 1947), or matching wits with John Wayne ( The Quiet Man, 1952), she charmed audiences with her powerful presence and easy confidence. Maureen O'Hara is the first book-length biography of the screen legend hailed as the "e;Queen of Technicolor."e; Following the star from her childhood in Dublin to the height of fame in Hollywood, film critic Aubrey Malone draws on new information from the Irish Film Institute, production notes from films, and details from historical film journals, newspapers, and fan magazines. Malone also examines the actress's friendship with frequent costar John Wayne and her relationship with director John Ford, and he addresses the hotly debated question of whether the screen siren was a feminist or antifeminist figure.Though she was an icon of cinema's golden age, O'Hara's penchant for privacy and habit of making public statements that contradicted her personal choices have made her an enigma. This breakthrough biography offers the first look at the woman behind the larger-than-life persona, sorting through the myths to present a balanced assessment of one of the greatest stars of the silver screen.
Brian Kilcoyne finds it difficult to cope with the death of his mother. His father is an alcoholic and he doesn't get on with his brother. He leaves his farm in Loughrea to go to college in Dublin, splitting up with his childhood sweetheart as he does so. They leave their relationship open with the possibility of continuing it in the future. He travels to Europe and America while trying to decide on his future. Romance and diaspora create conflicts in him before he returns to a changed Ireland What's he going to do with his future? Can he re-kindle his relationship with his girlfriend? Is his father going to re-marry? Will small-town mentalities force him to leave Galway again?
Aubrey Malone was born in Ballina and lived there until his father, the well-known solicitor Hugh Dillon-Malone, retired in 1969 and the family moved to Dublin. Ballina Stories and Poems is a mixture of fact and fiction in which he reminisces on the people and places he encountered during his formative years.
Charles Bukowski is one of the most widely read authors in the world in everywhere from prisons to universities to drying-out clinics. Since his death in 1994 there's been a flood of books by and about him, culminating in a 2017 novel that deals with a relationship he might have had with, of all people, Jane Austen. Aubrey Malone joins the threads on all of these in his up-to-the-minute biography. As well as tackling all the well-known aspects of Bukowski's life - the horrible childhood, the drinking, the horses, the women, the early stabs at writing for the 'litmags' before he became famous - he also introduces unusual issues like whether Bukowski might have married his first love Jane Cooney Baker - an FBI file suggests he did - or whether his iconic address at 1524 De Longpre Avenue should be preserved against allegations that he was a Nazi sympathizer. Both on and off the page Bukowski lived life with his guns blazing. One of the last of the two-fisted drinkers, he defied all the laws of nature by living to the - for him - ripe old age of 73, thanks largely to the tender mercies of John Martin, the man who enabled him to leave his job at the post office and write full time for Black Sparrow Press. An unlikely Casanova, the book also examines the convoluted trajectories of Bukowski's love life, especially in the seventies when he oscillated between women like Linda King and 'Cupcakes' Brandes before finding an unlikely stability in the arms of another Linda in the Los Angeles suburb of San Pedro. He was 'the longest shot that ever came home' and Bukowski captures him in all his turbulent moods. Aubrey Malone has also written biographies of Ernest Hemingway, Marlon Brando, Elvis Presley, Tony Curtis and Maureen O'Hara.
Tired of receiving the same old advice from everyone you know? Anxious to change yourself in ways that will surprise even yourself? If so, you need to sample this riveting collection of quotes. It offers you a bevy of helpful suggestions, like... Don't moon a werewolf, Don't play leapfrog with a unicorn, and, even more importantly, Never trust anyone who, if he's alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on. The Best Advice You'll Ever Get is a book which will change your life, moving it forward in exciting and challenging new directions. Or maybe not. Aubrey Malone has compiled a number of quotation anthologies. He would advise you to buy this one.
Many wise words are spoken in jest but many more stupid ones are said in earnest, as this book demonstrates. How about this comment on a football match from Cristiano Ronaldo, for instance: 'The reason we lost is because we didn't win.' Or Ian Wright's, 'It took a lot of bottle for Tony Adams to admit he was an alcoholic.' Or Dave Woods' remark, 'The silence is getting louder.' It makes you think, doesn't it? There are many others: 'Abstinence is the thin end of the pledge.' 'A comedian who repeats old gags is a clear case of the tale dogging the wag.' 'It is kisstomary to cuss the bride.' 'Cannabalise legalis.' A cavalcade of equally regrettable utterances form the basis of this melange of spoonerisms and spectacular ignorance. Aubrey Malone has written a bumber of nooks.
Presents the first full-scale biography of Sidney Lumet, a man generally regarded as one of the most affable directors of his time. Using the oral testimonies of those who worked with him both behind and in front of the camera, this book explores Lumet's personality and working methods.
Writers and alcohol have long been associated - for some, the association becomes unmanageable. Drawing on rare sources, this collection of brief biographies traces the lives of 13 well known literary drinkers, examining how their relationship with alcohol developed and how it affected their work, for better or worse.
In chapters entitled 'The Hell of Healthy Food','Why you Shouldn't Diet', 'The Light-hearted Side of Weight', 'Daft Diets', and 'Food Philosophy', Aubrey Malone has collected a hilarious compendium of witticisms on the greatness of grub, from thought-provoking reflections to laugh-out-loud observations.
One hundred years of film censorship, from the beginning to the end of the 20th Century, is chronicled in this volume. The freewheeling nature of films in the early decades was profoundly affected by Prohibition, the Depression and the formation of the Legion of Decency--culminating in a new age of restrictiveness in the movies.
This handy pocket-sized book is a must-have for any transport enthusiast or seasoned traveller
This book offers a history of films with Biblical, spiritual, and supernatural themes.
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