Read Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master (Screen Classics) Online
Authors: Michael Sragow
Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master (Screen Classics) (113 page)
Fleming, Victor: adventurousness and risk-taking of,
3,
5,
7,
10,
50–1,
92–4,
95,
99–100,
118,
170–5,
179–80,
388–91
; amateur aviation of,
3,
33,
93–4,
119,
159–60,
164,
175,
233,
259–60,
270
; anticommunist political involvement of,
63,
407–8,
425–30,
434–5
; anti-Semitism charged to,
38,
348–9,
433–4
; attractiveness to women of,
5,
7,
8–9,
92,
99,
102,
103,
166,
324,
358
; autobiography of,
14,
17,
22,
24–6,
32–6,
42,
44,
55–6,
61–4,
70,
174,
180,
488
; automobile racing of,
3,
20,
24–9,
33–4,
92,
98,
100,
165
; birth of,
4,
5,
15,
55
; childhood and adolescence of,
5,
15,
16–23,
24,
503
; cinematography of,
4,
5,
11,
34–5,
36–7,
44,
45,
47–8,
51,
52,
57–60,
63–4,
67–74,
75–7,
324
; early jobs of,
4,
19–20,
25–8,
30–1
; earnings and wealth of,
159,
165,
170,
176,
177,
286,
358
; education of,
17,
22–3,
24
; fame and success of,
5,
9–10,
23,
102
; family background of,
11–23,
92,
503
; fatherhood of,
3,
31,
37,
93,
235,
270,
284,
316,
445
; first European trip of,
66–73
; first marriage and divorce of,
27–8,
29,
31,
61
; first professional break of,
11,
29,
32,
40
; generosity of,
3,
17–18,
106,
160,
164
; girlfriends and lovers of,
3,
17,
31,
32,
47,
61,
81
–2,
92,
95–6,
99,
102–4,
105,
111,
114,
116–18,
124–9,
131–2,
135–8,
143,
146,
158,
165,
316,
355
; government investigation of,
61–3
; death of,
4,
9,
93,
206,
355,
374,
386,
480,
492–3,
498
; humor of,
144,
193–4,
301–2
; hunting and travel of,
3,
7,
19,
170–4,
179–80,
201,
207,
230–2,
498–9
; intelligence and ingenuity of,
7,
8,
40,
58,
62
; kidney stones and surgery for,
141,
177,
204,
207,
229,
234,
235,
248
; last will of,
497–8
; masculinity of,
3,
5,
7,
8,
77,
91,
93,
99–100,
126,
161,
163,
257,
324,
386,
435
; melancholy and brooding of,
3,
6,
322,
338–9
; military training films of,
4,
57,
58
; motorcycling of,
3,
388–91
; mythical Indian heritage of,
9,
12,
19,
42,
322,
392
; “Old-Time Wild Man” image of,
8–9
; physical appearance and stature of,
7,
9,
31,
37,
51,
102,
135,
226,
270–1,
328,
495
; pranks and practical jokes of,
5,
22,
26,
50–1,
84,
99,
124,
127,
301–2,
329,
491
; second marriage and family life of,
3,
7,
61,
385–9,
444–5
; social life of,
3,
99,
117,
118,
143,
386–91,
491–2
; speech patterns of,
13,
92
; taxi driving of,
26–27
; vigor and physicality of,
5,
7,
8,
20,
50–1,
77,
84,
99–100
; World War I military service of,
4,
11,
22,
26,
54–74
Fleming, Victor, director: artistic achievement of,
5,
85,
99,
282,
501–4
; child actors and,
39,
40,
214–18,
249–50,
272–3,
301–2,
339,
347–8,
380–1
; deft handling of sound by,
151–2,
164,
252
; departure from visual orthodoxy by,
52,
78,
80,
101
; directorial debut of,
48,
77–81
; freshness and modernism of,
5
; as “man’s director” vs. “woman’s director,”
7,
104,
272,
320,
358
; method and directorial style of,
39,
78–81,
84–5,
133–4,
162,
185–6,
197,
225–6,
229,
247–8,
332–3,
362,
439–40
; power and authority of,
3,
8,
176,
228,
302–3,
307,
324,
326,
330,
335
; realism and action specialties of,
7–8,
25,
179,
226
; relations of actors and collaborators with,
3,
4–8,
146,
224,
225–7,
229,
249–52,
272,
277,
298–9,
301–3
; reviews of,
78,
83,
85,
91,
94,
96,
102,
104,
105,
110,
115,
128,
135,
140–1,
163,
195–6,
199,
212–13,
228–9,
253–4,
268,
350,
421,
438
; sensitivity and dedication of,
7,
39,
177,
191,
197,
273,
327
; sexuality depicted by,
4,
6,
7,
9–10,
180–1,
186–90,
202
–
03,
364–6,
370–1,
505
; shaping of actors’ screen personas by,
4–7,
9,
42,
145–6,
150,
225
; technical savvy of,
6,
7–8,
20,
51,
52,
79,
80,
333–4
; theory of sex as a fight,
401,
443
; work ethic and enterprise of,
18,
87,
99,
175,
195,
337
Fleming, Victoria Sue,
15,
136,
169,
180,
233
; birth of,
219
; childhood of,
233,
256,
257,
270,
301,
309,
317,
360,
386–8,
445,
495,
497–8
; on Lu Fleming,
192,
193–4,
219,
392,
492
; on VF,
209,
256,
284,
340,
359,
360,
386–7,
426,
445,
454,
492
Fleming, William Richard Lonzo “Lon,”
11–13,
14–17,
23
; heart condition and early death of,
5,
12,
16–17,
18,
29,
266
Floor
Below, The,
60
Flynn, Maurice B.,
100
Foelsch, Richard,
281
Folsey, George,
411
Fonda, Henry,
224–8
Fonda, Peter,
148
Fontaine, Joan,
498
Forbes, Mary,
205
Forbstein, Leo,
392
Ford, Harry Chapman,
94
Ford, Henry,
18
Ford, John,
9,
117,
185,
225,
228,
231,
236–7,
258,
330,
354,
358,
396,
401,
403,
427,
499,
501–2
Forgotten Village, The,
356–7
Forman, Tom,
148
Fowler, Gene,
403
Fox Film Corporation,
228–9,
235,
241,
285,
336
; VF’s years with,
159–66,
224–5
Francke, Caroline,
199
Frankenheimer, John,
79
Franklin, Chester,
379
Franklin, Dwight,
211
Frederick, John,
403
Frederick, Pauline,
182
Freed, Renée,
443
Freeman, Earl A.,
206
Freund, Karl,
411
Fuchs, Daniel,
502
Fung, Willie,
399
Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Hollywood—with Jack Paar, A,
304–5
Fury,
240
Gable, Clark,
8,
10,
142,
174,
198–9,
237,
240,
271,
272,
354,
436–42,
498,
499–500
; background of,
181–3
; in
Gone With the Wind,
230,
277,
316–21,
324–5,
329–30,
332,
334,
339–43,
345–7,
360,
440,
442,
504–5
; as “The King,”
9,
260,
319
; lovers and wives of,
182,
324,
351,
354,
404
; physical appearance and charisma of,
5,
181,
184,
199
; in
Red Dust,
6,
181–2,
194,
196,
262,
324,
440,
499,
505
; rumored bisexuality of,
237,
320–1
; in
Test Pilot,
6,
10,
258,
259,
260–8
; VF’s influence on screen persona of,
5–7,
9,
194,
225,
324,
329–30,
339–40,
342–3
; VF’s relationship with,
40,
317–18,
321,
325,
329,
357,
386–8,
389–91,
494,
495
; in
The White Sister,
197–99
; World War II military service of,
404–5,
436,
441
Gallagher, John,
286
Garey, Enoch,
57