Olivia de Havilland: Lady Triumphant
We have SEVEN Books to Give Away via Twitter or this Blog
A tribute to one of Hollywood’s greatest legends…
It’s time for our next book giveaway contest! And we’re very excited about this one! That said, CMH is happy to say that we will be giving away SEVEN COPIES of Olivia de Havilland: Lady Triumphant by Victoria Amador, courtesy of University Press of Kentucky, from now through June 29.
In order to qualify to win one of these prizes via this contest giveaway, you must complete the below entry task by Saturday, June 29 at 9PM EST. However, the sooner you enter, the better chance you have of winning, because we will pick a winner on seven different days within the contest period, via random drawings, as listed below… So if you don’t win the first week that you enter, you will still be eligible to win during the following weeks until the contest is over.
- May 18: One Winner
- May 25: One Winner
- June 1: One Winner
- June 8: One Winner
- June 15: One Winner
- June 22: One Winner
- June 29: One Winner
We will announce each week’s winner on Twitter @ClassicMovieHub, the day after each winner is picked at 9PM EST — for example, we will announce our first week’s winner on Sunday May 19 at 9PM EST on Twitter. And, please note that you don’t have to have a Twitter account to enter; just see below for the details…
And now on to the contest!
ENTRY TASK (2-parts) to be completed by Saturday, June 29 at 9PM EST — BUT remember, the sooner you enter, the more chances you have to win…
1) Answer the below question via the comment section at the bottom of this blog post
2) Then TWEET (not DM) the following message*:
Just entered to win the “Olivia de Havilland: Lady Triumphant” #BookGiveaway courtesy of @KentuckyPress & @ClassicMovieHub
THE QUESTION:
Why do you love most about Olivia de Havilland and/or her movies?
*If you do not have a Twitter account, you can still enter the contest by simply answering the above question via the comment section at the bottom of this blog — BUT PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU ADD THIS VERBIAGE TO YOUR ANSWER: I do not have a Twitter account, so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.
NOTE: if for any reason you encounter a problem commenting here on this blog, please feel free to tweet or DM us, or send an email to clas…@gmail.com and we will be happy to create the entry for you.
ALSO: Please allow us 48 hours to approve your comments. Sorry about that, but we are being overwhelmed with spam, and must sort through 100s of comments…
About the Book: Legendary actress and two-time Academy Award winner Olivia de Havilland is best known for her role as Melanie Wilkes in Gone with the Wind (1939). She often inhabited characters who were delicate, elegant, and refined. At the same time, she was a survivor with a fierce desire to direct her own destiny on and off the screen. She fought and won a lawsuit against Warner Bros. over a contract dispute that changed the studio contract system forever. She is also noted for her long feud with her fellow actress and sister Joan Fontaine―a feud that lasted from 1975 until Fontaine’s death in 2013. Victoria Amador utilizes extensive interviews and forty years of personal correspondence with de Havilland to present an in-depth look at the life and career of this celebrated actress. Amador begins with de Havilland’s early life―she was born in Japan in 1916 to affluent British parents who had aspirations of success and fortune in faraway countries―and her theatrical ambitions at a young age. The book then follows her career as she skyrocketed to star status, becoming one of the most well-known starlets in Tinseltown. Readers are given an inside look at her love affairs with iconic cinema figures such as James Stewart and John Huston, and her onscreen partnership with Errol Flynn, with whom she starred in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and Dodge City (1939). After she moved to Europe in the mid-1950s, de Havilland became the first woman to serve as the president of the Cannes Film Festival in 1965, and remained active but selective in film and television until 1988.
Click here for the full contest rules.
Please note that only Continental United States (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and the territory of Puerto Rico) entrants are eligible.
And — BlogHub members ARE eligible to win if they live within the Continental United States (as noted above).
Good Luck!
And if you can’t wait to win the book, you can purchase the on amazon by clicking here:
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–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub
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I love Olivia in all her roles. She controls her characters and becomes them so you too watching also feel what her characters do!
I always enjoyed the elegant characters that Ms. de Havilland played on the screen but I did not know much about her strength of character off-screen or that she was the first female president of the Cannes Film Festival. Fascinating stuff, I’d love to know more!
Wow, I didn’t know that Olivia was the first female prez of Cannes!
I love that Olivia de Havilland was always classy, quietly elegant but a real person with great depth of character and quiet strength. She is the last of the truly great women of the theater.
Olivia de Havilland displayed a range of acting few actresses could. From the saccharine sweet Melanie in “Gone With The Wind” to the frenzy of ‘Snake Pit”, and her intelligent portrayal of a woman scorned and at the mercy of men who triumphed in the end in “The Heiress”, de Havilland superbly brought her characters to life.
She fought the good fight too and at 102 years old de Havilland is still here, having survived the studio system and beat it.
Her seemingly innocence and beauty, which shone like a beacon throughout each and every one of her pictures. Every woman wanted to be her, and every man wanted to take her home to mother.
I do not have a Twitter account, so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.
Olivia de Havilland is one of my absolute favorite actresses. She was always more than just a pretty face and brought an equality with her male costars. And even when the script wasn’t that great she still gave a stellar performance!
I love her range. From the goody two shoes with a spine of steel in Gone With the Wind to the evil manipulator behind a southern heiress in Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte,, she was persuasive, understated, and intelligent – and never trashy!
#TEAM OLIVIA (I handed out these buttons at #TCMFF)
What I love most about Dame Olivia de Havilland (who will celebrate her 103rd Birthday July 1st) is her willingness to challenge the studio system for what she believed to be unfair practices even when it kept her off the screen for two years. She didn’t back down. Her fearlessness trickled down into memorable performances which garnered her an Academy Award. I love that still today she has not lost the courage of her convictions to once again undertake a groundbreaking legal case.
What’s not to love about her?! My favorite movie is The Heiress, how she really made us feel her pain – both by her father and by Morris and then how strong she was in the end. My favorite scene in Gone with the Wind was when she took control of the situation when the women were waiting for the men to come home from the raid in the shanty town, she pretended to scold them for drinking too much and then how kind she was to Belle Watling.
I would love to have one of the books about her because I can not find any books about her and I would like to know more about her and her career.
The last of the stars from the 1930’s …
I love this actress. The quality of films she did. My favorite one was Robin Hood. She is so classic.
I love that both Olivia and many of her characters are feminine and delicate in appearance, but have an inward strength and fierceness equal to and sometime greater than the men. She always fought for what she believed in and remained true to herself.
I recently just finished her book Every Frenchman Has One and learned what a delightful sense of humor she has too!
I do not have a Twitter account, so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.
I love so much of Olivia’s work…so many iconic roles from Mid Summers Night Dream to Lady in the Cage and Hush, Hush…and the amazing role of Miss Melanie in between.
Her courageous bid for free agency from the studio system in an era when that WAS NOT done is so admirable.
My absolute favorite film she appeared in was The Male Animal which I think is a brilliant film!
I cannot read enough about Classic Hollywood and the stars that made it so great!
What I love most about Olivia de Havilland is her elegance and refinement. What I love about her movies is the diversity of films she made from Midsummer’s Night Dream (1935) to The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Gone With the Wind (1939), The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940), In This Our Life (1942) and To Each His Own (1946). Those films showed what a great actress she was and helped her get away from the Errol Flynn films she had been typecast in.
Wow, this book sounds amazing! What I love about Olivia de Havilland and her movies are the many different types of characters she portrays and she never disappoints! From sweet Melanie Hamilton in GWTW to that nasty cousin Miriam in Hush…Hush Sweet Charlotte she could play them all flawlessly. I don’t know much about her personal life, other than she didn’t get along with her sister and that she lives in France. Obviously, I need to read this book! 🙂
Olivia de Havilland has range: from the gentility of Melanie Wilkes to the fierce woman in The Heiress to the institutionalized victim in The Snake Pit. Brains before beauty.
She was a true lady. Despite the deep feelings she had for Errol Flynn, she never acted on them because he was still married. Who does that in Hollywood? ❤️
What I Love about Olivia De Havilland and her Films?
1st Movie I saw her In was Robin Hood as Maid Marion. She was stunning. The part was made for her. Gone With the Wind , The part of Melanie was meant for her. She played a strong kind lady. A character that will forever live in our Hearts.
Then I saw her in the movie that gave her the 1st of her Oscars, To Each his Own with Hohn Lund. You see Olivia age from 20’s to Middle Age. You see see her having a baby by her fiancé who dies in the war. She wants someone to care for her son until she can take care of him properly. But then, her exes jealous wife and ex claim him and adopt him. She tries to get him back. By the time she is successful and tries to get her son back, he doesn’t want her only his adopted mother. She decides to make a new life in Europe and doesn’t see her son for 30 years. He arrives in London and she meets his train. He is his dads twin. She is so moved. Her boyfriend helps her to help her son marry his girlfriend w/ red tape. The end makes you cry. Olivia was one of the best actresses bar none. I would love this book so much
The thing I love most about Olivia de Havilland is that SHE IS STILL WITH US!!!
I find that so amazing and truly a GIFT to all her many fans.
The term “Living Legend” seems custom-made for this truly amazing lady.
Love Olivia de Havilland’s range of characters. Really felt for her in “The Heiress” and then was totally wary of her in “My Cousin Rachel”. A great and lovely actress.
What I love about de Havilland is her lack of vanity. She portrays her characters with reality and substance. She isn’t afraid to look unpolished, which makes her all the more honest and relatable. Her kind is pretty rare, and maybe that could be a reason why she has lived for so long; she is human and a great one at that.
I’ve loved Olivia deHavilland since I first saw her I’m Gone with the Wind. I love her sweet smile and her ability to play both serious and light roles. She effectively portrays every emotion and is so full of grace and charm. A true icon!
I love Olivia because she doesn’t take crap from anyone! She is 102 and taking the Feud case to the Supreme Court. She let’s no one push her around and I really like that about her. She went toe to toe with the big guns in Hollywood and won.
I’ve always loved the quiet dignity with which she fills the screen. She is a quiet force with some of the most well known box office stars of all time, from Errol Flynn, to Clark Gable, to Vivian Leigh. She is NEVER overshadowed, and she always gets her fair share of the screen. Just a remarkable actress in every way.
I don’t have a twitter account, but I will reply. I love Olivia , such a classic lady. Loved her in Robin Hood.
I love Olivia De Havilland. She’s a wonderful actress. I saw Gone With the Wind in theatres 3 months ago with my mother. I’ve seen it on TCM on tv so many times & I never get tired of it. I’ve also seen Light in the Piazza too. It’s such a amazing movie taking place in Italy. She brings so much life into every character that she had portrayed in these films of hers. With her 103 birthday coming up too. Both she & I are July 1st babies too.
I love Olivia de Havilland’s voice: gentle, almost musical. Its lyrical quality draws you to her. She brings the audience in, rather than performing at the audience.
There are so many reasons to love and appreciate Olivia de Havilland, for her intelligence, grace, and strength. Always a lady, she had tremendous range as an actress, from her early ingenue roles in films like Max Reinhardt’s MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, to her role in THE SNAKE PIT – a daring departure for a “star”. I loved her turn in HOLD BACK THE DAWN, exemplifying what is noble and likeable about millions of “ordinary” people. Many have noted terrific performances of hers, from THE HEIRESS to GONE WITH THE WIND. She was the type of actor who brought her A game, even when they saddled her with a lame script and a co-star like Sonny Tufts.
I think that “A game” not only inspired many actresses in her wake, but also brought out something special in many of her costars. In particular, every time she was paired with Errol Flynn, in movies like THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON, or THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, he was clearly not only as much in love with her as the audience was, but straining to give his best performance, which makes for eight very entertaining films. As good a partner as she was to Flynn on-screen, she was also a sustaining colleague and friend to Bette Davis both on and off-screen, and they did some terrific work together.
Last but certainly not least, by standing up for herself and fighting over her contract extension with Warner Brothers, and forging what we now know as the de Havilland law, she helped numerous colleagues not only at Warner but every other studio in town. Her actions are still helping several modern actors and musicians today get out of ridiculous contracts and rebuild their negotiating positions. I tip my hat to her for all those reasons!
I grew up thinking Olivia was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I remember watching Gone With The Wind as a child and thinking she was the epitome of grace and delicate beauty. She has a quiet strength on screen…never competing with other actors but never yielding her presence. As an actress myself, I’ve tried to achieve comfort in roles and harmony with other players. She’s a great example! Olivia is a treasure and the fact that she’s still with us is so special.
I never have followed her.I would love get a copy..
The golden age of cinema just wouldn’t be complete without Olivia. She was a sweet and beautiful soul who was such a joy to watch, especially opposite Vivienne Leigh in Gone With the Wind, but for me it’s her performance in Robin Hood that always makes me smile.
She totally transforms herself into the character she is portraying. The viewer is transfixed by her acting prowess. I love her!!!
I adore Olivia. Her roles were so incredible. She IS Melanie Wilkes. She IS Maid Marian. Not to mention she basically changed the entire way Hollywood function. She has power, she has strength, she has heart, she has class. What is not to love about Olivia? And still fighting for her rights as a centurion if her recent lawsuit is any indication (Still love Feud though).
Olivia de Havilland is an onscreen legend! She’s one of the few Hollywood powerhouses that’s still with us. The characters she portrayed always captivated the audience. I know when I’m watching her films, I always wonder what will happen next. Her acting is very convincing for each role. I’m certain she’s worked a long time to perfect her craft. She really is a versatile entertainer.
Twitter: @melodyfayre
I love her naturalness, and her believability in a variety of very diverse roles across different genres, from high drama (The Heiress, Gone with the Wind) to screwball comedy (Princess O’Rourke, The Male Animal), and the fact that she is a fighter! Love Livvy.
I love Olivia de Havilland because she exuded strength while being utterly feminine.
What I appreciate most about this underappreciated actress is her prominence in the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. She worked with the likes of James Cagney, Errol Flynn, and Bette Davis. She appeared in iconic films the likes of Gone With the Wind, Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Dodge City. She could be in any sort of film – romantic comedy, drama, action/adventure, and so on. If you Google ‘Face of Classic Hollywood’ her image should appear instantly. I mean, if David O Selznick says he would give anything to have you in his film (Gone With the Wind) then that speaks for itself.
I love the range of Olivia De Havilland acting. I think her best role was in the strawberry blonde. She played a totally modern woman who in the end didn’t believe it herself. Her acting ran from the exotic to the girl next door.
Olivia always plays classy roles of women who are both soft spoken and strong. Viewers can identify with the characters she plays because she is so authentic. One of her best roles is Washington Square. She falls head over heels in love after years of feeling like a spinster. She puts herself wholeheartedly into her relationship and defends her man to her father. However, once she realizes she’s been duped, she turns cold and becomes strong as steel. This man will not fool her again. I love her strength and her talent.
I was born in the mid eighties and when I was four years old I saw The Adventures of Robin Hood for the first time on our tv we had in the basement. I remember the grace she showed in the role of Maid Marian, and the chemistry between her and Errol Flynn. This film a long with its performances is what I attribute as what sparked my love of classic c=film.
I don’t have twitter and i am entering in the contest. Because one book is available. I LOVE OLD MOVIES. Love Olivia , in the Snake pit, to each his own, the heiress. She is going to 103. Such a great actress.