Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life and
Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography
Two Biographies for Two Lucky Winners!
CMH is happy to announce our next Classic Movie Book Giveaway as part of our partnership with University Press of Kentucky! This time, we’ll be celebrating two iconic actresses, Joan Crawford and Patricia Neal!
That said, we’ll be giving away two books this month — Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life and Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography. And, yes, each winner will win both books!
An Unquiet Life was recently adapted to film, entitled To Olivia, starring Hugh Bonneville, Keeley Hawes, and Sam Heughan (yes, from Outlander). The film premiered a few months ago in the UK, but there’s no word yet on when it will be available here in the States. Our friends at UPK will keep us posted!
Please don’t forget to check out our first video in the Classic Movie Hub Screen Classics Discussion Video Series with University Press of Kentucky and co-host Aurora from Once Upon a Screen, in which author Alan Rode chats with Victoria Riskin and William Wellman Jr. about growing up in Hollywood. We’ve embedded it down below for you 🙂
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In order to qualify to win this Joan and Patricia Prize Package via this contest giveaway, you must complete the below entry task by Saturday, May 1 at 6PM EST.
We will announce our two lucky winners on Twitter @ClassicMovieHub on Sunday, May 2, around 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.
So, to recap, there will be TWO WINNERS, and each winner will win BOTH of these books:
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And now on to the contest!
ENTRY TASK (2-parts) to be completed by Saturday, May 1, 2021 at 6PM EST
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 Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life & Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography #BookGiveaway courtesy of @KentuckyPress & @ClassicMovieHub – #AnUnquietLife – Two lucky winners will win both bios 🙂 #EnterToWin here: http://ow.ly/jnMx50EuG4N
THE QUESTION:
What are your favorite films or performances by both Joan Crawford and Patricia Neal?
*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…
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If you missed the premiere of our Screen Classics Discussion video event, you can catch it here on YouTube:
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About the Books:
Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography: This new biography of Crawford sets the record straight, going beyond the gossip to find the truth about the legendary actress. The authors knew Crawford well and conducted scores of interviews with her and many of her friends and co-stars, including Frank Capra, George Cukor, Nicholas Ray, and Sidney Greenstreet. Far from a whitewash―Crawford was indeed a colorful and difficult character― Joan Crawford corrects many lies and tells the story of one of Hollywood’s most influential stars, complete with on-set anecdotes and other movie lore. Through extensive interviews, in-depth analysis, and evaluation of her films and performances―both successes and failures―Lawrence J. Quirk and William Schoell present Crawford’s story as both an appreciation and a reevaluation of her extraordinary life and career. This fascinating book tells the behind-the-scenes story of one of Hollywood’s great dames.
Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life: The internationally acclaimed actress Patricia Neal (1926–2010) was a star on stage, film, and television for more than sixty years. On Broadway she appeared in such lauded productions as Lillian Hellman’s Another Part of the Forest, winning the first Tony award. In Hollywood she starred opposite the likes of John Wayne, Paul Newman, John Garfield, and Gary Cooper in some thirty films. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Alma Brown in Hud, which earned her the 1963 Academy Award for Best Actress. But there was much more to Neal’s life. She was born in Packard, Kentucky, though she spent most of her childhood in Knoxville, Tennessee. For a time, Neal became romantically involved with Gary Cooper, her married costar in The Fountainhead. In 1953, Neal wed famed children’s author Roald Dahl, a match that would bring her five children and thirty years of dramatic ups and downs. At the pinnacle of her screen career, Neal suffered a series of strokes which left her in a coma for twenty-one days, and Variety even ran a headline erroneously stating that she had died. After a difficult recovery, Neal returned to film acting, earning a second Academy Award nomination for The Subject Was Roses (1968). She appeared in several television movie roles in the 1970s and 1980s and won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Dramatic TV Movie in 1971 for The Homecoming. Adapted as a major motion picture (filmed as An Unquiet Life) starring Hugh Bonneville, Keeley Hawes, and Sam Heughan, Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life is the first critical biography detailing the actress’s impressive film career and remarkable personal life. Author Stephen Michael Shearer conducted numerous interviews with Neal, her professional colleagues, and her intimate friends and was given access to the actress’s personal papers. The result is an honest and comprehensive portrait of an accomplished woman who lived her life with determination and bravado.
Click here for the full contest rules.
Please note that only United States (excluding the territory of Puerto Rico) and Canada entrants are eligible.
Good Luck!
And if you can’t wait to win the books, you can purchase them on amazon by clicking below:
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–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub
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Joan Crawford gave a riveting performance in the remake of the Swedish film, “A Woman’s Face”. Hard, cruel, sensitive and caring, she played out each emotion superbly.
Patricia Neal doesn’t get any better than with her performance in “Hud”.
I do not have a Twitter account, so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.
Joan Crawford: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Patricia Neal: The Day the Earth Stood Still
I do not have a Twitter account, so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.
My favorite Patricia Neal movie is that classic, “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” My favorite scene is where she has to recite “klaatu barada nikto to the robot Gort. She’s clearly terrified but still manages to get out the phrase before Gort destroys her.
My favorite Joan Crawford movie might be a bit obscure, but it is “Above Suspicion” which co-stars Fred MacMurray. She plays such a plucky young bride – in her honeymoon no less! – who is drawn into espionage while in Germany. I don’t like many of her other movies, but I love this one.
I do not have a Twitter account so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.
I love Joan Crawford and my favorite is “Mildred Pierce.” I’m not familiar with Patricia Neal so the book would help me learn.
This is an amazing giveaway!!! Joan Crawford is a top 5 talent in classic film history many great films and performances! I love lots of her early work…Grand Hotel, Letty Lynton, The Last of Mrs. Cheyney, Rai & The Women–later films such as Daisy Kenyon, Mildred Pierce, Flamingo Road and Humoresque are in regular rotation at my house…
I’ve always loved Patricia Neal…a few of her films stand out for me… Fountainhead, The day the earth stood still, HUD and The subject was roses…Her personal life was dotted with tragedy… she was a tough survivor
I would LOVE to win and read these two books!
I do not have a Twitter account, so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.
For Joan Crawford, my favorite film is Humoresque and for Patricia Neal, it is The Fountainhead.
Wow, so many movies to choose from! One of my favorite Joan Crawford films is What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Paired with Bette Davis they were both tremendous in this one, even if they didn’t get along. My favorite Patricia Neal film would have to be Hud, once again because of the chemistry with her c0-star. Thanks for the chance to win these great looking books.
Ohhh, this looks juicy.
So, my answer to the question: What are your favorite films or performances by both Joan Crawford and Patricia Neal?
For Joan Crawford, it’s Humoresque. The character she plays is very complex psychologically and emotionally. It’s hard for the viewer to like her but you can’t hate her either. My favorite line: “I was married twice before – once at sixteen, once at twenty-one. One was a crybaby and the other was a caveman. Between the two of them I said goodbye to girlhood.”
For Patricia Neal, it’s “The Subject Was Roses.” It’s not a well-known film of hers, I don’t think, but I think she’s amazing as the mother everyone tries to please and is at the same time afraid of. I understand she made the film after suffering some massive strokes and I think it’s amazing that she bounced back on screen better than ever after such physical trauma.
Also posted the tweet!
Tam May
What are your favorite films or performances by both Joan Crawford and Patricia Neal?
I love Joan in Mildred Pierce, and Patricia in A Face in the Crowd; both performances are timeless.
Patricia Neal is a toss-up between The Day the Earth Stood Still as Helen Benson, and her role as 2E Failenson. She was brilliant in whatever she did.
Joan Crawford as Mildred Pierce and as Blanch Hudson in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane as a super close second.
My favorite movie of Joan Crawford is Mildred Pierce
My favorite film of Patricia Neal is A Face in the Crowd.
For joan Crawford, my favorite film of her acting acting is: rain with walter Huston because she looked very committed to that role of Sadie Thompson and in my opinion did very great.
For patrica neal, my favorite film of acting is:the 1951 version of the day the earth stood still because her character was understanding and kind, she helped Michael rennie’s character towards the end of the end of the movie, she didn’t turn him in to the government she helped him survive and complete his mission.
For Joan Crawford, Mildred Pierce. For Patricia Neal, Hud. They are both very talented ladies. There were quite a few choices for each.
There will never be another Joan Crawford. What a movie star! What a woman! As a Clark Gable fan, I have seen all the times they were paired together; Possession (1931) is my favourite of those. But, I have to say I like her better in many of her other roles. She’s great in Mildred Pearce. She’s great in Grand Hotel, but without a doubt she is beyond great as Crystal Allen in The Women. That stands out as my absolute favourite Joan Crawford performance. And, as an aside, I also love her cameo in It’s a Great Feeling. Classy and a sense of humour! I remember watching Joan Crawford in Berserk! with my mom on TV in the early 70s. That brings me to Patricia Neal’s wonderful performance in The Subject was Roses, which I also remember watching on TV with my mom. Around the same time Patricia Neal had done a coffee commercial and I, being all of about 10 yrs of age, made fun of the way she said “cawfee”. Well, my mom hit the roof and really told me off – Miss Neal had had a terrible accident and had overcome great injury and had learned to walk and speak again. Well, I never forgot that lesson! Since then I have often enjoyed seeing Ms. Neal in many of her great roles, including the original Olivia Walton in The Homecoming on TV. However, my absolute favourite role of hers is Dominique in The Fountainhead. I just love that elevator ride up to the top of the building at the end of the movie. She’s a wow.
It’s difficult to pick only one for each of them Patricia Neal was incredible in A Face in the Crowd and I loved Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce.
Favorite Patricia Neal performances beyond Alma Brown in Hud:
Dominique Francon in The Fountainhead
Marcia Jeffries in A Face in the Crowd
Leona Charles in The Breaking Point, and
Olivia Walton in The Homecoming.
Favorite Joan Crawford performances beyond Mildred Pierce:
Blanche Hudson in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
Vienna in Johnny Guitar
Alma Holm in A Woman’s Face, and
Flaemmchen in Grand Hotel
Johnny Guitar & The Day The Earth Stood Still.
Fave Joan Crawford is GRAND HOTEL, a lively and sympathetic role.
Fave Patricia Neal is THE BREAKING POINT, probably because it was the first time that I saw her. While she was playing a seemingly unsympathetic character, she still showed enough decency that you almost wish that Garfield did run off with her.
I am thrilled to hear about these books about two of my favorite actresses. How to pick one role for Neal and Crawford whose glittering resumes tower over many of their peers? I would start with Patricia Neal’s tour de force in the great, prescient “A Face in the Crowd.” The range she shows in this role as the starmaker/love interest who gradually realizes she’s helped mold a monster is sheer, complex, gritty perfection. One cannot imagine anyone else as Marcia. Andy Griffith would never have aced it as Lonesome Rhodes without Neal’s powerhouse performance to play against. She anchors the film.
As for Crawford, where to start? There are so many stellar performances to choose from. But my absolute favorite is “Autumn Leaves” because the film showcases Joan’s range, playing a lonely, mature woman reawakened by love. Never was she more empathetic and magnetic, downplaying her attractiveness to create a lovely, tender portrait of a solitary woman, a role that still feels fresh and surprising.
Patricia Neal is great in “The Fountainhead,” and I loved her in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” though her part was small. Of course “Mildred Pierce” is Joan Crawford’s most famous role, as well as a great film noir, but I thought she also shined in “The Women” and “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” I also love her in “The Damned Don’t Cry” and “Harriet Craig.”
My favorite Joan Crawford film is Autumn Leaves, I feel like her performance was very underrated. And my favorite Patricia Neal film is A Face in the Crowd, her performance was so complex and moving.
My favorite Joan Crawford’s movie is What happened to Baby Jane
I did not know Patricia Neal, sorry.
My favorite Patricia Neal performance is in A Face in the Crowd. Some similarities to Hud (where she is also excellent) but she is a more central character as she plays a crucial role in creating a monster, much to her horror. Her actions in the final moments of the film make a huge impact.
I am a huge Joan Crawford junkie, but I genuinely believe Mildred Pierce is her definitive performance. There is something so haunting about the obsessive lengths she goes to to try and secure her sociopathic daughter’s love and happiness. Of course Crawford oozes pathos and mystery in her mink enshrined scenes.
Joan Crawford: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Patricia Neal: The Day the Earth Stood Still
I do not have a Twitter account, so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.