Charles Laughton

A Difficult Actor

Simon Callow author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Vintage Publishing

Published:29th Nov '12

£12.99

Available to order, but very limited on stock - if we have issues obtaining a copy, we will let you know.

Charles Laughton cover

A definitive biography of one of the twentieth century's finest actors and directors, written with great insight and verve by Simon Callow, & reissued here with a new preface.

The creator of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Henry VIII and Captain Bligh, Charles Laughton's career spans 50 films and 40 stage roles. Along the way we meet a galaxy of Hollywood greats - from Korda, Hitchcock and Billy WIlder to Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe.The creator of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Henry VIII and Captain Bligh, Charles Laughton's career spans 50 films and 40 stage roles. This entralling biography follows him from his parents' hotel in Scarborough to his climactic assumption of the role of King Lear in Statford at the end of his life. Along the way we meet a galaxy of Hollywood greats - from Korda, Hitchcock and Billy WIlder to Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe. We also discover a hugely talented and complex man - a legend in his own lifetime who nonetheless counted himself a failure.

One of the very best theatre books ever -- Alec Guinness
Remarkable...extraordinarily well written, perceptive and rivetingly sympathetic -- John Gielgud
Simon Callow is a writer - and a very good one too. Few people can match him in catching with words the physical excitement of a great performance -- Peter Hall
Callow’s emphatic biography certainly presents this complicated man in all his contradictory roles -- Sally Morris * Daily Mail *
a fine character actor’s tribute to the king of the tribe. The numerous insights show Callow to be that rarity, an actor who can write about acting -- Jake Kerridge * Sunday Telegraph *

ISBN: 9780099581956

Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 23mm

Weight: 266g

384 pages