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Product Description
One of the highest-paid studio contract directors of his time, George Cukor was nominated five times for an Academy Award as Best Director. In publicity and mystique he was dubbed the “women’s director” for guiding the most sensitive leading ladies to immortal performances, including Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman, Judy Garland, and—in ten films, among them The Philadelphia Story and Adam’s Rib—his lifelong friend and collaborator Katharine Hepburn. But behind the “women’s director” label lurked the open secret that set Cukor apart from a generally macho fraternity of directors: he was a homosexual, a rarity among the top echelon. Patrick McGilligan’s biography reveals how Cukor persevered within a system fraught with bigotry while becoming one of Hollywood’s consummate filmmakers.
Amazon.com Review
George Cukor is best known for directing witty comedies, but he also made wonderful dramas and musicals. He adapted many of his films from theatrical productions, but with such technical proficiency that they rarely felt stagy. In his long and productive career, he made classics such as Camille, Holiday, The Philadelphia Story, Adam's Rib, A Star is Born, and My Fair Lady. Patrick McGilligan's excellent biography gives the story behind the making of these and many other movies as well as terrific insights into Cukor's Jewish upbringing, his homosexuality, his reputation as a "woman's director," and his long-time association with Katharine Hepburn, with whom he made 10 films.
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