Scarecrow Press
Pages: 328
Trim: 5¾ x 8¾
978-0-8108-4490-2 • Hardback • December 2002 • $79.00 • (£61.00)
978-0-8108-4899-3 • Paperback • September 2003 • $50.00 • (£38.00)
978-1-4616-7142-8 • eBook • September 2003 • $47.50 • (£37.00)
Ronald Neame has enjoyed an unparalleled career in the film industry, beginning as an assistant cameraman in his native England in the 1920s, becoming a director of photography with such major motion pictures as Major Barbara, In Which We Serve, and Blithe Spirit, and later graduating to producer and director with Take My Life, The Golden Salamander, The Card, The Man Who Never Was, and some 20 other feature films. Barbara Roisman Cooper is a freelance writer specializing in celebrity profiles for various publications.
Part 1 Foreword
Part 2 Foreword
Part 3 Introduction
Chapter 4 1 Miss World
Chapter 5 2 Blackmail
Chapter 6 3 Beryl
Chapter 7 4 The Elstree Fire
Chapter 8 5 Quota Quickies
Chapter 9 6 Major Barbara
Chapter 10 7 Noël Coward
Chapter 11 8 Cineguild
Chapter 12 9 Hollywood
Chapter 13 10 Expectations
Chapter 14 11 The Academy
Chapter 15 12 Take My Life
Chapter 16 13 Passionate Friends
Chapter 17 14 Crashing On Regardless
Chapter 18 15 The Magic Box
Chapter 19 16 The Card
Chapter 20 17 The Million Pound Note
Chapter 21 18 The Man Who Never Was
Chapter 22 19 Windom's Way
Chapter 23 20 Alec Guinness
Chapter 24 21 Tunes of Glory
Chapter 25 22 Judy Garland
Chapter 26 23 Ron Pon
Chapter 27 24 Mister Moses
Chapter 28 25 Gambit
Chapter 29 26 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Chapter 30 27 Scrooge
Chapter 31 28 The Poseidon Adventure
Chapter 32 29 Losses and Gains
Chapter 33 30 Walter Matthau
Chapter 34 31 Donna
Part 35 Appendix A: The Films of Ronald Neame
Part 36 Appendix B: Awards and Honors
Part 37 Acknowledgments
Part 38 Index
Ronald Neame's life story reads like a veritable Who's Who of the movie business.
— The Director's Guild Of America
The name Ronald Neame should be a household word...A virtual who's-who history of the film business, here and in England, since the beginning of sound films...it's a book that deserves a read by anyone interested in the endlessly fascinating process of filmmaking, especially those who, like Neame, pursue their passion with class, style and wit.
— The Hollywood Reporter
Both amusing and informative...Cinematographers will delight in the many colorful stories Neame relates about filmmaking in this engaging autobiography, and it's required reading for anyone interested in the history of British film.
— American Cinematographer
Yours is an extraordinary life, and I found the book enthralling. It encompasses so much of our film history, and for you to have mastered three great film crafts, to have worked with Hitch, Coward, Lean, Guinness, Powell, and Pressburger, even Garland and Formby, and to have been responsible for such magnificent films as The Horse's Mouth, Tunes of Glory, and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie places you firmly in the pantheon of great British filmmakers.
— George Perry; London Times
a charming memoir.
— Kenneth Turan; Los Angeles Times
Any career that spans across eight decades is quite an achievement, particularly a career that's been so consistently distinguished and adventurous, a career of such passionate pursuits. More than a career, really—a Life.
— Martin Scorsese
You'll enjoy his book.
— The Veteran
Given that Neame collaborated with the likes of David Lean and Noel Coward, he recalls some impressive anecdotes, the choicest of which can be found in his consistently engrossing autobiography. Told in a gentlemanly style, the book provides a valuable first hand record of what it was like to work in the British Film industry in the Thirties and Forties. As for Neame's experiences in Hollywood, they're the icing on the already delicious cake.
— Film Review
Intriguing...I couldn't put it down and read it all in one sitting, as David Lean, who features very heavily would have said 'A bloody good read.'
— British Society of Cinematographers Newsletter
Long-overdue, revealing, and extremely readable
— Academy
An inside story, not about one man, but about the entire fascinating industry in which he worked.
— British Heritage
An invaluable history of British cinema from the 1920s through the 1960s.
— Culturevulture.Net