Charlene B. Regester

For years I have been looking for biographical profiles of black actresses - with the biography of Hattie McDaniel and Lena Horne's recent autobiography, there was still one black actress that I wanted to know more about and that was Louise Beavers. However, the biographical sketches in this book are a mere 2 to 3 pages at most. The rest of the chapters on each actress is devoted to discussing the issue of race in their film career - which was not what I was looking for. The author indicated that Hattie McDaniel wanted to be buried in Rosedale Cemetery and despite restrictions due to her race, she became the first black interred there. Yet, no mention is made of McDaniel's original request to be buried at Hollywood Memorial Park (now Hollywood Forever) which was denied due to her race. I also feel that the studio system, writers, and creators of 1933's King Kong (in the chapter on Nina Mae McKinney) did not put all the symbolism on race into the film that the author sees. This was the studio system and they were cranking out films. If you want a textbook full of essays, this is the book for you. If you are looking for biographical material, continue to look.… (altro)