Lon Chaney: Master Craftsman of Make-believe

[a good sound copy with minimal shelfwear; the jacket, however, is rather heavily scuffed on the rear panel and at the spine ends, with a small tear at the lower rear foldover, and one small closed tear and associated diagonal creasing at the top edge of the front panel]. (B&W photographs, facsimiles) Despite being (apparently) self-published, this is a well-researched and reasonably well-written biography of the "Man of a Thousand Faces," although it was eclipsed by Michael Blake's excellent (and better-produced) book on Chaney, published just a few years later. Interestingly, in his Introduction the author takes some rather pointed jabs at "a group of enterprising young gentlemen [who] got together to produce a magazine devoted to horror motion pictures," and (in his opinion) essentially defamed the memory of Chaney by dubbing him "Mister Monster" and improperly emphasizing his horror-film roles and persona above all other aspects of his life and career. (This is a pretty clear reference to Forrest J Ackerman and his "Famous Monsters of Filmland," and the author returns to grind that axe a little more in the closing pages of the book, complaining that "the man who had never really played a monster in his career" had been turned into a horror-film cult figure by "the collectors and their panderers.") Includes filmography, bibliography, index. [Note the peculiarity of the dating: 1987 appears on the title page, but "Copyright 1981, 1988" on the copyright page. Every copy I've ever handled has been the same, however, so I don't think it portends anything other than a certain sloppiness in the production process.] ****NOTE that additional postage charges will be assessed for international shipping of this moderately heavy volume; if this concerns you, please contact us for a shipping quote before placing your order.****

Product Info

Publisher: Quality RJ

Year: 1987 (c.1981, 1988)

Type: Used

Binding: Hardcover

Seller Info

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