Fabulous Book: Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King!

Just finished a fabulous book about director Otto Preminger written by Foster Hirsch: Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King (Knopf).

Preminger is usually dismissed by critic and they usually point to Laura, his wonderful film noir starring Gene Tierney as his one good film. And while it’s hard to defend bloated misfires like Hurry Sundown, Skidoo and Rosebud, other films like Advise and Consent (one of the best films about politics ever), Anatomy of o Murder (a terrific courtroom drama), Bunny Lake Is Missing (a neglected enjoyably bizarre mystery) are just sensational. Preminger’s fearless fights against censorship (The Moon Is Blue, Man With the Golden Arm) were groundbreaking. But his wild temper and legendary fights with his actors dubbed him “Otto the Terrible” by the press and overshadowed his talent as a director.

Mercifully, Foster Hirsch has great respect for Preminger as a director, which makes the book an informative read. There are shocking stories of Preminger’s withering tirades at young inexperienced actors like Jean Seberg and Tom Tryon (who had to have a cup and saucer taped to his hand during a shot in The Cardinal because Preminger’s fury made him shake so much). Keir Dullea said on the set of Bunny Lake Is Missing: “Who do you have to fuck to get off this movie?” And I loved reading about Preminger’s stormy on-set skirmishes with Faye Dunaway (Hurry Sundown) and Dyan Cannon (Such Good Friends), two women he outright hated working with. The book is a terrific read -- I just loved every page.