Cary Grant: The Making of a Hollywood Legend

By: Mark Glancy

Narrated by: Daniel Henning

Length: 18 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Archie Leach was a poorly educated, working-class boy from a troubled family living in the backstreets of Bristol. Cary Grant was Hollywood's most debonair film star - the embodiment of worldly sophistication. Cary Grant: The Making of a Hollywood Legend tells the incredible story of how a sad, neglected boy became the suave, glamorous star many know and idolize. The first biography to be based on Grant's own personal papers, this book takes us on a fascinating journey from the actor's difficult childhood through years of struggle in music halls and vaudeville, a hit-and-miss career in Broadway musicals, and three decades of film stardom during Hollywood's golden age.

Leaving no stone unturned, Cary Grant delves into all aspects of Grant's life, from the bitter realities of his impoverished childhood to his trailblazing role in Hollywood as a film star who defied the studio system and took control of his own career. Highlighting Grant's genius as an actor and a filmmaker, author Mark Glancy examines the crucial contributions Grant made to such classic films as Bringing Up Baby (1938), The Philadelphia Story (1940), Notorious (1946), An Affair to Remember (1957), North by Northwest (1959), Charade (1963), and Father Goose (1964).

©2020 Mark Glancy (P)2021 Tantor

Interesting but lengthy

There are many interesting things about his life, I found the book a little lengthy and drying some parts, but overall a good book

Nice Man

Nice story ….throughly enjoyed …..he stands out as a nice man and great sense of humor…

Makes me want to watch his movies again

Very thorough history of Cary Grant and his 72 movies. Very well narrated too. I appreciate that the book was chronological and frequently let the listener know what year it was since I don’t have the book in front of me.

The Golden age of Movies

You must be interested in screen writing & movie making to enjoy this book, not the gossip of tell all of personal lives.

First rate bio of Cary Grant

Great biography of Cary Grant’s life. The research was very detailed and brought forth new and interesting information about Cary Grant. I highly recommend this biography. 

A HIDDEN GEM!

One of the very best biographies I have ever read or listened to. I am amazed that somehow it has escaped the notice of Audible reviewers and I wish I could remember how I found it, but I am so thrilled that I did.
I could not stop listening to this fascinating account, not only of the main character, but of in-depth critiques of films, explanations of casting, designs, scripts and box office.
There are extraordinarily personal accounts of emotions, friendships, directors and other actors. All of those detailed memories along with lifestyle, culture and society of the thirties and forties and into the seventies.
One of the biggest pleasures of this book were the truly detailed descriptions of Cary Grant's many films with their storylines, characters and critical responses.
The author explains in the beginning of the book that he had access to personal papers and archive material in a vault that Cary Grant kept. This proves to be a treasure trove of amazingly accurate memories dating back to the actor's earliest life, then well into his career over many years.
In addition to the biography itself, Daniel Henning narrates beautifully, even using a slight Cary Grant-type speech when quoting the actor.
I could go on and on about this absolute hidden gem. So whether you are at all familiar with Cary Grant or know nothing about him, try this biography because it reaches into so much of the times and places and people of many past eras. And now, I simply must re-watch a number of Cary Grant's films as I've gained such wonderful insight into each one.
This biography has become one of my most favorite Audible books.

Loved this book!

This book did not disappoint how I felt about Cary Grant, he was a gentleman till the end, always caring and smart with a sense of humor.

Not What I Hoped For

What I was hoping for was a well researched presentation of Cary Grant’s life and career. That would have included detailed anecdotes from movie sets and his leisure time. It would have included descriptions of the theatres he performed in and the homes he lived in. In short, it would have created a clearer image of the world Cary Grant inhabited. Instead, what I got was much less description and very brief anecdotes from some who knew him. As a consequence the telling seemed superficial and not satisfying ultimately. Given the years that have passed since the events, his contemporaries are now deceased too and therefore unable to be interviewed. Nevertheless I was hoping there would have been details from other’s memoirs and biographies that could have recounted their interactions with Cary Grant. Perhaps it is unreasonable for me to expect Robert Caro levels of research on Cary Grant but once one is exposed to thorough and descriptive non fiction it’s difficult to settle for less.