PERFORMING ARTS

Connecticut in the Movies: From Dream Houses to Dark Suburbia

by Illeana Douglas
Lyons: Globe Pequot. Oct. 2023. 352p. ISBN 9781493075737. $39.95. FILM
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Actor and writer Douglas (I Blame Dennis Hopper: And Other Stories from a Life Lived in and out of the Movies) combines her love of movies with her deep affection for her home state of Connecticut in this book exploring the many movies that are set there. Her astute and sardonic observations on films and their plotting and production histories are interwoven with Connecticut’s state history. The films range from Bringing Up Baby and The Stepford Wives to Long Day’s Journey into Night and The Last House on the Left. Filled with pictures, posters, and stills from movies, this book is a visual treat as well. The chapters curate films by themes, including “Suburban Sex Comedies” (The Tunnel of Love, Wives and Lovers, My Six Loves); “Connecticut Cameos” (Auntie Mame, All About Eve, Strangers on a Train); and an entire chapter dedicated to the classic Cary Grant-Myrna Loy comedy Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, costarring the author’s grandfather, Melvyn Douglas.
VERDICT A fun book for movie lovers anywhere, but especially those in Connecticut.
Reviewed by Emily Kubincanek , Sep 22, 2023
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