Pola Negri: Hollywood's First Femme Fatale

Born Apolonia Chalupiec (1897–1987), Pola Negri was a film star of monumental stature during Hollywood's studio-ruled silent era, her glamour and demanding personality earning her adulation from critics and fans alike. During the advent of "talkies," Negri's career faltered, but she remained a cultural icon in her native Poland. Joining tomes on Maureen O'Hara, John Gilbert, and Mae Murray in the series (the latter two made appearances in Negri's own life story), writer and director Kotowski's (Pola Negri: Life Is a Dream in Cinema) work attempts to revive the actress's lost Hollywood legacy. In straightforward, lighthearted prose, the author offers juicy accounts of Negri's life, including her doomed relationships with Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino and her time working in Germany during the initial stages of World War II. Although it occasionally strays into speculation, Kotowski's treatment will inspire readers to think of the actress as an old friend. With its anecdotal looks at other Hollywood personalities, illuminating the complex relationships among actors, film studios, and media outlets at the time, this volume would make a good companion piece to Negri's Memoirs of a Star.