Lisanti, Tom. Dueling Harlows: The Race To Bring the Actress’s Life to the Silver Screen. McFarland. Jul. 2024. 254p. ISBN 9781476692593. pap. $39.95. FILM

Jean Harlow (1911–37) lit up the silver screen during the 1930s with her trademark platinum blonde hair and clingy white satin dresses. In 1965, two filmmakers vied to produce a biopic of the brief life and career—she died at age 26—of the icon who made more than 30 motion pictures. One filmmaker was Bill Sargent, whose Harlow with Carol Lynley was shot in black-and-white and employed a new process called Electronovision: filming the production in high-resolution videotape and transferring it via kinescope to film. The other was Joseph E. Levine, whose Harlow with Carroll Baker was filmed in Technicolor. This is the story of those dueling biopics. Lisanti (“Ryan’s Hope”: An Oral History of Daytime’s Groundbreaking Soap) offers a brief biography of Harlow and then jumps to 1964, when Irving Shulman’s scandalous biography Jean Harlow became a surprise bestseller, and two film studios raced to get their biopic into theaters. Fifty photographs, extensive notes, a bibliography, and an index are useful for research. VERDICT Full of details and on-and-off-screen drama, this book will appeal to film historians and devotees of Hollywood’s Golden Age.—Carolyn M. Mulac

Rinella, Michael D. Ann Sheridan: The Life and Career of Hollywood’s Oomph Girl. McFarland. Jul. 2024. 177p. ISBN 9781476694184. pap. $39.95. BIOG

Rinella (Margaret Sullavan: The Life and Career of a Reluctant Star) charts the life of Ann Sheridan (1915–67) in this first full-length biography of the Hollywood starlet. Sheridan made her screen debut in a small part in the 1934 Paramount film Search for Beauty, her prize for winning a worldwide, studio-sponsored beauty contest. Paramount gave her a $50-per-week contract but kept her in bit parts for nearly three years. Her star began to rise when she was signed by Warner Bros., who featured her in numerous films opposite James Cagney (Angels with Dirty Faces) and Humphrey Bogart (They Drive by Night). In 1939, Warner Bros. assembled a panel of judges (all men) who decided Sheridan had the most Hollywood sex appeal, or “oomph,” as they called it. But Sheridan believed that label prevented her from being taken seriously as a dramatic actress. She took control of her career in 1950 by becoming an uncredited producer on Woman on the Run, an outstanding film noir that features one of Sheridan’s best lead performances. VERDICT Rinella offers excellent research, shines a spotlight on the business of old Hollywood, and gives overdue credit to Sheridan. Recommended for aspiring film students and classic movie aficionados.—Denise Miller