Marion Davies; a Biography [Silent Film, William Randolph Hearst, Citizen Kane]

New York: McGraw-Hill, 1972. Hardcover with Dust Jacket. Near Fine/Near Fine.

No Flaws or Blemishes but moderate shelf handling; The bindings are tight and square. Text clean, light even toning. 9.25 inches tall; 419 pages with list of a detailed List Films, Bibliography and Index.. In this comprehensive biography of Marion Davies, the film star intricately intertwined with William Randolph Hearst, the symbiotic bond endured from 1915 when Hearst first became captivated by her chorus-girl allure until his passing in 1951.

However, her cinematic legacy was swiftly overshadowed by the Orson Welles-Herman Mankiewicz portrayal of a dumb-blond caricature in 'Citizen Kane,' paradoxically becoming one of the most significant films in her life.

Fred Lawrence Guiles delves into the life journey of this adept comedian of the silent era, tracing her rise from Brooklyn to show business, her endearing stammer, her initially private and then public relationship with Hearst, her ventures in Hollywood, her liaison with Chaplin, encounters with the famous, life at San Simeon, Hearst's decline, her hasty marriage to Captain Horace Brown, and ultimately her demise from cancer in 1961.