Publication Date: October 24, 2017
Publisher: Dey Street Books
The definitive visual biography of Grace Kelly’s
unforgettable Hollywood career, chronicled in 400 extraordinary black-and white
and color photographs, including many never-before-seen.
"Mr. Hitchcock taught me everything about cinema.
It was thanks to him that I understood that murder scenes should be shot like
love scenes and love scenes like murder scenes."—Grace Kelly
No movie star of the 1950s was more beautiful,
sophisticated, or glamorous than Grace Kelly. The epitome of elegance, the
patrician young blonde from Philadelphia conquered Hollywood and won an Academy
Award for Best Actress in just six years, then married a prince in a storybook
royal wedding. Today, more than thirty years after her death, Grace Kelly
remains an inspiring fashion icon.
Filled with a dazzling array of photographs, many
from original negatives, Grace Kelly showcases the legend’s
brief yet significant acting career as never before. Blending pictures and
memorabilia, this breathtaking compendium traces every step of her artistic
journey, including her early television appearances, her breakout role opposite
Gary Cooper in High Noon (1952), her exceptional collaboration
with Alfred Hitchcock on her most indelible films—Dial M for Murder with
Ray Milland (1954), Rear Window with Jimmy Stewart (1954),
and To Catch a Thief with Cary Grant (1955)—and her
performance in the musical High Society (1956) alongside Frank
Sinatra and Bing Crosby.
A stunning gallery of more than 400 prized and
rare photographs and illustrations—precious childhood snapshots, previously
unpublished Edith Head and Helen Rose wardrobe sketches, original portraits,
scene stills, on-set candids, wardrobe test shots, vintage magazine covers, and
rare reproductions of exhibitor’s showmanship manuals showing how film studios
marketed Grace Kelly as a star—Grace Kelly captures this beloved
luminary’s eternal beauty as never before, and is a fresh, celebratory look at
her remarkable career and her enduring cultural influence.
“I think the thing that most people forget is that
when all of this is happening to Grace, this extraordinary excitement about her
career being generated and roles with the world’s most famous leading men and
the world’s most respected directors, she was just a girl in her early twenties.”
“Grace had a lot of beaus and boyfriends who were
actors and human beings, dress designers and this and that. But there wasn’t this
one person who could fulfill this childhood image that a great many of us have
about wanting that one man in our life to be special – and really to be the old
prince on the white charger.”
“There was an innate aristocracy – elegance –
about her. Not only in comportment and manners, but also in thinking and being.
It has been a cliché to say that Grace Kelly looked like a princess. But she
did.”
“Grace, without any direction, she just went over,
climbed up the fire escape, climbed in one of the windows and sneaked into the
door and then looked over across the way to Hitchcock and said ‘Is that what
you mean?’…She seemed to know the movements before Hitchcock had anything to
say about it.”
This has to be the most comprehensive book
covering Grace Kelly’s life and career that I have ever read. I have read and
enjoyed a few other film books written by Jay Jorgensen, so of course I had to
check this one out as well. Grace Kelly was an iconic lady and rivals others like
Audrey Hepburn. She had a sophisticated air and flair to her and was loved by
many who followed her stardom. I must admit that I do not follow Grace Kelly’s
films like I follow and admire Marilyn Monroe’s or Audrey Hepburn’s, but after reading
this book I cannot wait to view more of her films. Jay Jorgensen’s work is
inspirational and really does Grace Kelly justice in all aspects of her life.
The book is strategically and chronologically
organized and tracks Grace throughout many momentous periods of her life. Full
of incredibly rare photos, with her Hitchcock films receiving feature content,
this fantastic book is a must for Hitchcock fans, movie fashion historians, and
anyone who loves a high quality book on Hollywood’s glorious past. The small
snippets that were written about her movies, her love life, and how she was
perceived by the media were very informative and the quotes that were shared by
others about her were poetic and so eloquently written. Many people had such
wonderful things to say about Grace Kelly and it was so heartwarming and
powerful to read.
***A free copy of this book was provided to me by the
publishers at Dey Street Books in exchange for my honest review***
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