RUNNING TIME- GAVIN LAMBERT

Book: paperback. Poor cover condition. No pages loose or missing. 1983 edition. 461 pages.

A review from a reader on Amazon.com: Elva Kay may just be the greatest stage mother of all time. Like Gertrude Temple, mother of the amazing Shirley, she starts exposing her daughter to art while she's still in the womb: "I carried it around the Art Institute, on a Votes for Women float where I paraded in costume as the Liberty Belle, took it to a concert by Caruso, a matinee of the classic motion picture 'Quo Vadis?' and an exhibition of magic by Houdini under which he escaped from a sealed chest underwater."

It pays off. Baby Jewel arrives in Hollywood in the year 1919 and almost immediately takes the town by storm with her series of shorts. Lambert, who also wrote the definitive child-star novel "Inside Daisy Clover", takes Baby and her mother from 1919-1982, and includes such characters as Theda Bara, William Desmond Taylor (with a new take on THAT mystery), Lillian Gish, D.W. Griffith, Howard Hughes, Louis B. Mayer and more.

Elva and Jewel have an intense relationship, truly love each other, and keep secrets from each other like mad. It's a realistic, engaging, maddening relationship that rings true.

Kanin is, of course, extremely knowledgable about Hollywood history, and this book is an insider's look at the rise of the film industry in L.A. as well as simply a fun, fast-moving, character-driven story. If you love movies, Hollywood, and strong female characters, get yourself a copy of this book and prepare to enjoy yourself