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Portrait of Jennifer: A Biography of Jennifer Jones
Capturing the joys and sorrows of a Hollywood legend, a biography of Jennifer Jones tells of a starlet dazzled by an older producer who won an Oscar for her first movie and spent a lifetime searching for her own identity. 20,000 first printing.
465 pages, Hardcover
First published February 16, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 27, 2009
A rather mediocre writing style diminishes the appeal of the book. Also, the author gives no source notes which I at least would have found helpful. He does have a selected bibliography at the end but there's no telling what his sources are for some of the stories he quotes. Not recommended.
April 13, 2011
Portrait of Jennifer came out in 1994, when Jones was not only very much alive (she only passed away in 2009) but quite active, and I'm sure that she, and her attorneys, were kept an eagle eye on the information provided in it. Even so, her good friends spoke freely with the author (something I'm fairly certain would not have happened without her say-so), and the book attempts to be even-handed while still being kind. There is an unfortunately reliance on one source who has a tendency to embellish and thus requires the reader to keep a canister of salt handy for the reading, but the other reminiscenses leaven this source's tales.
Given my affection for Robert Walker (Jones' first husband) and the way their marriage ended, I have to admit that I approached this book with a chip on my shoulder. I was predisposed to dislike Jennifer Jones, but now I have a somewhat different feeling about her.
I used to think that Jennifer Jones "traded up" when she dumped Robert Walker (who loved her deeply and, according to friends she loved very much) and set her cap for David O. Selznick. After reading this biography, I don't think that's the case. Things just sort of seemed to "happen to" Jennifer. I suspect that Selznick, this all-consuming whirlwind of ego and energy, decided that he would have her, and that was the end of it. He handicapped her career more than he helped it, by alienating her directors with his voluminous memos and grandiose ideas. My feeling on this is borne out by Walker's reaction to the end of his marriage, in that he remained resolutely silent on Jennifer, but had a great deal of animosity toward Selznick.
Unfortunately, the Portrait of Jennifer is laid out in a way that sometimes makes understanding what happened in her life difficult. For instance, when discussing Norton Simon, who was to become her third husband, it is mentioned that he had a good marriage which began in 1932, and that his wife was an excellent complement and partner to him. Then suddenly he has met and married Jennifer Jones. What happened to the first Mrs. Simon? Did she die? Were they divorced (due to his involvement with Jones or, if there was a divorce, did that pre-date his meeting Jones?) It isn't until many pages later that a one-sentence reference is made to Simon's 1970 divorce, with no explanation as to whether Jennifer was the reason. I shouldn't have to finish a book and then go do further research to figure out the rest of the story.
There are other problems with the storytelling here. The depiction of the death of Robert Walker (who is depicted as a "problem child" throughout the narrative) is nothing short of ludicrous when the various theories as to how it happened are discussed. It is suggested that perhaps he was killed at the behest of one or two people he had upset in his lifetime. This is when the book drops into tabloid territory, and it's a shame. It's been made fairly clear that he was given a drug that someone who has been drinking should never be given without supportive oxygen, and it stopped his heart. There's nothing mysterious about it; it's only heartbreakingly sad, and there's no need to try to jazz it up.
The feeling I took from Portrait of Jennifer is that, with the exception of Robert Walker, she didn't set her sights on her husbands but was overwhelmed and absorbed by them. She was the object of Selznick's devotion and obsession, and she rarely countermanded his decrees. Then when she married Norton Simon, his passions became hers, whether she expressed any interest in these pursuits previously or not. I don't know that it's the kind of life I would want to lead, but it seemed to (mostly) work, barring some incredibly tragic pitfalls along the way.
Given my affection for Robert Walker (Jones' first husband) and the way their marriage ended, I have to admit that I approached this book with a chip on my shoulder. I was predisposed to dislike Jennifer Jones, but now I have a somewhat different feeling about her.
I used to think that Jennifer Jones "traded up" when she dumped Robert Walker (who loved her deeply and, according to friends she loved very much) and set her cap for David O. Selznick. After reading this biography, I don't think that's the case. Things just sort of seemed to "happen to" Jennifer. I suspect that Selznick, this all-consuming whirlwind of ego and energy, decided that he would have her, and that was the end of it. He handicapped her career more than he helped it, by alienating her directors with his voluminous memos and grandiose ideas. My feeling on this is borne out by Walker's reaction to the end of his marriage, in that he remained resolutely silent on Jennifer, but had a great deal of animosity toward Selznick.
Unfortunately, the Portrait of Jennifer is laid out in a way that sometimes makes understanding what happened in her life difficult. For instance, when discussing Norton Simon, who was to become her third husband, it is mentioned that he had a good marriage which began in 1932, and that his wife was an excellent complement and partner to him. Then suddenly he has met and married Jennifer Jones. What happened to the first Mrs. Simon? Did she die? Were they divorced (due to his involvement with Jones or, if there was a divorce, did that pre-date his meeting Jones?) It isn't until many pages later that a one-sentence reference is made to Simon's 1970 divorce, with no explanation as to whether Jennifer was the reason. I shouldn't have to finish a book and then go do further research to figure out the rest of the story.
There are other problems with the storytelling here. The depiction of the death of Robert Walker (who is depicted as a "problem child" throughout the narrative) is nothing short of ludicrous when the various theories as to how it happened are discussed. It is suggested that perhaps he was killed at the behest of one or two people he had upset in his lifetime. This is when the book drops into tabloid territory, and it's a shame. It's been made fairly clear that he was given a drug that someone who has been drinking should never be given without supportive oxygen, and it stopped his heart. There's nothing mysterious about it; it's only heartbreakingly sad, and there's no need to try to jazz it up.
The feeling I took from Portrait of Jennifer is that, with the exception of Robert Walker, she didn't set her sights on her husbands but was overwhelmed and absorbed by them. She was the object of Selznick's devotion and obsession, and she rarely countermanded his decrees. Then when she married Norton Simon, his passions became hers, whether she expressed any interest in these pursuits previously or not. I don't know that it's the kind of life I would want to lead, but it seemed to (mostly) work, barring some incredibly tragic pitfalls along the way.
October 31, 2024
Epstein probably thought he was writing a moving book by weaving countless “wise old proverbs” into his corny and optimistic analysis of Jennifer Jones film career.
Through the first couple of chapters in “Portrait of a Jennifer” you’ll quickly find out that Epstein is no scholar. The pages are littered with an unbelievable amount of beige idioms that have no place in a historical work. This book resurfaced confusion in me that I hadn’t felt since my BA program in English when I was grading freshman papers. So I would compare Epstein’s vocabulary here with that of a freshman who’s trying too hard to sound intelligent without attempting to absorb/use feedback from faculty.
It’s actually not difficult to understand how Epstein was able to publish such a mediocre book under a big name like Simon & Schuster. In the early 90’s when this book was being written, home video companies like MGM/UA and Fox Home Entertainment were steadily reaching into their libraries to release classic titles on VHS to meet the mammoth home video demand for “golden age” films. Subsequently there was also a demand for books about this era and Epstein was the only one writing about Jennifer Jones.
Well, after these condemning words about Epstein and his book, the only positive aspect I can think of is that there are at least valuable quotes from relevant acquaintances of Jones that are used appropriately.
Through the first couple of chapters in “Portrait of a Jennifer” you’ll quickly find out that Epstein is no scholar. The pages are littered with an unbelievable amount of beige idioms that have no place in a historical work. This book resurfaced confusion in me that I hadn’t felt since my BA program in English when I was grading freshman papers. So I would compare Epstein’s vocabulary here with that of a freshman who’s trying too hard to sound intelligent without attempting to absorb/use feedback from faculty.
It’s actually not difficult to understand how Epstein was able to publish such a mediocre book under a big name like Simon & Schuster. In the early 90’s when this book was being written, home video companies like MGM/UA and Fox Home Entertainment were steadily reaching into their libraries to release classic titles on VHS to meet the mammoth home video demand for “golden age” films. Subsequently there was also a demand for books about this era and Epstein was the only one writing about Jennifer Jones.
Well, after these condemning words about Epstein and his book, the only positive aspect I can think of is that there are at least valuable quotes from relevant acquaintances of Jones that are used appropriately.
February 5, 2020
Interesting to read about her life including her troubled marriage to Robert Walker and David Selznick, who was brilliant but also a little possessed and nuts! We also learned a lot about many other actresses and actors of their day. Made for a quick a interesting read.
August 29, 2013
Jennifer Jones is not the greatest actress that ever lived but she was pretty good. She made a lot of really good films that I enjoyed. And she was married for many years to David O Selznik, who was arguably the greatest film producer that ever lived but also something of a maniac. It was interesting to see how her films were made and of course the old --- what films she decided not to make. My type of light summer reading.
March 10, 2008
I had to read this, since I was named after Jennifer Jones. I only wish that Jennifer herself had agreed to speak with the author.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews