Bøker av John William Law

It was on Friday, May 6, 1988 that Bette Davis walked off the set of her last film Wicked Stepmother. Her exit for reported health reasons created a media stir when writer and director Larry Cohen decided to finish the film without her, using the footage he captured during her time on the set and rewriting the film to explain her absence. Davis blasted the film and its director, but when she died months after the film's release, Wicked Stepmother would become forever connected with the legendary star, marking her final big screen appearance. Wicked Becomes Her revisits the later years of Bette Davis' illustrious film career, including the collection of horror films that kept her in the public eye, but through the lens of her final film - Wicked Stepmother. Though Davis abandoned the film shortly after production began, the story behind the making of the film gives readers a new look at the person behind the star. By looking at her work on features like What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?; Hush, Hush ... Sweet Charlotte; Dead Ringer; The Nanny, Burnt Offerings and more, readers will discover the drive of a movie star, whose desire to remain active in her later years was so strong that she would justify a film for no other reason than the fact that her name was on the marquee as its star. Filled with photos and new details behind the production of some of her most beloved films, Wicked Becomes Her offers a new glimpse into the final years of one of the most iconic and successful actresses of the 20th Century.

It's an epic tale that spans more than 30 years. As the Cold War took hold at that dawn of the 1950s the U.S. government began a program to perfect the atom bomb. The Nevada Test Site would be the prime location for testing atomic weapons on U.S. soil. A key to the program was to reduce impact to the public by having the radioactive nuclear fallout drift "downwind" into sparsely-inhabited areas of Utah. Who Nuked The Duke? looks at the program through the camera lens and filming of the 1954 RKO epic The Conqueror. The John Wayne feature, from producer Howard Hughes, would be filmed inside the infamous Snow Canyon, "a key resevoir" of nuclear fallout. As the years ticked by cast and crew would succumb, one by one, to a host of cancers. Director Dick Powell, co-star Pedro Armendariz, leading lady Susan Hayward, co-star Agnes Moorehead, and ultimately John Wayne himself. Along with countless other cast and crew, they represent a microcosm of what happened in the Utah community where the movie was filmed. Taking an objective look back at the government program, the scientific facts behind the testing and its impact on the community, as well as the lives of the Hollywood stars, Who Nuked The Duke? offers a rare look inside movie history and the Atomic Energy program. This award-winning book was first published in 2014 and has been updated in 2023. Who Nuked The Duke? was an inspiration for the film documentary Conqueor: Hollywood Fallout.

Goddess and the Girl Next Door tells the story of the final days of Marilyn Monroe and how the making of "Something's Got to Give" would transition to Doris Day for the filming and release of her 1963 comedy "Move Over, Darling."

"Discover a collection of films, intended to be directed by the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, that were never completed. Many Hitchcock fans are unfamiliar with the stories behind these forgotten films that, at one time or another, were associated with Alfred Hitchcock as director."--Publisher's description.

Television has had a long long love affair with death. From Perry Mason to Dragnet, murder on the small screen has had us trapped with suspense on our living room couch. And even today with CSI, Law & Order and a host of shows focused on gruesome goings-on, we still can't get enough. Now, step back to the start of it all and rediscover some of the classic detectives and crime dramas of the last 50 years. From the early days of TV to the memorable shows of the 60s, 70s and 80s, Murder on the Boob Tube offers a glimpse behind the scenes of iconic shows like Columbo, Murder She Wrote, Charlie's Angels, Ironside, Mannix, Cannon, Barnaby Jones, Streets of San Francisco and countless others. With rare photos and behind-the-scenes tales readers will rediscover TV history and why we love death on the set.

Movie Star and the Mobster pieces together the details behind the volatile romance between Lana Turner and Johnny Stompanato and the circumstances surrounding his death in April 1958.

Who Nuked The Duke? looks at the program through the camera lense and filming of the 1954 RKO epic The Conqueror.

With the 50th anniversary of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? comes a new look behind the legendary film and Joan Crawford's foray into the horror genre that would make up the bulk of her later work. After the death of her husband Joan Crawford found herself in debt and needing to work. The success of Baby Jane would launch a series of films like Strait-Jacket, I Saw What You Did, Berserk and Trog. Now, take a look back at the final act of Joan Crawford's magnificent career and at the films and TV work most biographers skim over. Filled with photos and rare details from behind the screen, What Ever Happened to Mommie Dearest? offers a look at Joan Crawford's evolution from movie star to horror queen and literary monster and back to Hollywood icon.

Now, upon the 50th anniversary of the release of "Psycho," rediscover the hits and uncover new details behind the unfinished films and the struggles of Hollywood's most famous director, Alfred Hitchcock. Includes many rare photographs.