Casting Couch
Film historian Karina Longworth could
have written a terrific book. Unfortunately she fails with “Seduction” on the
life of Howard Hughes and the many women he had relationships with in
Hollywood. I think she is a frustrated neo-Marxian Feminist academic (I repeat
myself) in that she uses such jargon as heteronormative, commodification and
patriarchy. Hughes’ directed three great movies “Hells Angels,” which
introduced the world to Jean Harlow, “Scarface” and “The Outlaw” where Jane Russell
showed off her physical attributes.
Longworth recounts Hughes’ affairs with
Katherine Hepburn, Ava Gardner, Bette Davis and Ginger Rogers among the many. Although
Hughes was certainly in a position of power, all of these relationships were
consensual. Hughes also had a retinue of people on his payroll who were
responsible for scouting “talent” for him. He certainly was an insatiable cad, but
he also was a romantic.
For example when he was courting
Katherine Hepburn he landed his biplane on golf course where she was practicing
on. Even the very wealthy and prominent Katherine Hepburn could not resist such
an entreaty. In fact Hepburn stood up to him like none of the others. Perhaps
it came from her strong ego reinforced by her patrician background.
Longworth discusses the movies made by
Hughes’ women and tries to find deep social significance in them. To me most of
those movies were entertainment and were not designed to enforce the mores of
the day on an unsuspecting public. If Longworth lightened up a bit, she could
have written a much better book.
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