Book Review: Anita Page: A Career Chronicle and Biography

Authors Allan R. Ellenberger and Robert Murdoch Paton have released, through McFarland and Co., publishers, a book length study of one of cinema’s most remarkable actresses. Anita Page’s long life and varied career is chronicled with detail and insight.

The first third of the book is a biography of Anita Page, offering information on her rise in cinema, the films that made her a star, her career triumphs and setbacks, and her relationships with other noted actors and filmmakers. This portion really helps us understand and appreciate Page the person, and provides a wealth of fascinating details. For instance, a chance meeting with Charlie Chaplin at a party resulted in his nearly casting her in his masterpiece City Lights, the master filmmaker calling her “perfect” for the role of the blind girl. Page was excited for the opportunity, which was unfortunately shot down by Louis B. Mayer, as she was under contract with MGM at the time and he refused to loan her out. On one hand, it is understandable in that Mayer didn’t want one of his top actresses – who had starred in the first sound film to win a Best Picture Oscar – to appear in a triumph that was not for the studio. Of course, this was a business decision on his part, so on a personal level, it is quite maddening. The biographical section that opens the book is filled with interesting information like this, as it makes it way from her childhood up to her death at age 98.

This book not only offers biographical information, the authors take us through Page’s motion picture career, going through it film-by-film with full credits, the plot synopsis, behind the scenes information, and an assessment of the film. For each title we get statistics, history, and comments on the movie’s aesthetic. While some entries are longer than others, each one gives us fascinating information, whether the film is a lasting classic or lost and forgotten. We are enlightened by the authors’ research regarding such films as While The City Sleeps, Our Dancing Daughters, Broadway Melody, Free and Easy, The Easiest Way, Reducing, and Prosperity, among others.

Along with nearly co-starring with Charlie Chaplin, Anita Page actually did co-star with Buster Keaton in two of his ill-fated MGM sound features – Free and Easy and Sidewalks of New York. Page found Keaton to be a comic genius on par with Chaplin and enjoyed conversing with him during lunch breaks on the set. While Keaton was unhappy with his limited creativity on these films, they were big hits at the box office.

Many might not realize Anita Page was Clark Gable’s first leading lady in the actor’s initial MGM film The Easiest Way. They might not be aware that the actress left movies in the mid 1930s, only to come back and still be active in the 1990s, and in straight-to-video releases into the 21st century, a couple of these released after her passing in 2008.

Capping all of this is the book's Foreword by her dear friend and caregiver Randal Malone, who offers an affectionate insight as to this truly remarkable woman.

Anita Page is one of the most important movie actresses of the 20s and 30s, and her life is filled with fascinating details, all of them neatly presented in this chronicle. The book, which is highly recommended, can be ordered at this link: Anita Page