Book Review: Becoming Carole Lombard: Stardom, Comedy, and Legacy

In one of the most insightful books on a Hollywood star, Olympia Kiriakou’s Becoming Carole Lombard: Stardom, Comedy, and Legacy (Bloomsbury Academic) examines the actress’s work as per its historical, aesthetic, and cultural significance.

This reviewer’s first encounter with Carole Lombard was a revival showing of Robert Youngson’s 1958 anthology film The Golden Age of Comedy during the 1960s. Amidst the frantic Keystone slapstick and the reciprocal destruction of Laurel and Hardy, there was a milder, quainter short about a pretty Carole Lombard winning a big foot race so effortlessly, she powders her face en route. This scene featured none of the broad double-takes, bulging eyes, or florid gestures of the anthologized comedies. People had been yucking it up at the wild slapstick, but when Ms. Lombard’s scene came on, everyone applauded in recognition and also applauded as the segment ended.

In most books about Carole Lombard, her years in these slapstick silent comedies for the likes of Mack Sennett are breezed past as mere stepping stones to the more noted films in her career. Kiriakou instead gives real attention to this period and discusses elements of these training ground performances that became helpful in her later comedies like the timeless classics My Man Godfrey, Nothing Sacred, and Twentieth Century. This is important in that is displays how Kirkakou takes all of Lombard's films seriously, and does not gloss over those that have not withstood the test of time. Known for screwball comedy due to starring in the aforementioned, Lombard was also a fine dramatic actress; a talent that was especially on display in the noted classic Made For Each Other. In her final film, the Ernst Lubitsch-directed To Be or Not To. Be, Carole stands out even when essentially playing straight to the film's star, comedian Jack Benny. As the author explores each film in the evolution of Carole Lombard's work as an actress, she makes real sense as to the various roles Carole played, the choices she made, the opportunities, and the misfires. The learning experience for the reader is vast.

When doing a scholarly study on an artist’s work, it is easy for an author to topple into dull academia, but Kiriakou keeps her study interesting and entertaining while also being enlightening and informative. We learn about the importance of Lombard as a central figure in the realm of classic Hollywood cinema, and get a real insight for each of her movies. It is a fine literary study, and is most highly recommended for libraries, research centers, and fans of movie history.

The book is available at this link: Becoming Carole Lombard