Brando: A Life in Our Times - Hardcover

Brando is a well-researched companion to the career of one of Hollywood's most enduring legends. Although there are more-detailed biographies available (Marlon Brando by David Shipman) and a far more personal account (The Autobiography Songs My Mother Taught Me by Brando himself) Schickel's contribution to Brando lore certainly has its own merits. The biggest of these is the large format of this new edition, providing ample space for a treasury of photographs which together constitute a remarkable pictorial record of the actor's screen career.

With photos peppered throughout the main text, the volume looks appealing--indeed its simplicity invites the reader further into the story of this man's life. The writer, we can surmise, is a fan, but luckily not a fawning one. The text centres primarily on Brando's career, and while Schickel draws on his previous experience as a film critic, he does not over-intellectualise. Instead, his prose is accessible--a dry wit presides over proceedings and is never far from the surface; and the reader is presented with the beginnings of a well-argued insight into how the hidden mind of Brando might work.

Of course, the life of Marlon Brando will continue to spawn new theories about his motivation and career, and it would certainly be a weighty biography which included them all. Instead, Brando balances its beautiful images and informative text with care, rendering Richard Schickel's effort a fine selection for anyone seeking an introduction to this most elusive of actors. --Helen Lamont