December 31, 2025

You didn’t ask for it, but you’ve got it: the ten new books about Old Hollywood that I read, and in all but one case reviewed, in 2025. I’ve listed the books below, with reviews linked, in the order in which I read (versus loved) them.

It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time by Bruce Vilanch

The World of Nancy Kwan: A Memoir by Hollywood’s Asian Superstar by Nancy Kwan with Deborah Davis

And Introducing Dexter Gaines: A Novel of Old Hollywood by Mark B. Perry

Sick and Dirty: Hollywood’s Gay Golden Age and the Making of Modern Queerness by Michael Koresky

Bogart and Huston: Their Lives, Their Adventures, and the Classic Movies They Made Together by Nat Segaloff

Hitchcock and Herrmann: The Friendship and Film Scores That Changed Cinema by Steven C. Smith

The Lasts Spirits of Manhattan by John A. McDermott

Love Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan’s Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend by Mark Malkoff with David Ritz

Joan Crawford: A Woman’s Face by Scott Eyman

Dark City Dames: The Women Who Defined Film Noir (revised and expanded edition) by Eddie Muller