Book Review - Burt Lancaster: An American Life - Buford

Published in 2000, this the last and best Burt Lancaster biography on the market. Its well written and covers Lancaster's pre-Hollywood life, films, and last years in adequate detail.  It gave me a whole new perspective on Burt Lancaster.

Burt Lancaster - The Good
Probably the best thing about Burt Lancaster, was that he loved to make movies. He started late at age 33, but he made up for it, shooting an incredible 53 films (not counting Cameos) between 1946-1975.  Unlike say, Brando or Bill Holden, Lancaster loved acting and worked constantly to get himself "Serious" parts and improve himself.  He could be "Hell on wheels" with his directors, but as shown by his relationship with Visconti, he really just wanted to work with talented people and make good movies.

And he was loyal to his friends. Lancaster found role for Nick Cravat, his circus partner, all through his life - and he showed the same loyalty to other old friends.  And while I dislike  his politics, he put his "money where his mouth was" by producing Left-wing movies and donating his time and money to causes he believed in.  And his strong beliefs had good side effects. He turned down both Ben Hur and Patton because of his politics.  He would've been  terrible in both roles!

Burt Lancaster - The Bad
Its the other side of the same coin. Acting-wise, his reach often exceeded his grasp - and he took roles that should have gone to better actors.  Cf: Spenser Tracy in Separate Tables or Frederick March in Come Back Little Sheba or pretty much anyone in Rose Tattoo.  At times, he comes off as an egomaniac.  For example, his one-sided rivalry with Brando. He campaigned for Brando's role in Streetcar, The Godfather and Last Tango -  and fortunately lost all three.

And of course, his drive for success, often resulted in hurt feelings and angry co-workers. Given his mediocre direction on "The Kentuckian"   and his mixed record as a producer, its unclear whether his desire for perfection was equaled by his talent. Larry Olivier provides an anecdote (not given in the book) of Lancaster telling him how to do a scene on Devil's Disciple.  Olivier took it in good humor, and asked Lancaster to "act it out for him" - which of course Burt couldn't do, and the matter was dropped.

Burt Lancaster - Surprising Facts

• Lancaster was an enormous Opera fan and, in 1970,  played the lead in a small LA Opera production. Evidently, his *real* dream was to become an Opera Director or Star. Yet, he never made a musical. 
• Not only did Lancaster break into movies at the relatively old age of 33, hut he'd spent the previous 12 years performing as an acrobat.
• Lancaster had plastic surgery in the 1960's to keep his youthful appearance.
• Lancaster didn't know how to swim or play Football.  He learned Football on Jim Thorpe and swimming in - you guessed it - The Swimmer. He never liked riding horses, and his Westerns are notable for his limited time on horseback.
• When John Wayne offered to do a movie with him, Lancaster thought it was funniest suggestion ever.