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Good Night Sweet Prince: The Life and Times of John Barrymore
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Plot Summary of Good Night Sweet Prince: The Life and Times of John Barrymore
"    Gene Fowler and actor John Barrymore were close friends. This biography of Barrymore was written in an era where private lives of celebrities were not seen as tabloid fodder and in which an author could concentrate on the important aspects of an artist's journey rather than scandal and sensationalism. Gene Fowler paints a portrait of Barrymore not as a wild, womanizing alcoholic who just happened to be an actor, but as an artist of real talent and significance whose life was by turns sad, funny, and tragic.
    Fowler first met John Barrymore in 1918, when he working as a reporter for "The New York American". From the 1920s through the 1940s, Fowler was one of the most famous journalists in America.
"

Nathaniel Ford, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Good Night Sweet Prince: The Life and Times of John Barrymore
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
job/profession: - actor/actress
Job/profession/poverty story Yes
Phys disability/mental struggle? Yes
Struggle with - alcohol
Story of entertainer? - Movie Drama Actor
Period of greatest activity? - 1900+

Subject of Biography
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - actor/actress/producer
Age: - 40's-50's
Eccentric/Mental Yes
Eccentric: - eccentric
Biography of famous person? Yes
Ethnicity - White
Nationality - American (!)
How sensitive is this person? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other people
Physique - average physique

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 5 (an average amount)
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast - California
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
Century: - 1900-1920's

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Book makes you feel? - thoughtful
Writer's slant towards subject: - very favorable
Story of entire life, or part? - story of nearly entire life
If this is a kid's book: - Age 16-Adult
Pictures/Illustrations? - None
How much dialogue in bio? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life? - 26-50% of book
Most similar books to Good Night Sweet Prince: The Life and Times of John Barrymore
On Reflection: An Autobiography by Helen Hayes
There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale by Sean Astin
Robert Mitchum: Baby I Don't Care by Lee Server
Elizabeth by J. Randy Taraborrelli
Ava Gardner Love Is Nothing by Lee Server


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Gene Fowler Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Nathaniel Ford  

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