One comes to the end of this fine biography realizing that Maureen Paula O'Sullivan was one of the solid
actresses of Hollywood in her early days as one of the more popular ingenues at MGM in the 1930's. She continued to work into the
early 1940's when the war intervened, and she made fewer pictures while her husband, John Farrow, was in the conflict. However, she
did make two interesting Tarzan flicks -- Tarzan's Secret Treasure (1941) and Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942) which was her 6th
and last pairing with Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan.
Maureen O'Sullivan seems to have been one of those unique
personalities who was always positive in her relationships with people and with her work. She never thought too highly of herself
even while being one of the top Hollywood stars of the 1930's. O'Sullivan indeed had that bright, cheerful attitude that comes across
so well in her pictures, and it served her well as a successful actress and as a mother of seven children with her famous, movie director
husband, John Farrow. She was simply a wonderful human being with loads of talent and personality who was a favorite both at the studio
and with her adoring fans who remember her fondly to the present day.
At times, it seems that Maureen O'Sullivan
went from role to role with ease, yet her life was not entirely a bed of roses. Fury lifts the veil on her marriage just a little
when he mentions John Farrow's infamous philandering and his temper with the children. Farrow was known as a tough director and was
not liked by some of his actors. Perhaps more could be told, but this biography is neither a psychological study nor a revelation
of gossip, so that part of the tale remains to be told with more detail. One may find another side of the story in daughter Mia Farrow's
autobiography "What Falls Away" (1977). Maureen and John separated after the death of their oldest son in a plane crash. By this time,
he was a hopeless alcoholic with his director's career in ruins, supported from a distance by his wife, who had a successful career
on the stage on Broadway. After Farrow's death, Maureen lived on in her large apartment in NYC, doing stage plays and television shows,
the actress to the last.
As mentioned above, this biography is filled with a wonderful sense of nostalgia,
and Fury goes a long ways to show that it is truly America's nostalgia as well. The Tarzan and Jane portrayed by Weissmuller and O'Sullivan
is a true American treasure of the films and will remain as an image of simpler times that we all long for in these later days.
O'Sullivan's story reveals a wonderful, courageous woman we can admire still. "No Average Jane" indeed, Maureen O'Sullivan lived and
died strong and true as we might expect from the wife of Tarzan. Fury shows us that she was much more than this single role, and the
journey through this fine biography is worth taking by everyone wishing to know this lovely person better. Like everyone who knew
her, you are sure fall in love with her life-long example of courage and charm.
A handsome 6x9.5 inch hardcover
in a suitable Irish green with bright gold lettering. The dust jacket contains photographs of Maureen both front and back and on the
spine. The font is eminently readable, but the real bargain are the over 200 excellent photographs printed on glossy paper. All in
all, a brilliant addition to your private library be you Tarzan fan or no. Artist's Press delivers a book of the highest bibliographical
standards: Smythe Sewn case: 60# acid-free paper: delight in ownership.
