Competing with Idiots

(Hardback)

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In 1926, Herman Mankiewicz, then an aspiring playwright in New York, decided to try his luck in Hollywood writing scenarios for silent movies. Later that year he cabled his friend Ben Hecht back on the east coast: 'MILLIONS ARE TO BE GRABBED OUT HERE AND YOUR ONLY COMPETITION IS IDIOTS STOP DON'T LET THIS GET AROUND ...' It was the start of Hollywood's Golden Age, and Herman, who would go on to write CITIZEN KANE with Orson Welles, and his brother Joseph, who would write and direct ALL ABOUT EVE, were there to grab -- and lose -- many of those millions. Perhaps the most famous sibling rivalry in the history of the movies, these two moguls shaped the early history of Hollywood and left a legacy that still endures. But who were they And what was their world really like Brilliantly written by Herman's grandson Nick Davis, COMPETING WITH IDIOTS is an irresistible portrait of these two remarkable brothers and their achievements. Part memoir, part family saga, part cultural history, it assesses their masterpieces in the light of their rivalry and offers an unparalleled insight into Hollywood's heyday.