Fredric March

A Consummate Actor

By: Charles Tranberg

Narrated by: Robert Armin

Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Fredric March (1897-1975) was one of the most dynamic and versatile actors of his time. On the screen, he created memorable performances in such classic films as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Death Takes a Holiday, Les Miserables, A Star Is Born, Nothing Sacred, One Foot in Heaven, The Adventures of Mark Twain, The Best Years of Our Lives, Death of a Salesman, and Inherit the Wind.

Along the way, he was nominated five times for an Academy Award and won the coveted statuette twice. He had an equally distinguished career as a stage actor - appearing in such acclaimed Broadway productions as The Skin of Our Teeth and Long Day's Journey Into Night - winning two Tony Awards - including the very first presented to an actor. Despite this great record of success, Fredric March isn't as well remembered today as some of his peers (Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, James Stewart) because unlike them, he never developed a recognizable screen persona that followed him from film to film.

He was always characterizing - always hiding his own personality behind that of the character he was portraying. He was the consummate actor who richly deserves to be rediscovered.

©2013 Charles Tranberg (P)2014 BearManor Media

Ruined by Narrator

Well-written, interesting, detailed account of the life of Fredric March, a man considered by many to have been one of the greatest stage & screen actors of the 20th Century. Much is also naturally included about his lo g-time wife and frequent costar, Florence Eldridge, as well as tales of the stars & atmosphere of Hollywood and Broadway through the years.

While the author does seem to be an admirer of March, generally, it's not particularly sycophantic. March's disappointing lechery is discussed, though not criticised from the viewpoint of its effect on the women who were no match for March in the power dynamics. (Though Florence was not exactly thrilled by this habit of Freddie, she accepted it as one of his few major flaws.)

Unfortunately, the narrator was, at best, distracting, with some very odd & irritating vocal habits & characteristics. In general, his voice sounds like that of a cartoon character.

There are also some strange pronunciations and the occasional weirdly elongated resonance on a single word.

When he changes his voice slightly to try to imitate March or other characters, the effect is poor, often laughably so. Listen to his John F. Kennedy for a good illustration of this.

Also, though I can't know for sure (not having access to a print copy), there are grammatical mistakes in the narration that I suspect are the fault of the reader rather than the author.

For instance, what I call the "redundant' of'" error, wherein instead of either of these two correct (in contemporary English) forms--"the job of which they were tired," OR 'the job they were tired of," the incorrect "the job OF which they were tired OF," is heard.

I wish I'd read this book myself instead of listening to this version.