Thalberg: The Last Tycoon and the World of M-G-M

In an editorial appearing shortly after his death in 1936 at age 37, the New York Times called Irving Thalberg ``the most important factor'' in the motion picture industry. He became head of Universal Studio at 20 and MGM's production chief three years later, supervising more than 400 movies. Archetype of the creative producer, Thalberg brought a new sense of style and glamour to the screen during Hollywood's golden era. This is the first full-dress biography of the legendary producer, revealing the scope of his involvement in such movies as Mutiny on the Bounty , A Night at the Opera , Camille , Grand Hotel and Ben-Hur. Flamini describes Thalberg's complex relationship with his MGM partner Louis B. Mayer, his battles over censorship with the Hays office and his attempt to turn his wife, Norma Shearer, into the first lady of the screen. Flamini ( Scarlett, Rhett, and a Cast of Thousands ) makes good use of Universal and MGM archives and interviews with Thalberg's friends and collaborators to get a firm grip on this elusive, enigmatic figure. And he makes short work of F. Scott Fitzgerald's portrait of Hollywood's boy wonder in The Last Tycoon , which Flamini calls the novelist's fantasy of himself as Thalberg. Photos. (Mar.)