Brando's Smile: His Life, Thought, and Work

Mizruchi, a professor of English at Boston University, leaves no stone unturned in this cohesive biography of Marlon Brando. Brimming with colorful anecdotes and details, the biography dissects Brando's life and creative process, from his Omaha, Neb., roots and his acting schooling with Stella Adler and fellow student Elia Kazan, to stage roles such as Stanley Kowalski in Streetcar Named Desire and star turns in canonical films such as The Godfather, Last Tango in Paris, and Apocalypse Now. Mizruchi's academic portrait of the great actor who "slept every day until noon" and "buried himself in books" is at once microscopic and sweeping, intimately focused on unpacking his work role by role. A major part of her project is to overturn the "dismissal" of Brando's work in the 1960s, especially One-Eyed Jacks. Mizruchi also explores the actor's devotion to the cause of Native American rights, which "had roots in the history of his family in the state of Nebraska." This is a wonderfully cohesive work about Brando, both as an actor and a man. (July)