A Special Kind of Magic

[dreamer]

A Special Kind of Magic by Roy Newquist

Interviews with Stanley Kramer, Sydney Poitier, Katharine Houghton and of course Spencer and Kate.

Sounds very interesting – have some of you read it / or can recommend it?

[Judy]

dreamer said:

A Special Kind of Magic by Roy Newquist

Interviews with Stanley Kramer, Sydney Poitier, Katharine Houghton and of course Spencer and Kate.

Sounds very interesting – have some of you read it / or can recommend it?

In a word: Yes. The author wrote a magazine article on the set of GWCTD and expanded it to book form. It may read differently now because since it was published, Kate gave quite a few interviews and most of you are probably used to hearing/reading them. But when THIS book came out, I don't remember the exact date (I'm at work and can't grab it from my bookshelf), but I was probably somewhere between 14 and 17 years old. GWCTD was a real media event because of the fact that it was another Tracy/Hepburn film - in addition, of course, to the subject matter.

But chiefly, the buzz was all about T&H. And so much promotion was done for the film, including the magazine article from whence came this book. This was sort of unprecedented for her and certainly more so for him. I didn't know about the book when it was first published but found it a couple of years later in a used bookstore in Berkeley, Calif., while visiting my sister who was at school there. I remember climbing through the stacks looking for movie books - I was then immersing myself in everything old Hollywood - just like you all are now. And I can still remember how excited I was to find this. I'd never heard of it before - and with Garson Kanin's book so recently published and Kate all of a sudden making movies again, she was very much in vogue again but still not giving all that many interviews (this was before the Cavett show). So it was a treat to find it.

But enough about me....The book is a series of individual interviews with each of the principals. Kate's interview is, natch, the longest - cause that woman could talk. The unique aspect of the book is that it also, of course, includes a Spencer interview, which was rarer than rare. We've heard much of the stuff discussed since then, so it may be old news to some of you. But back then it was like finding gold for a Kate fan like me. And still quite worth owning.

Anyway, even if there was no type on the pages, the book is worth it just to have a book on your shelves with that sensational photo. So if you can find it at a reasonable price, my advice would be to buy it. It's a must have for anyone interested in her/them.

Judy

[dreamer]

Thank you Judy, what a lovely story - I screwed my self - went for it and it is not for sale - it is in the Bill Douglas Library

billdouglas.ex.ac.uk/eve/index.asp

[Sherry]

HI Dreamer,
A Special Kind of Magic is a great book to have. log on to www.alibris.com

They sell new and used books -- you can find loads of copies of it there from various sellers at various prices.
Good luck.
Sherry

[dreamer]

Hi Sherry - thank you ;D

have ordered it at our Library - as we in Scandinavia have to pay extra taxes for import outside Europe.

[dreamer]

We only got one sample in our hole country and some nut had stolen it at the library - so don't get it

[CrazyForKate]

Just got it yesterday. What a lovely book. The Kate interview was terrific, as was ST's. Even though, as Judy said, most of it has been repeated later on, it doesn't matter. Very enjoyable. And you really notice how KH's mind works, all those random thoughts thrown together- lol.

The other three interviews were good also. You gotta love Sidney Poitier.

And how wonderful would it be to be Roy Newquist and interview them all!

[evelien]

I ordered this book a while ago and it finally arrived today. I've read some bits here and there and it looks really interesting. Thanks for recommending it.
And you're absolutely right, Judy, it's worth having for that beautiful cover.