The Fox Girls

Part of the Encore Film Book Classics series, this is a reprint of the original text to The Fox Girls by James Robert Parish. One of Hollywood's oldest major studios is Twentieth Century-Fox, which began as Fox Film Corporation in 1915 in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Two years later studio head William Fox inaugurated a West Coast movie lot in Los Angeles. By 1935, in the midst of the Great Depression, the then financially-plagued film company had merged with Twentieth Century Pictures. The new entity was Twentieth Century-Fox under the leadership of industry veteran Darryl F. Zanuck who was a genius star-maker. Through various corporate changes during the twentieth century, the studio relied heavily on a series of sparkling leading ladies to attract filmgoers to its pictures. These vibrant actresses gave the studio its own distinctive quality over the decades. The Fox Girls spotlights 16 of the most striking and celebrated of the studio's notable leading ladies over the many years. The stunning lineup includes-in alphabetical order: THEDA BARA-the celluloid vamp famous for her catchphrase 'Kiss Me, My Fool!"; ANNE BAXTER-the one-girl stock company; JEANNE CRAIN-the radiant girl next door; LINDA DARNELL-the china-doll beauty; ALICE FAYE-the singing-and-dancing belle of the ball; JANET GAYNOR-the spunky waif; BETTY GRABLE-the pinup queen with All-American apple pie looks; JUNE HAVER-the song-and-dance colleen; SONJA HENIE-the Norwegian ballerina on ice; CARMEN MIRANDA-the Brazilian bombshell; MARILYN MONROE-the world's most provocative dumb blonde; SHEREE NORTH-the brassy showgirl; SHIRLEY TEMPLE-the dimpled child wonder; GENE TIERNEY-the lady aristocrat; RAQUEL WELCH-the love goddess of the 1970s; and LORETTA YOUNG-the girl who knew what she wanted. Detailed filmographies and incisive biographies of these distinctive big-screen personalities make The Fox Girls a unique volume-actually 16 books in one. This study of an enduring Hollywood film studio is also a mirror of the changing styles and tastes in American film entertainment. This then is The Fox Girls!