and I must say, this book gave me some bad dreams involving Susan. I know the book is harsh and
not at all flattering. I was reading it in the dressingroom during the fall show. Other performers thought she was a real beauty, but had no idea 'who' she was.

I agree with the message left, saying she wished that Susan had never done the film in Utah and maybe
she would still be with us. As Ginger knows, the shows I was doing this summer, was in the very place that THE CONQUERER was filmed...not just the city/town...but the desert where and canyon where it was filmed. It is a reminder of her, each time I would drive thru there and into the canyon where we were playing.

But...back to the book...and "thank you, Annie" for
helping me to get this book off e-bay...way back. I finally got to read it!

I think a lot of the info on this book was given by
Florence, so that could be why it is so cruel toward
Susan, as a person. But then I also have to remember
the Susan I met...and I know a lot of this is possibly the 'real woman' behind the star we love and watched on the screen.

There was little in this book that was kind toward her and I think if you're doing a book on someone that 'you' really didn't know....you should be a little more kind to who you are 'making a buck' on.

Not only was her life knocked...but so were most of her films. They only gave her credit for being an exeptional actress for two films...I'LL CRY TOMORROW
and...I WANT TO LIVE! I think that is a total loss for the two writers.

Would love to hear some comments on this...whether you have read the book or not...but if you have read it...let us all know what you think!

Errol

You really piqued my interest in the book "Red:The Tempetuous Life Of Susan Hayward"!! So I just ordered a paperback edition from Amazon.com for $1.37. I can't wait to read it! (If anyone else is interested, there are other paperback as well as hardcover editions available on amazon.com)

I'm glad you are going to read it! Please let me know what you think. Also I would be interested, when you get your copy, to find if they kept the many pics in the paperback, that is in the hardback
book. There were a lot of Florence and her daughter.
Then there is the very 'hard looking photo' of Susan
at the beginning of the book, which is based on what
she was really like, underneath the movie-star strutcure. It is the pic taken at the time she finds her mother has died and is on the set of I WANT TO LIVE!

This will not ruin the book for you, but will give you an idea of what you are in for, when reading this
book on her life. I think this book will haunt me and
my thoughts of Susan for the rest of my life. I just
wished that the twins would have given some comments on this writing. It would have helped immenseley.

Later...Errol

I first read "RED" when I was looking for a what was then a new biography on Rita Hayworth ("If this was Happiness," Real sad) in the library.
I really didn't know about Susan Hayward other than seeing her in Demetrius and the Gladiators and Say goodbye Maggie Cole. Red painted her as a passionate woman--that's what got me interested. Then I read "portrait of a survivor" and that's what got me hooked

I agree that Portrait of a Survivor was a great bio on her. Beverly Linet did a great service to her. In
RED...you get a few more facts on things that Linet
only skimmed over...but I feel it might have been better 'not knowing' some of those facts that were brought out in RED. I learned a lot more about the way she acteed around the cast of MAME...also there is a lot more about 'how' she met KATHERINE HEPBURN
and 'how' that friendship continued. Oh...there are a
lot of 'good things' in RED...but it also paints Susan out to not be a very nice person...Even Susan,
herself, saying she had never been a 'nice person'...
But then I go back to what I first said...I think a
lot of RED was from Florence and others who wanted to
put her down a lot! I wonder if the writer's of this book, really liked her...or were they showing her as a bad person...to make a buck?

Errol

I received my paperback copy of "Red" today. Unfortunately, it only has two photos. A young pretty one, on the cover, & the hard, angst-ridden photo inside the front cover. (I'm disappointed!)

Blooeyz....Well..by now you have probally gotten into the book and are aware of the 'tough' pic and how much it has to to with this telling of Susan's life. I knew that photo would have to be there, since
it is the pic that 'they say' she carried with her from then and on....as a look of 'who she really was'. THAT is disappoionting to me!

I'm sorry there were not the many pics in the paperback...that were in the hardback book. Many pics
that went along with the story.

One that I still see, vividly, is a snapshot of Florence in the foreground, as the focal point of the pic...and Susan sitting in the background..a somber look on her face. "still watching" but not part of mama and sis' love.

Errol
The book still haunts me!!

I'm still reading "Red" & enjoying it. To me, it seems Susan had a hard time distinguishing reality from movie making. It's as if she thought the cameras were rolling 24/7. The knock out, drag out fight(s) with Jess Barker, attempted suicide, melodramatic breakdown at Eaton's grave, excessive boozing (very Angie Evans/Eloise Winters), her treatment of Celeste Holm at her farewell party for "Mame" (very Helen Lawson), etc. I also think it's laughable that they suggest a "romance" between her & Ron Nelson (I saw him on her A&E Bio & I doubt that very much).