Includes filmography (pages 262-276), bibliographical references (pages 277-278), and index.

Introduction by Garson Kanin.

The daughter of romantic idol John Gilbert offers a sympathetic, largely candid biography--which blames his downfall on a conspiracy of sabotage masterminded by MGM's Louis B. Mayer. Fountain sketches in Gilbert's early years; his storybook climb from teenage poverty to beginnings, as a gawky extra, in the silents; his rocky marriage to Fountain's mother, actress Leatrice Joy, who was the bigger draw at the start. Then comes Gilbert's mid-1920s burst of superstardom--from Elinor Glyn's "His Hour" through "The Merry Widow," "The Big Parade," "Flesh and the Devil," and "Love." The last two co-starred Greta Garbo, and the couple were widely believed to be madly in love. As his career began to decline, despite his own keen efforts to avoid "Great Lover" stereotype roles, Gilbert became depressed, increasingly alcoholic, and mortally ill, dying from heart disease at 36. While not omitting the boozing and womanizing, Fountain sees her father (who died when she was eleven) in soft focus: a naif, a victim, a serious film-artist, an "uncomplicated, nice-guy romantic." Filled with first-person testimony from many Tinseltown old-timers (including Fountain's mother) this biography is strong on warmth and nostalgia.

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