Bring on the Empty Horses, by David Niven (1975)

This book has been a source of enjoyment to me the several times I've re-read it after first reading it back when it was new.

Bring on the Empty Horses is a personal memoir of the golden years of Hollywood c. 1930 - 1959 by actor David Niven who also proves he is no mean author with some marvelous anecdotes and stories that establish him as a raconteur of the first order.

The big stars like Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, John Barrymore, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Vivien Leigh, Greta Garbo, Laurence Olivier, Marlene Dietrich, Humphrey Bogart are all mentioned; as well as the film directors and producers like Samuel Goldwyn, John Huston, Michael Curtiz, William Wellman, and all the other inhabitants that made Hollywood the magical place it was - while gossip columnists Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper put the fear into many personalities with their "items" publicized in the popular press.

The title is derived from Director Michael Curtiz's broken English as recorded by Niven who said during the filming of Charge of the Light Brigade at the point when the wranglers were to release the riderless horses to indicate the carnage that had just been visited upon the 10,000 charging cavalrymen Curtiz raised up his megaphone and shouted "Bring on the empty horses!" delighting all who heard it.

Niven is always a gentleman in his disclosures and never does he make anybody look bad, he just shows the humor that was always lurking in just about any situation for anybody who was willing to look below the surface.  Bring on the Empty Horses is a chronicle of an insider's view into the movie bidness during the time when it was at its most fascinating with stars like you don't see any more.  Once in a while the disclosure is pathetic but more often it is humorous and you'll find yourself chuckling or even laughing out loud.

If you are a film buff, David Niven's book will give you lots of ammunition for your cocktail party conversations with your fellow film fans.  I personally like the 1930 - 59 era the best and strive to see all the films that I can. Typically they are better than the later stuff by a large margin. Niven stated that the studios had name writers under contract to provide scripts for all their projects. With a good script, anybody can look good and I think he was right.

My copy is hard cover, 369 pages in length, and published by Putnam.

Another Hollywood memoir I recommend is Errol Flynn's My Wicked Wicked Ways

Recommended: Yes