In Michael Caine's autobiography From Elephant to Hollywood, he covers the second half of a career he thought had ended. There was a lull where the good scripts weren't being offered and he realized he would be playing the father rather than the lead. Since he thought his career was over, he wrapped it up with the first autobiography What's It All About? in 1993. I'm happy to say that was a lull that soon blossomed again into a terrific career.
Born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite in the Elephant and Castle district of London, his first few jobs on stage led him to some of the iconic British films of the 60's and 70's such as The Ipcress File, Gambit, and Alfie, The Italian Job and The Man Who Would Be King, right up to Dressed To Kill, Educating Rita and Hannah and Her Sisters - the last two earning an Oscar nomination and a win. I had forgotten he was in so many great movies - 115 films so far.
It was the flops I most remember him for though - I'm a fan of those as well! - and unlike many autobiographies, he doesn't skim over or forget to mention these. Movies like The Hand (directed by Oliver Stone about a maniacal severed hand), Irwin Allen's The Swarm (of killer bees), Peter Benchley's The Island, Deathtrap and Beyond The Poseidon Adventure. He even warns us off Ashanti (which wasn't to bad). Many of the flops (such as Jaws 4 The Revenge) ended up paying for beautiful houses with Shakira, his wife of over 40 years.
After a run of turkeys, the tide changed and he was cast in some of our current blockbusters such as Miss Congeniality, Austin Powers in Goldmember, Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, Inception and the fantastic science fiction film Interstellar, proving himself one of our greatest actors. My opinion was that he always played himself, a Michael Caine type, but he claims never to have played a character like he really is.
I loved the book for its open hearted charm. I was laughing at his stories from the first few pages and was impressed he showed off his flaws rather than glossing it over with his successes. The first half of the book he talks about his arrival in Hollywood (when Bing Crosby would shop at the local hardware store), leading to many celebrity anecdotes told with the bright eyes of a fan relating a secret inside story. The second half was more about family and personal stories and very well written. "- and it's not over yet." He continues to work with the top actors in film for the love of it.
It was a charming surprise and a really enjoyable autobiography, flops and all. Not one I would have sought out, but I am very happy I did.
2010 / Hardcover / 302 pages
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