There is a whole genre of “celebrity” biography that focuses on the rich and famous, the influential, or the notorious, and within this category an entire sub-genre devoted to movie-stars and other Hol- lywood types. They can range from the sleazy and sensational to the more complex, hefty literary film studies, or historical biography— the latter varieties seeking to situate the biographical subjects in the social, cultural, or literary context of the times in which they lived, without sparing the gossip. This is what makes the literary and film biography of the British actor Victor McLaglen (1886-1959) so fas- cinating and appealing.
