Author: Kendra

books lists the oliviers

Book Recommendations

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People frequently leave comments on the Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier Facebook page asking what the best Vivien Leigh biographies are.  Which books books should they read to learn more about the actress?  What do I think of a certain book?

The Oliviers’ fame spanned different mediums: film, theatre, television, photography, and there are many books besides standard biographies that contain interesting information and amazing pictures.  I thought it would be useful to make a post about the Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier books that I personally think are tops.  I’ve separated the list into categories and provided links to where you can purchase your own copy.  If you would like to see a list of all of the books that were used in the making of vivandlarry.com, check out the resources page.

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london photography vivien leigh

Destination: Eaton Square

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I met up with my friend Riikka today for lunch in Leicester Square. Our plan was to go see the High Society exhibit at the Wellcome Collection. But first, we decided to take a little detour to Eaton Square to snap some photos! This time, we didn’t even have to ask to go in the garden. The nice security guard asked if we wanted to go in and snap some photos. I think the people that patrol the area are a lot more friendly than the people who actually live there.

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Cinema History: That Hamilton Woman

academia classic film essays

Cinema History: That Hamilton Woman

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One thing I love about grad school is that we can choose our own research topics for class papers. Last semester, I wrote about two Laurence Olivier films: That Hamilton Woman (for my Heritage Film class) and Hamlet (for my British Cinema class).  I mentioned them a few times at the vivandlarry.com facebook page while I was holed up in my room after Christmas trying to get them done by the deadline, and a few people expressed interest in reading them after they were finished. I was only willing to share if I got good marks on them, and luckily they both received distinctions (phew). So, without further adieu, a discussion of propaganda, performance, and heritage in Alexander Korda’s wartime propaganda film That Hamilton Woman.

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