A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World: A Life in Hollywood

Kramer was born in 1913 and grew up in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen. After graduating from New York University, he went to work in Hollywood, then continued his film training in the army during WWII. After the war he produced his first movie, So This Is New York, which was an abysmal failure. He fared better with his next production, Champion (starring Kirk Douglas). Over the years Kramer produced 35 films and received 85 Academy Award nominations. He tells of collaborating with Marlon Brando on his first picture, The Men, and being hired by Columbia's infamous Harry Cohn (""vulgar, domineering, semiliterate, ruthless, boorish, and some might say malevolent""), at whose studio he had failures and one big hit, The Caine Mutiny, starring Humphrey Bogart (""a very painstaking actor"") in 1954. As an independent producer, Kramer was involved in such films as The Pride and the Passion (he tells us that Sophia Loren loathed Frank Sinatra), On the Beach and The Defiant Ones. He has a deep affection for Spencer Tracy and recalls directing him in Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? Kramer also informs us that he made socially conscious movies because his moral imperative demanded it, films which although well received critically were box-office bombs. Kramer, along with freelance writer Coffey, has written a biography that the film buff will find instructive and the casual fan will enjoy for its gossip. Photos not seen by PW. Major ad/promo; author tour. (Aug.)