cover image THE WAY IT'S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE: My Friendship with Marlon Brando

THE WAY IT'S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE: My Friendship with Marlon Brando

George Englund, . . Harper Entertainment, $25.95 (320pp) ISBN 978-0-06-078630-4

Englund, producer and director of Brando's film The Ugly American , was friends with the superstar for 48 years. While he explains how he and Brando bonded over their relationships with their fathers—Brando hated his, Englund didn't have one—readers don't get a complete picture of the actor. After decades of camaraderie, Englund, now 78, finally recognizes Brando's slide from artistic icon to biased old man. Alas, a chronologically confusing narrative, perfunctory condemnation of Brando's parents and agonizing enumeration of trivial details rules out any multilayered insight. Englund prefers to detail Brando's hobby of humiliating women. He also enjoys casting himself as the actor's co-conspirator, whether Brando is farting in elevators or hijacking rickshaws in Hong Kong. When not reveling in immature hijinks, Englund chats about films (though his experience of directing Brando gets scant attention). He rarely ponders his friend's acting style, but excels at observing the Brando family's dynamics, intelligently discussing the pathology of despair and destruction that arose after Brando's son, Christian, shot his sister Cheyenne's boyfriend, and Cheyenne committed suicide. Unfortunately, this perceptive detour is short-lived; Englund soon returns to mind-numbing transcripts of financial negotiations involving Brando's autobiography (which was never realized). This disappointing book puts the spotlight on Englund's ego, not on Brando's place in film history. Photos. (On sale Oct. 26)