cover image Fast Fade

Fast Fade

Andrew Yule. Delacorte Press, $19.95 (376pp) ISBN 978-0-440-50177-0

This biography of the Briton who produced Midnight Express and Chariots of Fire falls into two sharply divided sections: the first details David Puttnam's rise to the top of England's movie industry amid feelings that he was the hope of his nation's flagging film business, while the second describes his year as the head of Columbia Pictures in Hollywood and the disaster which overtook him there. British journalist Yule ( Hollywood-a-Go-Go ) traces his subject's struggle to make quality pictures in his early years, pictures based principally on moral dilemmas, and his success in breaking new cinematic ground. This portion of the book should appeal to most readers. The second segment, however, relating the corporate maneuvering that ousted Puttnam one year into a three-year contract will be of little interest to anyone not a film-biz insider. Photos not seen by PW. (Jan.)