“The only thing I’d known about Jamie before we met on ROADGAMES was that she’d been called the queen of scream, a title that Jamie absolutely hated.” – Stacy Keach
SYNOPSIS: A comprehensive look at the life of Jamie Lee Curtis, seen through the lens of her longtime involvement in and out of the Hollywood studio system. In specific, the book chronicles Curtis’ extensive involvement in the horror film genre, her longtime relationship with genre visionary John Carpenter, and what ultimately led her to become the definitive Scream Queen of her generation. Each chapter, with great detail, revisits the production history of a number of titles Curtis took part in, of course kicking off with HALLOWEEN and continuing all the way through her final horror film lead, HALLOWEEN II. From there, the film addresses Curtis’ post-Scream Queen career, and how her legacy has been firmly cemented over the following three decades or so.
REVIEW: David Grove’s extensive new tome JAMIE LEE CURTIS: SCREAM QUEEN (BUY IT HERE) is really quite a joy to read, especially if you’re a fan of A). Jamie Lee Curtis, and B). Fascinating production tales and memoirs from the sets of famed (and some not so famed) horror films. The book reads as both biography and behind-the-scenes recollection…and what really makes the experience so dynamic is the various voices you hear from throughout the book. Grove does a great job of letting the people closest to Jamie Lee, especially those she encountered on-set, speak of her with great insight. We also hear from Jamie Lee herself, and to bounce what she says off of what others say about her and her role in the film, is almost as revealing than any historical facts or insignificant minutia a typical biography may offer. It’s the constant interjection of people that keeps the pages turning…Grove never lingers too long on one particular subject (both literally and personally), thereby keeping his material fresh and flowing.
The book opens how you might imagine, with the beginning of Jamie Lee’s star-studded conception. We learn of her early life, in movies and out, and how difficult it must have been being the child of two mega movie-stars (Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis), especially given her genetic and confidence issues therein deficiencies (Curtis was born with grey teeth, and early on was never treated as a beautiful child to the stars). We then follow her early, fledgling career, right up to the malaise felt when losing the “Operation Petticoat” TV role. As often occurs, that blow actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise…because not long after, Curtis won what has now become one of the most iconic horror heroine roles of all time…that of Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN. Not only would this be a major turning point for Curtis’ professional career, the relationships she formed with many of those involved (Carpenter of course, writer/producer Debra Hill, directors Paul Lynch, Roger Spottiswoode, etc.) would not only endure through the years, but actually help shape some of the choices Curtis would make down the road.
But really, as an ardent horror film fan (even more so than being a Curtis fan), the most rewarding thing about Grove’s detailed account is the structure and organization it adheres to. After the first few chapters, we delve headlong into a film-by-film retelling of what went down on set, mining all kinds of rich nuggets from Curtis-starring flicks, including HALLOWEEN, THE FOG, PROM NIGHT, TERROR TRAIN, ROADGAMES (next on my Nextlfix queue, coincidentally), HALLOWEEN II and even the 1981 made-for TV-movie DEATH OF A CENTERFOLD: THE DOROTHY STRATTEN STORY. Yes, these production diaries are filtered through Curtis’ experience, but you don’t need to be the biggest Curtis acolyte to enjoy all the kernels of truth and trivia Grove intersperses throughout his book with. Whether it’s something as mundane as the name of Curtis’ character in THE FOG – Elizabeth Solley – being the name a girl who broke Carpenter’s heart years prior…to something as monumental as the shim (she-him) in TERROR TRAIN being an actual hermaphrodite from the streets of Montreal (how epic is that!)…the book is littered with one cool factoid after another.
Alas, as Grove points to three main cogs – beauty, impact and vulnerability – as key contributors to the longevity of Curtis’ status of Scream Queen…but we can never really know if Curtis has embraced such a moniker. As Stacy Keach said when meeting Curtis on the set of ROADGAMES for the first time, “The only thing I’d known about Jamie before we met on ROADGAMES was that she’d been called the queen of scream, a title that Jamie absolutely hated.” In the end, it would seem foolish to think Curtis doesn’t (at least now) recognize what a blessing a title she “absolutely hated” ultimately afforded her and her career. Quite the contrary. However, the fact she looked to eschew the horror genre altogether and focus on more serious, adult work…would lead one to think the Scream Queen cognomen is a pejorative one to her ears. Trust us Jamie, it shouldn’t be. in fact, to all of us ’round here, it’s something to wholly be proud of!
Rating: 8.5/10
GET A COPY OF JAMIE LEE CURTIS: SCREAM QUEEN HERE.
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