Bibliography

Below you will see a list of books in which Luise Rainer features, however briefly. I have included any books that make a reference to Luise that I feel will be of interest to readers of this website; some of these may be only a page or even a paragraph. I have not included the film encyclopaedia, biographical dictionaries or other 'list' books, unless they provide significant information which cannot be found elsewhere. You will also find a list of all novels which provided source material for Luise's films, and plays in which she has appeared.

There is currently no biography, or autobiography, of Luise Rainer. Some years ago Luise began writing her own memoirs under the provisional title of Unfinished Symphony, but, understandably in such a full life, gave up when she realised she had hundreds of pages and had still not reached 'Hollywood'! In a 1999 interview with the New York Times she said, ''I have written 230 pages and you know old I am? Twenty-two!... at that pace, the book would be as long as War and Peace.'' The book resurfaced again in 2010 when Luise conducted a series of interviews with Oberon Books, but, as yet, no publication date has been announced despite the title now appearing on some websites such as Amazon. Her original manuscripts and notebooks along with hundreds of items of correspondence, diaries, legal paperwork, photographs, scrapbooks, personal effects and more are now housed at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center in Boston, USA. The collection includes thousands of items and includes items that cover the whole of Luise's life. There is much correspondence between Luise and both of her husbands, Clifford Odets and Robert Knittel, but the collection also includes letters to and from Anais Nin, Samuel Barber, Federico Fellini, Alfred Steiglitz, Pearl S. Buck, Jean Renoir, Lotte Lenya, Laurence Olivier, Henry Kissinger and many, many more.

This bibliography includes title, author, publisher, year of first publication and any notes regarding the content relating to Luise Rainer. Most of these books, even those which are now out-of-print can be found for sale with a web search. As always, any omissions or corrections should be sent to me by email.

Interviews

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Projections 8: Film-makers on Film-making.

Edited by John Boorman and Walter Donahoe.

Faber & Faber, 1998

Includes a new interview with Luise by Ronald Bergman (11 pages)

Clifford Odets: American Playwright - The Years from 1906-1940 by Margaret Brenman-Gibson.

Applause, 1981

The most significant book currently available dealing with Luise's relationship with Clifford Odets. Includes extensive interviews and correspondence from Luise and Clifford and offers a detailed insight into Luise's time in Hollywood, her motivation, her aspirations and more. Also includes, of course, extensive coverage of Odets' early life and career. Volume 2, from 1940 onwards, was never published.

Great Dames: What I Learned from Older Women by Marie Brenner

Three Rivers Press, 2001

Interviews with ten older women, including Claire Booth Luce, Kitty Carlisle Hart and Luise Rainer. Luise's interview was also published in Vanity Fair magazine in 1998.

Talking Theatre: Interviews with Theatre People by Richard Eyre

Nick Hern Books, 2009

An anthology of interviews with over forty theatre practitioners. The interview with Luise is a version of that which she gave for Eyre's television series Changing Stages in 1998.

I Am an American. Edited by Robert Spiers Benjamin

Alliance Book Corporation, 1941

A collection of radio interviews with famous naturalized US citizens, including Luise.


Movies Were Always Magical: interviews with 19 actors, directors and producers from the Hollywood of the 1930s through the 1950s by Leo Ve rswijver McFarland & Co, 2002 Includes an interview with Luise conducted at her London apartment in 2002, not published anywhere else

Excerpts


*Born to Celebrity: Out From My Mother's Shadow* by Francesca Knittel Bowyer Bettie Youngs Books, 2013 The first book in over 30 years to give a firsthand account of Luise's life. Written by Luise's only daughter, Francesca, and due for publication in late 2013.	Erich Maria Remarque: The Last Romantic by Hilton Tims Carroll & Graf, 2003 Includes an account of Remarque's many sexual exploits, including an alleged affair with Luise. Luise was interviewed by the author in 1999 and excerpts of these interviews are included.	Spencer Tracy by James Curtis Hutchinson, 2011 Comprehensive biography which includes some information about the film Big City and Tracy's time spent with Luise off camera.	Howard Hughes: Hell's Angel by Darwin Porter Blood Moon, 2010 Briefly flirts with details of Luise's alleged affair with Hughes and some background to how they may have met.	Inside: The Biography of John Gunther by Ken Cuthbertson 1992 Contains some notes on Luise's friendship with Gunther, including some quotes from an interview with Luise (2 pages)


Ramon Navarro: A biography of the Silent Film idol, 1899-1968; with a filmography by Allan R. Ellenberger McFarland & Co, 2009 Briefly covers Navarro's appearance on the TV series Combat!, in which her co-starred with Luise.	Doris Chase: Artist in Motion by Patricia Failing University of Washington Press, 1991 The life and work of the artist with whom Luise worked on A Dancer (1988).	There Goes What's Her Name: The Continuing Saga of Virginia Graham by Virginia Graham Prentice-Hall, 1964 Autobiography of the American talkshow host, includes one rare photograph showing Luise on the Girl Talk programme, with Olivia de Havilland and June Havoc.	Joan's Book: The Autobiography of Joan Littlewood by Joan Littlewood Methuen, 1994 Contains a brief mention of Luise's visit to Littlewood's rehearsal room in Manchester in 1939. (1 page)	The Diary of Anais Nin: Volume Three 1939-1944 by Anais Nin Harcourt, 1971 Nin's diary briefly recounts her meeting with Luise and their friendship during the early 1940s.


Louise Brooks: A Biography by Barry Paris Alfred A. Knopf, 1989 Includes and account of Luise's visit to Louise Brooks' apartment in Rochester after both were awarded the George Eastman Award. (2 pages)	A-sitting on a gate An autobiography by Ben Travers W. H. Allen 1978 Travers' autobiography includes his reminiscence of first meeting Luise, and his poem Ballade on Receipt of a Treasured Letter, written for her.	Katherine Anne Porter: the life of an artist by Darlene Harbour Unrue University Press of Mississippi, 2005 Contains a brief mention of Porter meeting Luise and Clifford Odets at a party, and a subsequent dinner party they hosted, with Oona and Charlie Chaplin, Helen and Theodore Dreiser etc. (1 page)	Clifford Odets: Playwright by Gerald Weales Bobbs-Merrill, 1971 Includes brief notes about Luise's first marriage and a thorough bibliography.	Immortal Shadows: A book of dramatic criticism by Stark Young Octagon, 1973 Includes his review of A Kiss for Cinderella on Broadway, 1942. (3 pages)


I, Fellini by Charlotte Chandler Random House, 1995 Includes Fellini's account of meeting Luise and how she was offered (and subsequently refused) a part in La dolce vita.	The Left Side of the Screen: Communism and Left-Wing Ideology in Hollywood 1929-2009 by Bob Herzberg Includes some interesting background information about the making of Hostages (1 page, with photo)	No Pickle, No Performance: An Irreverent Theatrical Excursion by Harold J. Kennedy Doubleday, 1977 Theatrical anecdotes a-plenty, including a firsthand account of working with Luise Rainer on the 1948 production of Joan of Lorraine.