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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. Below this you will 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. Books that are currently out-of-print are marked as such. I have provided a link to purchase any books that are currently in print. Please note that I am not selling any of these books and I am not being paid to provide these links; you may find other outlets offering these books at lower prices. As always, any omissions or corrections should be sent to me by email.
Books
Boorman, John and Donahoe, Walter (ed.) Projections 8: Film-makers on Film-making. Faber & Faber, 1998. (out of print)
- includes a new interview with Luise by Ronald Bergman. (11 pages)
- perhaps 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.
- 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.
- brief paragraph relating to filming of Combat! in which Luise appeared, including reminiscence from actor Kurt Kreuger (1 page)
- 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.
- the life and work of the artist with whom Luise worked on A Dancer (1988)
Graham, Virginia. There Goes What's Her Name: The Continuing Saga of Virginia Graham. Prentice-Hall, 1964. (oop)
- autobiography of the American talkshow host, include one rare photograph showing Luise on the Girl Talk programme, with Olivia de Havilland and June Havoc.
Littlewood, Joan. Joan's Book: The Autobiography of Joan Littlewood. Methuen, 1994
- a brief mention of Luise's visit to Littlewood's rehearsal room in Manchester in 1939. (1 page)
- Nin's diary briefly recounts her meeting with Luise and their friendship during the early 1940s.
- includes and account of Luise's visit to Louise Brooks' apartment in Rochester after both were awarded the George Eastman Award. (2 pages)
- in Puig's debut novel the lead character lives vicariously through old movies, and includes many sequences about The Great Waltz and The Great Ziegfeld.
Spiers Benjamin, Robert (ed.). I Am An American. Alliance Book Corporation, 1941 (out of print)
- a collection of writing by naturalized American citizens, including Luise, on what it means to be an American citizen. (6 pages)
- Travers' autobiography includes his reminiscence of first meeting Luise, and his poem Ballade on Receipt of a Treasured Letter, written for her
- 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)
- includes an interview with Luise conducted at her London apartment in 2002
Weales, Gerald. Odets: The Playwright. Bobbs-Merrill, 1971. (out of print)
- includes brief notes about Luise's first marriage and a thorough bibliography
Young, Stark. Immortal Shadows: A book of dramatic criticism. Octagon, 1973
- includes his review of A Kiss for Cinderella on Broadway, 1942. (3 pages)
Novels and plays
This list contains all novels and plays which provided source material for Luise's films and plays in which she has appeared. For more details of Luise's stage appearances visit the Theatre page.
Anderson, Maxwell. Joan of Lorraine. 1947. (out of print)
- Luise played the title role on stage in the US between 1947 and 1951.
Anderson, Maxwell and Lawrence Stallings. What Price Glory? 1924. (out of print)
- Luise appeared in a German translation of this play in the 1920s.
- Luise made her Broadway debut in this play in 1942.
- the Pulitzer Prizewinning novel on which the film is based.
Carpenter, Edward Childs. The Bachelor Father. 1930. (out of print)
- Luise played Nina, on stage and television 1949/1950.
Deval, Jacques. Behold the Bride. 1938. (out of print)
- Luise made her Uk stage debut in this play.
Deval, Jacques. Mademoiselle: a play in three acts. 1932. (out of print)
- the original short story, basis for the 1997 film.
Heym, Stefan. Hostages. Putnam, 1943 (out of print)
- the novel on which the film is based.
Kingsley, Sidney. Men in White. 1933. (out of print)
Meilhac, Henri and Ludovic Halevy. Frou Frou. 1883.
- the play upon which the film The Toy Wife (1938) is partly based.
Ogden, Katharine, Charles Cohen and Nick Dear. The Gambler. Methuen, 1997
- the screenplay for the 1997 film, with forewords by Cohen and Dear, actress Jodhi May, producer Marc Vlessing and director Karoly Makk. Includes stills from the film.
- the original novel on which the film is based.
- a role Luise played on numerous occasions
Székely, Hans and Zoltan Egyed. School of Drama. (out of print)
- the play on which the film Dramatic School is based.
- Luise made her stage debut in a German production of this play in 1926.
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Dostoyevsky, Fyodor.