Michael Caine: A Biography Book

Michael Freedland is the author of over 30 showbiz biographies. He is, it seems, pretty good at them. Filling a lamentable hole in the bookshelves (only Caine's autobiography What's It All About? is in competition with this volume) Freedland's latest offering is an authoritative and balanced study of Southwark's famous son.Presented here is a well researched walk down memory lane; from the days when Michael was little Maurice Micklewhite, through wartime schooldays, gang associations, until much unsuccessful treading of boards led to the big time ... and bigger time still. Although access to Caine's past life must surely have been limited--even the monochrome photos included do not show Caine prior to his acting successes--Freedland's personable prose style marries certain knowledge gleaned from thorough research with the accepted norms of the time to paint a lively portrait of Caine's early years.The following life stages--army service, repertory work and unemployment are credited with the formation of Michael's determination to succeed, but it is his mother, Molly, who helped, even in her own darkest days, to achieve that goal. It was a debt Caine never forgot. The actor's wild days in the British Brat pack are documented, as is Caine's womanising reputation that was broken by his 28 year marriage to the former Miss India, Shakira Basck.That Freedland wrote this study without the rose-tinted specs of fandom to colour his study is a good thing; the resultant chapters do not shirk from more difficult questions: Caine's experience of child abuse as an evacuee. His candour here makes the warmth of personal anecdotes from friends and associates of the star, as well as his own observations, feel refreshingly honest. --Helen LamontRead More