LEE MARVIN: POINT BLANK & AUTHOR DWAYNE EPSTEIN!

Lee Marvin: Point Blank is the first full-length, authoritative and detailed story of the iconic actor’s life to go beyond the Hollywood scandal sheet reporting from earlier books, and provide an appreciation for the man and his acting career and the classic films he starred in, whether it’s his chilling titular villain in “Who Shot Liberty Valance” to the paternal yet brutally realistic platoon leader in “The Big Red One.” And, while Marvin is best known for his icy tough guy roles, veteran Hollywood writer Epstein provides us with a portrait of a much, deeper, more complex individual who took great risks in his acting and career, often joining forces with relative unknown directors of the time like John Boorman and Sam Fuller. Yet, although voted the leading male action star in 1967, and winner of an Academy Award (Cat Ballou), very little is known of his personal life, his family background, his experiences in WWII, his relationship with his father, family, friends, wives, and his ongoing battles with alcoholism, rage and depression, occasioned by his postwar PTSD. Now, after years of research, interviews with family members, friends and colleagues, and complete with rare photographs and illustrative material, LEE MARVIN: Point Blank will provide a full understanding and appreciation of this acting titan’s place in the Hollywood pantheon in spite of (or perhaps because of) his very real and human struggles. Moreover, this biography provides a penetrating psychological and sociological analysis of Lee Marvin and his role in shaping the image of the violent male in modern film.