Tab Hunter Confidential is a documentary film which premiered in 2015.
It is about the life and career of the famous actor and singer Tab Hunter (1931-2018).
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Producer: Allan Glaser
** Director: Jeffrey Schwarz
** Based on the autobiography Tab Hunter Confidential by Tab Hunter (with Eddie Muller) (2005) (2006)
** Run time: 89 minutes
In the 1950s and the 1960s, Tab Hunter was a famous actor and singer. He was a handsome young man. He was a symbol of the American man. He was Mr America. Millions of women in the US (and other countries) would dream about him and put pictures of him up on the wall.
But he had a secret: he was not interested in women. He was interested in men. However, he could not say so in public. If this information were to become public, there would be a scandal, and he would lose his career. He would go from hero to zero in a few seconds.
His secret was known by a few people in the movie business and the media world. But the studio protected him, because he was making money for the owners, and the media did not reveal his secret.
At that time, the big studios were able to tell the media what to report and what to ignore about their stars and the media would often respect their wishes (today, this is no longer the case).
Later in his life, when he was no longer a famous actor, Tab Hunter stopped pretending. He could no longer be two persons. He decided it was time for him to say:
No more secrets!
Allan Glaser, his partner in life since 1983, persuaded him to write an autobiography. Which he did (working with Eddie Muller). It was published in 2005.
Ten years later, in 2015, Allan Glaser turned the book into a documentary film with the same title as the book:
Tab Hunter Confidential
It is about the person he was before and the person he became when he decided to be himself.
Many persons are interviewed in the film. Family, friends, and people who have worked with him. The list of names is long; too long to be included here. I will mention only one name: Tab Hunter, who appears throughout the film, because he is the narrator.
This film follows a chronological line from the time when Tab Hunter was a young child until the time when he was an old man (more than 80). The film covers the music he made, the movies he made, and the secrets he no longer wants to keep.
Between the numerous talking heads, there are short clips from the music and the movies.
What do reviewers say about this film?
Here are the results of three review aggregators:
** 60 percent = Meta
** 76 percent = IMDb
** 88 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)
** 96 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)
On Amazon there are at the moment more than 200 ratings of this product, more than 100 with reviews.
The average rating is 4.6 stars which corresponds to a rating of 92 percent.
If you ask me, the first two ratings are too low. When you look at Rotten Tomatoes, you can see that there is a gap between the professional critics and the general audience. The audience likes this drama more than the critics, but both groups are positive. In this case, I have to side with the audience, because it is a great film.
When a famous person is writing a book about himself – or, in this case, narrating a film about himself – there is always a danger that the account we get will be rather one-sided, because he tends to focus on the positive aspects of his life, while ignoring whatever negative aspects there may be.
In my opinion, we do not have this problem here. As far as I can tell, this is what I call an ABC product:
** Accurate
** Balanced and
** Comprehensive
In addition, it is interesting and informative. The pace is brisk; and the story is quite captivating.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
*****
Tab Hunter Confidential:
The Making of a Movie Star
by Tab Hunter
(with Eddie Muller)
(Hardcover 2005)
(Paperback 2006)
*****
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