'Vanity Fair's Tales of Hollywood' edited by Graydon Carter

The short answer to such questions was provided by Fats Waller decades ago: "One never knows, do one?" The "Cleopatra" example suggests that placing saltpeter in the stars' food might be a prudent precaution, yet, on the other hand, the sexual intensity between director Nick Ray, James Dean and Natalie Wood doubtless enlivened "Rebel Without a Cause." Similarly, the faltering Warren Beatty-Diane Keaton romance may well have intensified the tragic subtext of "Reds," which we might note was as over-budget as "Cleopatra," but with much more pleasing results: It may be the most intelligent epic-scale movie ever made.

All movies that aspire to something beyond the routine involve a struggle between the front office and the folks trying to make the film. In my particular pantheon, less than a quarter of the films discussed in this book approach masterpiece status, with about half achieving respectability while the rest would probably have best been left undone.

But that's an ex post facto judgment. Movies, as a business, are about holding your breath and taking your shot. While we await the inevitable next disaster, books like this one deliciously remind us that the only rational aspect of the movie business is finding the popcorn's proper price point.