Million Dollar Movie by Michael Powell [rare books]

Book Summary

Million Dollar Movie is the second installment of the late British filmmaker Michael Powell’s autobiography, picking up where A Life in Movies (1987) left off—continuing the story from the late 1940s through the twilight of his career. Powell recounts the gradual decline of his celebrated partnership with Emeric Pressburger (forming “The Archers”), marked by fraught entanglements with Hollywood producers like Samuel Goldwyn and David O. Selznick, leading to a string of commercial disappointments.

A highlight of the memoir is Powell's candid account of the backlash to Peeping Tom (1959)—a bold, psychologically disturbing film that enraged critics and abruptly derailed his career. Yet Powell later witnessed a revival of acclaim for the film, championed by directors like Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese .

The memoir also contains richly vivid anecdotes: from creative clashes and failed projects—such as abandoned biopics, literary adaptations, and unrealized epics—to personal reminiscences of collaborators and friends, including Alexander Korda, Jennifer Jones, David Niven, Henri Matisse, and more Powell’s writing is richly atmospheric, digressive, and honest—sometimes at the cost of cohesion—but packed with charm and insight, capturing both his artistic passion and the changing tides of the film industry.

About the Author: 

Michael Latham Powell (1905–1990) was a renowned British film director, screenwriter, and producer—best remembered for his visually intoxicating and emotionally resonant films, many created with his longtime collaborator Emeric Pressburger under their banner, The Archers. From humble beginnings in the silent era (even beginning his career as a still photographer for Alfred Hitchcock), Powell went on to create cinematic masterpieces such as The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life and Death, and The Tales of Hoffmann—each showcasing his romanticism, vibrant use of color, and bold imagination

He later penned two autobiographical volumes: A Life in Movies (1987), chronicling his early successes, and Million Dollar Movie (1992), which he dictated to his wife, film editor Thelma Schoonmaker, as his vision declined. In these memoirs, Powell offers a sweeping, candid, and often delightfully digressive portrait of his life, art, and times—a testament to a man for whom cinema was nothing less than a magical, spiritual force