"In the 1950s, Montgomery Clift was the very symbol of his talented yet rebellious generation of movie stars. His acting combined the personal and the professional, and his seventeen movies show an extraordinary sensitivity. Yet there was much more to his life - more than most people knew.". "The life of this unusually handsome actor has been described as "the longest suicide in the history of Hollywood." This biography shows the accuracy of that description. It covers Clift's sheltered childhood, his discovery at the age of 12, the attention paid by such noted directors as Elia Kazan and Antoinette Perry, his development as a professional actor and work with many of Hollywood's greatest directors (including Fred Zinnemann, Alfred Hitchcock and John Huston), and the devastating car accident that disfigured his face. Clift's self-destructive personality created problems that even close friends like Elizabeth Taylor could not help him solve, and his closet homosexuality contributed to his intense insecurity."--BOOK JACKET.