The Latest Breaking News from Ava Gardner

Sarah Lancashire’s portrayal in the hit series is 10 times tougher than her TV predecessors

“Frank & Marilyn: The Lives, the Loves and the Fascinating Relationship of Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe” by Edward Z. Epstein; Post Hill Press (304 pages, $30)

“Seven Days in May,” the epic 1960s novel and a film starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and Ava Gardner, was a fictional tale about right-wing Pentagon generals who tried to topple the U.S. government.

Rebellions, such as the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, have been fueled by it and such noted figures as Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner (who said she wanted to die with a cigarette and whiskey in hand), Mark Twain, William Faulkner and Sir Winston Churchill used whiskey to enliven or tame their souls.

Mark Rylance mines more drama from the doctor driven mad by his work on hygiene than Elizabeth McGovern finds in the faded glamour of Ava Gardner

Certain phrases get stuck in your head, however long ago you heard them. “It’s your own time you’re wasting,” is one for me. I can hear immediately the world-weary way they were delivered by my primary school teacher.

Director Gaby Dellal’s striking production splices film and theatre with finesse while McGovern as Gardner riffs on important moments and men in her life

Biographical drama is a feeble attempt to immortalise an already-fading Hollywood star

This self-created star vehicle from the Downton actor needs a better script