Dance with the Devil

June 5, 1990
Fans of silver screen legend Douglas ( The Ragman's Son ) are bound to enjoy his credible fiction debut, a sometimes spellbinding, solidly commercial tale of Hollywood producer Danny Dennison, who as a boy is the only one of his family to survive a Nazi concentration camp. The orphaned youngster locks the secret of this Jewish birthright deep within him, where it festers for decades, distancing him from those he loves. By age 55, Danny has lost interest in the moneymaking films he churns out, and has reaped a bitter harvest from the dissolution of his joyless marriage to a wealthy alcoholic whose powerful father intends to destroy Danny's career. Enter young, sensual Luba, the quintessential whore with a heart of gold--which she naturally saves for Danny despite his inexplicable surges of anger and cold withdrawal. Luba reawakens all Danny's desires, including a hunger to redeem himself as an artist and a Jew. Douglas acquits himself well when liming the complicated mix of love and need that binds Luba and her mother Magda, but relies on cliches to put flesh on most other characters, including Danny himself and his crass agent and buddy Milt. Nonetheless, this is highly readable, entertaining drama. Literary Guild dual selection.

September 2, 1991
Hollywood producer Danny Dennison, 55, keeps his Jewish birthright a secret and bitterly endures the dissolution of his joyless marriage; fortunately, he falls for a quintessential whore-with-a-heart-of-gold whose unconditional love allows him to own up to his identity. PW lamented Douglas's reliance on cliches to put flesh on most characters but called this ``a sometimes spellbinding, solidly commercial tale.''