Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, And Madness At The Dawn of Hollywood

"It’s a hilariously specialized subgroup of nerds, those of us who dig the intersection of true crime and silent film. But we who enjoy debating the 1921 manslaughter accusations against slapstick comedian Fatty Arbuckle or the relative merits of the Gish sisters are likely to also adore William J. Mann’s investigation into one of Hollywood’s oldest whodunits — the murder of director William Desmond Taylor. To be sure, Mann’s conclusion is hardly groundbreaking, but that’s almost beside the point. The author, a skilled biographer of such screen greats as Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor, brings the early days of the movie industry to sparkling life on the page, whether he’s evoking Los Angeles’ demimonde or explaining how the era’s scandals drove the film industry toward protectionism in the face of morality campaigns."