PAGEANT FADED

by Richard Karlan ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 8, 1972

This Hollywood novel stands out above the endless quagmire of shlock novels about shlock people only by virtue of its central character, Harry Royle, who bears more than a passing resemblance to the bete noire of the celluloid circuit -- Orson Welles. This ""child genius"" director, survivor of a marriage to an aging yet voluptuous star, returns to America from his more or less voluntary (courtesy of the Internal Revenue Service) exile for a spot on a variety show, which leads to an acting job, which leads to the kind of mundane embroilments unsuited to Royle's erratic temperament: hassles with the family he no longer cares about or the chicanery of taking over a minor studio. Eventually and symbolically Royle cuts out, back to Europe, where the stars exist even if the star system doesn't, away from a dying Hollywood that is converting movie studios into parking lots. The prose itself is only barely serviceable.

Pub Date: June 8, 1972

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Bobbs-Merrill

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1972

Categories: FICTION