A CAST OF KILLERS: The True Story of the Murder of William Desmond Taylor

by Sidney D. Kirkpatrick ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 30, 1986

A compelling page-turner about a scandal-ridden Hollywood murder of 1921 and how movie director King Vidor not only secretly solved it years later but also turned up considerable evidence of police malfeasance and studio skullduggery. While cataloguing the papers of the late-great director (Stella Dallas, War and Peace), biographer Kirkpatrick discovered a strongbox containing a day-by-day account of Vidor's 1967 investigation into the unsolved slaying of fellow director William Desmond Taylor. Vidor's purpose was to make a movie about the old murder; but he Finally had to abandon the project because his findings could damage people still alive at the time. Kirkpatrick tells the tale in classic murder-mystery style. It starts with Vidor visiting the site where Taylor's bungalow is being demolished and observing a hooded man kicking through the rubble. We then follow Vidor for months as he peruses old newspaper clippings, crisscrosses the country interviewing friends and acquaintances of the victim and visiting police officials who have inherited the case. He learns that con. siderable important evidence is missing from police files, and that what is there bears little relation to sensational press stories about Taylor's involvement with numerous women. A dusty paper chase through various civil suits that followed the crime, and a rendezvous with the tattooed man finally confirm his suspicions as to the killer's identity. His assiduous sleuthing also produced a likely theory as to why Paramount Pictures planted false evidence and leaked damaging information implicating movie queens Mabel Normand and Mary Miles Mintor, thus mining their careers. Vidor also discovered that the police knew full well who the murderer was but, for nefarious reasons, had sandbagged the investigation. This one has everything: an appealing sleuth, a delightful sidekick (in the person of silent-star--and ex-love--Colleen Moore), a cast and backdrop from the heyday of silent films and a real-life unsolved murder reeking of sex and sensational headlines. Kirkpatrick may lack the wizardry of a Ross MacDonald or a Mario Puzo; but the story he tells is so fascinating it should blow the lid off the best seller charts.

Pub Date: June 30, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION