Murder and Mayhem in the Silent Film Era

My dad is a dork. He loves old movies; my sister & I were raise on Jimmy Stewart and Audrey Hepburn, 50s musicals and Some Like it Hot. I could pay my student loans off with how many times I’ve heard “Clara Bow- what a babe!”
I read Mann’s How to Be a Movie Star and knew he was well versed in writing about Hollywood- So a true crime story about a murder during the heyday of the silent film era seemed like a fun journey to take. There were three main females: Margaret “Gibby” Gibson (who was using the name Patricia Palmer during the years the book covers, but was called Gibby for continuity), Mary Miles Minter and Mabel Normand. There were also several con men, an overbearing mother, a studio exec and our murder victim: William Desmond Taylor. All the stories overlap and there is actually very little time spent on the murder, however it is the thread that ties all these people lives together.
It was a difficult read because there were so many things going on: the Fatty Arbuckle trial as well as the Church Ladies going after the motion picture industry for morality reasons. As well as several con jobs. And various con men. And drugs.
It isn’t until the epilogue that Mann presents theories for explaining Taylor’s death, and his logic is sound. I actually agree with who he eventually comes around to naming as his best guess on “who did it” and perhaps, why. I just wish he had editorialized more during the first 400 pages…
All in all it’s a interesting, well research read for someone who is interested in the silent film era, but perhaps not the best choice for someone who wanted to delve into the unsolved murder of a Hollywood insider.