Sidney D. Kirkpatrick
Autor(a) de A Cast of Killers
About the Author
Sidney D. Kirkpatrick is the critically acclaimed author of A Cast of Killers and other nonfiction books, including Edgar Cayce and The Revenge of Thomas Eakins. An award-winning filmmaker whose work has been featured on HBO, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and AE Television Network, he mostrar mais lives in Stony Brook, New York, and Pasadena, California. mostrar menos
Image credit: http://sidneykirkpatrick.blogspot.com/
Obras de Sidney D. Kirkpatrick
Hitler's holy relics : a true story of Nazi plunder and the race to recover the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire (2010) 165 cópias
True Tales from the Edgar Cayce Archives: Lives Touched and Lessons Learned from the Sleeping Prophet (2015) 8 cópias
Associated Works
Etiquetado
Conhecimento Comum
- Data de nascimento
- 1955-10-04
- Sexo
- male
- Nacionalidade
- USA
- Educação
- Hampshire College
New York University - Relacionamentos
- Kirkpatrick, Katherine (sister)
- Organizações
- Association for Research and Enlightenment
Membros
Resenhas
Prêmios
You May Also Like
Estatísticas
- Obras
- 10
- Also by
- 1
- Membros
- 740
- Popularidade
- #34,321
- Avaliação
- 3.8
- Resenhas
- 15
- ISBNs
- 54
- Idiomas
- 8
This book is based on what Kirkpatrick found in that box. It is full of mystery and murder, love and lust and, in the end, sadness at the solving of one of the most famous and sensational scandels in the history of tinsletown. It is a mesmerizing journey into the early days of Hollywood and the lengths it would go to to cover up its secrets.
In 1922 the murder of director William Desmond Taylor was so filled with scandel it ruined careers, and nearly destroyed Hollywood. If the absolute truth had been known, it might have. King Vidor had been a part of this Hollywood in its formative years and planned to make his comeback film by telling the story of it. Kirkpatrick could have turned this into a pulp type expose but instead, and to his credit, takes a respectful and nostalgic tone, both for Vidor and a time gone by. He uses Vidor's notes and findings to let this murder mystery unfold just as it did for Vidor.
For every film buff with a fascination for old Hollywood this is a book you can't put down. It is juicy but never tawdry, Vidor sifting through the misinformation of Hollywood, and the alleged corruption of the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office of the period to slowly paint a picture of the truth. He eventually decided not to tell the story, because some of the players were still alive. The Taylor homicide and its aftermath is filled with names like Mabel Normand, Alan Dwan, James Kirkwood, Gloria Swanson, Claire Windsor, and Charolette Shelby and her lovely waif-like daughter Mary Miles Minter, an early rival of Mary Pickford.
Vidor's reputation and the fact he had been a part of this Hollywood way back when gave him gravitas, and would prompt many to open up and talk to Vidor in a way in which they might not have to someone else. He would even get to look at police files that would contradict nearly all of what was reported at the time, raising even more questions.
As Vidor plays detective in order to write the screenplay that he hoped would put him back on top, Kirkpatrick cast a spotlight on a man who was once a vital part of the film industry, struggling to be remembered. During his investigation Vidor would come into contact with old flame Coleen Moore, a lovely silent star with a fine career of her own. It was a happy coincidence, yet it would force Vidor to make decisions affecting the rest of his life, and does not whitewash his failings.
A Cast of Killers is a fast, fun read tinged with sadness. King Vidor somehow knew it would be. Before beginning his investigation, the legendary director likened the famous case to an old bottle of wine. If you love a good mystery, and/or Hollywood, this is one you have to read.
"I realized it was vintage stuff-the rarest vintage of all: a murder that has never been solved. One opens such a bottle at his own peril."
King Vidor, 1967… (mais)