Mr. Confidential: The Man, His Magazine & The Movieland Massacre That Changed Hollywood Forever

by Samuel Garza Bernstein

Liz Smith says it best in her advance SCANDAL and sensationalism. Libel suits and humiliations. Idols with feet of clay. Think it's anything new? Not at all. Slip into the compulsively lurid and exhaustively researched pages of 'Mr. Confidential' which tells the tale of publisher Robert Harrison and his magazine, Confidential . That forerunner of celebrity dirt quite literally changed the face of entertainment journalism. It reads like a house afire in a sultry swamp. Nobody did 'down and dirty' like Mr. Harrison and today's beleaguered stars, politicians and others owe him a sock in the jaw. An illuminating, fun read!''

Genres: Nonfiction

377 pages, Paperback

First published November 27, 2006

Reviews

[Ronald Koltnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are three books about CONFIDENTIAL magazine, the original scandal sheet of the 1950s. This was the first and probably the best. Bernstein, a Hollywood person himself, focuses on the personalities of the creators of the magazine -- Robert Harrison, the flamboyant publisher; Howard Rushmore, the tortured editor who felt that he was slumming; and Marjorie Meade, Harrison's niece, a real glamour girl who became Confidential's researcher in Hollywood. Bernstein was able to interview Marjorie, and she emerges as the true heroine of the story. Confidential published exposes on the sexual shenanigans of the Hollywood elite. It became the biggest selling magazine of its day. Hollywood hated the rag but somewhat thrived on the publicity. Every time the censors and the courts tried to stop publication, sales soared. It was the beginning of tabloid journalism. Bernstein may overexaggerate the cultural impact of Harrison, but there is hardly a news organization in existence today that does not rely on some of Confidential's ballyhoo.

[Mick Meyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected a bit more out of this book,the detail was good but the narrative seemed a bit flat,the best bits are the reproduction of confidential pages,and some of the stories that were covered even though now some have become Hollywood folklore.as was said in the John Ford film who shot liberty valance when legend becomes fact,print the legend.