Murder in Hollywood: Solving a Silent Screen Mystery

by Charles Higham

    For more than eighty years, the famous unsolved murder of William Desmond Taylor, the legendary bisexual film director, has generated debate and controversy.  Now, best-selling author Charles Higham has solved the crime.  Higham uncovers the corruption and intrigue of Los Angeles in the Roaring Twenties—and the film industry moguls’ complete domination of the city’s authorities.
    When it was discovered that a famous star of the day had probably killed Taylor, a massive cover-up began—from the removal of crucial evidence to the naming of innocent people as killers—which has continued until now to protect the truth.  Murder in Hollywood goes beyond the killing to unearth unknown details about the life of Taylor before his arrival in Hollywood, as well as the stories and histories buried by the crooked authorities and criminals involved the case. The author’s exclusive interviews with the culpable star, his unique possession of long-vanished police records, and the support of the present-day Los Angeles county coroner—who examined the evidence as if the murder had taken place now—have ensured a hair-raising thriller.
    Charles Higham successfully presents the most plausible and convincing solution yet to the mystery.  In the process he paints a vivid portrait of Hollywood in the 1920s—from its major stars to its bisexual subculture. The result is a compelling answer to a long-standing mystery and a fascinating study of a place, and an industry that, as today, let people reinvent themselves. Murder in Hollywood is more extraordinary than any crime of fiction and more exciting than any action adventure movie.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History, Crime, Biography

242 pages, Hardcover

First published October 27, 2004

About the author

Charles Higham was an author and poet. Higham was a recipient of the Prix des Créateurs of the Académie Française and the Poetry Society of London Prize.

Reviews

[Laurie V · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this whole book through a side eye. The conclusions that Charles Higham comes to about the William Desmond Taylor murder are as good as anyone else's, but he bases them on flimsy, unconvincing evidence. He supposedly interviewed several of WDT’s contemporaries and had access to King Vidor’s notes about the case, but I’m not convinced. Why wait until 2004 to go public with the research if Higham had all this information in the late 1970s? Why not release it to refute the Kirkpatrick and Giroux books that pin the murder on different suspects?

Higham jumps to some far-fetched conclusions, such as suggesting that the pink nightgown found in WDT’s bedroom was probably his own because there happens to exist one photo of him wearing an oversized nightgown for a film. This isn’t proof that WDT was bisexual or that he was into cross-dressing. Higham also picks and chooses which incidents and statements happen to fit his theory. It’s been more or less proven that Edward Sands didn’t commit suicide in Connecticut shortly after the murder, but Higham reports this as a fact and dismisses Sands immediately as a suspect. This case is already muddled beyond solving, and Higham muddles it up even more with this book. You’re better off perusing Bruce Long’s website www.taylorology.com and making your own conclusions.

[Sketchbook]

One of four books on the death of Desi Taylor in 1922. Whodunit? My vote goes to the vanished valet, Edward Sands.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

There have been several attempts to solve the 1922 murder of filmmaker William Desmond Taylor, and Higham's (I believe) is the latest. An interesting read, but let's just say that the author doesn't know much about the law. There's nothing in the book that would provide the basis for an arraignment, ket alone a conviction.

[Nancy Loe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just a trainwreck of a book – I didn't even finish it. Charles Higham is not known for the reliablity of either his research or his sources, but I had modest hopes that he might shine some new light on this fascinating episode in Hollywood history. Instead, the book suffers from bad writing, a disjointed narrative, and absolutely no proof that the person he names is indeed the murderer. Higham supposedly interviewed a host of silent stars, who are now conveniently dead. And King Vidor also supposedly lent him all of his considerable research. If this was indeed the case, Higham owed his readers a book far beyond this miserable effort. I'm going reread Robert Giroux's Deed of Death instead.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are at all familiar with how a murder investigation is conducted - even if it is from just watching some television drama, you will be aghast at the obvious inept bungling and mismanagement of the crime scene - we've got people walking in and out, moving the body (which creates all kinds of curious questions since it was discovered at 7:30 in the morning and the coroner determined death occurred about 12 hours later and rigor mortis had not set in to the point where movement was still possible), studio flunkies gathering up papers and secreting them away off-site.

All to protect the studios, their star actors and actresses as well as the dead director - William Desmond Taylor. This was the time when the murder case against Roscoe "Fattie" Arbuckle was about to go to trial and society beauty Madalynne Obenchain couldn't be convicted of killing her lover.

The book does go into William Desmond Taylor's life - or rather William Cunningham Deane-Tanner's. From Ireland to New York and eventually to Los Angeles and the Lasky studio. His family in Ireland. The wife and daughter who he abandoned in New York. The Alaskan gold fields and his service during World War I. His success in the silent film industry and the people he regularly partied with.

But the majority of the book deals with the murder and the fiasco surrounding it. Police pointed the press towards enough red herring leads to re-populate the ocean. And the press responded just the way they were directed. Police Chief Everington as well as DA Woolwine didn't care whose reputation was damaged - or even destroyed - as long as Mary Miles Minter - a young starlet who started in films as a child actor - was protected. Likely at the behest of the studio moguls at the time.

The files that were a foundation of the author's work were originally collected by King Vidor - a film director whose career covered nearly 7 decades and who is renown for directing "The Wizard of Oz" - and Higham even managed to get interviews with whomever was alive at the time - the last one, Mary herself, died in 1984.

Admittedly, the murder is still an open cold case but it is unlikely to ever truly be closed. The author did create an argument that Mary Miles Minter herself accidentally killed Taylor when he refused to succumb to her demand to become her lover and it is possible. But no one will ever really know the truth.

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[Shonn Haren · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this one. I first became familiar with the Taylor murder while cataloging this book as a student cataloger back in 2004 or 2005. It seemed a fascinating portal into a Los Angeles long dead. However, the heavy reading schedules of a History major, and then Grad Student interfered and I forgot all about this until I listened to Karina Longworth's excellent podcast on this topic a few months ago and decided to look this one up.

What a disappointment. Higham should have just titled this thing "Mary Miles Minter did it you Morons: Why I don't have to prove anything." It would have been more accurate.

Now to be fair, Minter and her mother Charlotte Shelby are two likely candidates for this subject, and the great lengths the Los Angeles District Attorney's office went to keep them out of suspicion raise some serious eyebrows. Yet the thing about the Taylor murder, (aside from the truly heinous Police bungling in the first few hours which probably rendered it unsolvable) is how convoluted the whole thing really is: William Desmond Taylor (born William Deane-Tanner) is a truly bizarre figure, who hardly lacked for enemies. He was the disowned son of Anglo-Irish gentry who worked a variety of odd jobs in the states, married and then abandoned his wife and daughter, changed his name and ended up in Hollywood, where he proved to be one of the first great directors, whose lovers and rivals made up a colorful and bizarre cast of characters, in a boom town where crime and corruption were rampant.

Did Mary Miles Minter kill William Desmond Taylor in an obsessive attempt to coerce him into loving her? Maybe. Higham paints a damning picture of the young starlet, but his fixation on her leads him to discount any and all other theories as stupid or false. Higham's myopia ultimately makes his retelling of a fascinating mystery a one-dimensional kangaroo court.

[Amber Ray · Rating 1 out of 5]

The case for Minter being the murder is summed up really in only the last few pages, and I found the whole chapter of red herrings and bad leads tedious--it's like the author saying "Here! Look! A whole chapter of stuff that didn't matter!"
The writing is ok, but the argument of the case is very poor--there are also facts that seem to pop in and out and make no sense. Minter is mentioned as having an abortion, but having been married...and claiming to have been a virgin all her life. Some discussion of this and her reasons for it was needed.
Also, much space is devoted to Taylor being bisexual but I didn't clearly see what that had to do of his possible rejection of Minter. Mabel Normand is also called by several sources as having a drug problem, but the author claimed that was not true--again, more discussion needed.
Not a clear book, I don't feel I really understand the goings on better than before I read it.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the various books I've read on this topic this is the shortest and the least well-documented. The author of this book was a friend of director King Vidor and had access to Vidor's extensive research to write this book. Interesting then that he came to the conclusion that he did on the identity of the murderer. Also mentions bits of evidence and rumors that don't seem to have been proven by the police files, for example the infamous pink nightgown that no one can prove existed. Other authors have gone over this evidence, and in my opinion done a better job. Still an enjoyable read but if you have to pick one book on this topic, I would go with Tinseltown instead. For a contrasting book written using the King Vidor files see A Cast of Killers.

[Suzin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read, i love old Hollywood 1920's. Didn't really learn anything new but it was enjoyable.

[Gil Sanchez · Rating 2 out of 5]

At first, the book kept my interest. Then, it seemed a repetitive jumble of the same facts over and over, until the last chapter.

[Michelle "Champ" · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about the same murder that Tinseltown was written about. I read these two back to back on purpose because I wanted to see what two different writers thought about this unsolved Hollywood murder. This book featured things that were not mentioned in the last book, evidence wise. I was wondering if it was fiction or actual facts? I did not enjoy this one as much. This one was writer with one criminal in mind and didn't much mention what others could have murder William Desmond Taylor. I did like that this author seemed to have actually interviewed some of the "players" or their families...but I question what their memories were given it was so long.

I made up my mind long ago who the murderer was and after reading these two books, I have not changed that....but we will never know the truth.

[Jody · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a great topic! However, I am still not convinced, as the author is, of who committed the crime. Also, this book could use some proofreading. I shouldn't find as many mistakes as I did--missing words,etc.
It is a really good history of the 1920s in Hollywood, but not convincing as "solving a murder."

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good version of events

I love trying to figure out what happened with William Desmond Taylor. I've read "Cast of Killers," "Tinseltown," and checked out Taylorology. This book is an excellent presentation from someone who actually interviewed Minter and others from that time and place.

Even if you know nothing of the murder, it is a great read.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

The subject matter of this book is very interesting - covers the as-yet unsolved murder of a famous silent film director. I found the writing to be lofty and confusing. It made for a difficult and tiring read.

[Annie Garvey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rule number on in writing a murder mystery: Never reveal the murderer until the end. Ho hum.

[Meleya]

Not a lot to say about this one. Kind of a sleepy book. I found the interviews on youtube. Pretty much word for word as written in the book.

[Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh