Product Description

An illustrated account of the 1922 murder of flamboyant director William Desmond Taylor reconstructs the events leading up to the crime and speculates about the possible murderer. Reprint. NYT.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2330133 in Books
• Published on: 1992-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From Publishers Weekly
As he was researching his "official" biography of King Vidor, the late film director, Kirkpatrick made the discovery on which this true crime story is built. Vidor, planning to make a movie about William Desmond Taylor, murdered in 1922, set out to investigate the unsolved crime 45 years later. Taylor had been a famous director of silents and his death was a sensation that ruined the careers of actresses Mary Miles Minter, Mabel Normand (the victim's reputed lovers) and other Hollywood luminaries. Kirkpatrick skillfully leads the reader into Vidor's search as the director studies old files and questions people in the movie colony who remembered those involved in the tragedy. The result is a riveting mystery. In his dramatic reconstruction, Kirkpatrick uncovers Vidor's convincing evidence, never disclosed by the director, that Taylor was killed by the mother of ingenue Minter. Photos not seen by PW. 50,000 first printing; major ad/promo; author tour. (June
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In 1922, Hollywood film director William Desmond Taylor was murdered, and the crime was never officially solved. In 1967, the late director King Vidor decided to investigate the mystery in order to make a film about it. (No film resulted.) Kirkpatrick recounts the story of Vidor's sleuthing, which uncovered scandal, corruption, coverups, and, ultimately, Vidor believed, the identity of the killer. This is a well-researched book, breezily related, whose impact is lessened somewhat by digressions into Vidor's personal life. The combination of Hollywood and murder is likely to be popular. For most public libraries. Gregor A. Preston, Univ. of California Lib., Davis
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Murder and Alvarado Street
King Vidor was a legendary film director largely forgotten by Hollywood at the time of his death. Sydney Kirkpatrick came to Vidor's home after his death to research a well deserved biography but instead discovered a buried box full of dynamite. In the box were notes for a planned project which was to be the director's comeback film. But the explosive nature of his findings had prompted Vidor to bury it, literally.

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 corruption of the police to slowly get a picture of the truth he himsef couldn't yet tell because some of the players were still alive. The homicide and the aftermath is filled with names like Mabel Normand, Alan Dwan, James Kirkwood, Gloria Swanson, Claire Windsor, and Charlette Shelby and her 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 weight and would prompt many to open up and talk to Vidor in a way in which they would not have to someone else. He would even get to look at police files that would contradict most 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 lets us see a man who was once a vital part of the film industry, fighting to be remembered. During his investigation he 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 and would force Vidor to make decisions affecting the rest of his life.

A Cast of Killers is a fun, fast read tinged with sadness, King Vidor somehow knew it would be. Before beginning, the legendary director likened it 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

A Classic Hollywood Mystery
In 1922, director William Desmond Taylor was found shot to death in his home, and two celebrated stars fell under suspicion. The case was never solved, and lingering questions about the crime spelled finish for the careers of the brilliant comic actress Mable Normand and the popular ingenue Mary Miles Minter. But in Hollywood, old sins cast long shadows: the case continued to be investigated off and on over subsequent decades, providing considerable fodder for the tabolid press. In time, it became a legend, and in the the late 1960s director King Vidor--who had been acquainted with most of the individuals involved--began his own investigation in hopes of developing the story into a film.

Vidor eventually set his findings aside, and after his death biographer Sidney D. Kirkpatrick uncovered his extensive notes on the Taylor case. The result is A CAST OF KILLERS, a book which purports to solve the case for once and for all. Although he writes with a somewhat superficial tone, Kirkpatrick spins out his story with considerable conviction. What emerges is an extremely distasteful portrait of greed. According to Kirkpatrick, the studios decided to protect themselves even to the extent of implicating innocent parties while the Los Angeles Police Department preferred to extort money from the killer instead of bringing the case to court. But more disturbing than this is the portrait Kirkpatrick paints a profoundly dysfunctional family, the head of which was dominated by a need for money, fame, and absolute control.

Ultimately there is no hard proof for Kirkpatrick's conclusions, but--and in spite of several errors that have crept into the work--he makes an extremely convincing case for their validity. While A CAST OF KILLERS is far too popular in content to satisfy students of the crime (described as Taylorologists), it is largely in line with current theory re this famous murder, and it makes for a fascinating read. Recommended.

Beyond Reasonable Doubt
Mr. Kirkpatrick lays out a compelling version of the likely killer of William Desmond Taylor. His attention to detail and a superb flowing style that makes the reader not want to put the book down makes this a excellent choice for anyone's "must read" list.