Customer Reviews

Treasury of Xxth Century Murder: Famous Players, the Mysterious Death of William Desmond Taylor (A Treasury of Victorian Murder)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've loved every volume of Rick Geary's "murder" series until now. They're always full of a great mixture of dread, wry observation and grisly, juicy details of real life cases, and I heartily recommend them. Sadly, this book is the series' first disappointment. I don't think William Desmond Taylor's story was the best subject because it seems no one has ever come close to knowing who killed him or why. Geary pulls out the various theories, but they all end up going nowhere. Bystanders half-remember some mysterious figure or another who then vanishes without a trace. There's no dramatic tension in it at all.

Geary obviously loves the old Hollywood setting, which he explored before in one of his outstanding Blanche stories, but the details he includes of how Hollywood developed and some of the other Hollywood scandals seem to be padding out a very thin story. In fact, Taylor himself ends up being kind of a blank. Geary needed to find some other kind of hook to make this one come to life.

One of Hollywood's most enduring legends was born in the shadowless hours between the evening of February 1st and the morning of February 2nd, when somebody entered the bungalow of director William Desmond Taylor, shot him dead, and then carefully laid-out the body on the floor and made a hasty exit. When the news broke the next morning, there were almost more stars in the bungalow than there were in heaven, forever clouding the crime scene in a case that would become foggier as Taylor's past was uncovered.

In the end, Taylor's identity peeled apart like an onion as he was revealed to be William Deane-Tanner. The careers of Mary Miles Minter and Mabel Normand were left in ruins, and Hollywood had another black eye to contend with in the wake of the Arbuckle scandal. And yet the murder was and remains unsolved, with too many suspects and too many motives. It is nearly the American equivalent of the Jack-the-Ripper mystery, except that only one murder victim was at the heart of the story.

Rick Geary has treated this mystery with the expected level of expertise. Look carefully at his deptictions of the characters involved and you'll see worried faces, averted eyes, fear and distrust, a whole roiling lake of dishonesty and distrust lurking beneath the Hollywood facade of the sunny and merry movie making community.

Whether he intended to or not, Geary does draw suspicion toward one of the Famous Players "spin control" team members (who was also close to Taylor), but as in real life, there is no conclusion. This book leaves the case as it is: an impenetrable shadow in Hollywood's labyrinthine history.

Famous Players is very well done and is highly recommended. The story is presented in such a manner as to be very accessible to readers who have no previous knowledge of early Hollywood or any of the characters involved in the case. The book presents a very broad overview of the Taylor case, contains a relatively high degree of accuracy, and is presented in a straightforward, informative and crisp manner.

As a graphic novel evoking the Hollywood atmosphere of the 1920's, the book holds up quite well. Any affectionado of the Taylor case will naturally find things to quibble about (I wish Geary had included the Margaret Gibson confession), and the book could have been more enjoyable in color. But as an artistic general introduction to the complexities of the Taylor case, Famous Players is a success.

When I bought this one, I read it, then put it aside thinking "Well... maybe it'll grow on me." The milieu is interesting. The characters? Sure. But I just re-read it now, so I can more accurately express my ennui. The story goes no further than the crime scene that is discovered around page 14. Everything is just another theory that goes nowhere. Fatty Arbckle gets a mention and it made me think "Rick Geary could write a good Fatty Arbuckle edition." So many Hollwood murders that might have deserved this attention. Imagine what he could do with the Black Dahlia!

It's also one of the longer stories. How do you tease all this out of something that doesn't develop?

Reason for Reading: Next in the series.

It's been a while since I've read Geary and what a wonderful treat to delve into one of his graphics again. I love Geary's artwork and he shall always remain one of my favourite artists. His style is simple b/w drawings but very detailed. This story is about the murder of a great early silent movie director whom I've never heard of before. The world of early Hollywood and silent movies is explored. Something I, myself am familiar with having read a lot of biographies from the era. It is always an exciting world to visit. The murder is an unsolved one which the authorities really haven't a clue as to who the perpetrator was, having no solid evidence at all. The crime scene was compromised beyond all belief before the police even got there and continued to be so even while they were there. The murder itself isn't particularly enthralling but what is amazing is the sheer number of possible suspects. Geary doesn't try to present his own solution to the murder but instead provides all the possibilities for each suspect. Not one of Geary's best when compared to his backlist, but when writing a true crime Geary's work is never *not* well done.

NB: Geary's true crime books are written for an adult audience but they are easily crossovers for the YA market containing nothing one wouldn't find in the news. In fact, I recommend them to YAs who are interested in the topic.

This is a hard bound black and white graphic novel with heavy pages, great binding, brilliant artwork, and superb storytelling. All this is combined with good research and historical accuracy. The story itself is complex, combining Hollywood greats of the silent era with a steamy underworld of vice and wild living. Piled on top of this are directors covering up former lives and wives, and sexually promiscuous young women climbing the ladder of stardom. Can't get much better than that!

Rick Geary manages to craft together a very coherent telling of the William Desmond Taylor murder. Taylor, a top director at Famous Players Studio, had a couple of young movie starlets interested in him. And he seemed to have made a more than a few enemies along the way to his rich and famous lifestyle. Found dead in his bungalow on a cold February morning, it took some time to discover he had been shot in the back. The trace of the bullet was upward, from near the left armpit to an area above the right lung. Blond hair was found on his jacket, and they matched a starlet that was showing excessive interest in the director, Mary Miles Minter; however, the deceased carried a small portrait of Mabel Norman on his watch chain, and he had spent his last night on earth entertaining Mabel, the famous comedy star.

The murder was never solved, and no less than three good books have been written discussing the killing. Mr. Rick Geary's retelling in graphic form really helps transform the story into an unforgettable Hollywood event. Five Stars!

DO NOT READ ON IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO LEARN MY THEORY OF THE CASE!

In my opinion the killer should have been easily found and convicted; however, the blond Mary Miles Minter had an alibi as to her whereabouts on the night of the killing. Let us add up the clues that count. First, the blond hairs found on the jacket of Taylor must have come from the killer. A man with a butler seldom has his clothing put away un-brushed; thus, the blond hair on the jacket could not have been there long. Mabel Norman had dark hair, and she was the last woman seen with him. Next, the gun that killed the director was a .38 caliber pistol, the same caliber as that owned by the mother of Mary Miles Minter. Minter's dark haired mother was a close associate of the DA in LA, and she could have used that association to ward off a rigorous investigation.

The alibi of MMM was that she was at home all evening with her mother, sister, and grandmother. All three had a lot to lose if little Mary went to prison, and the mother was notoriously vicious when it came to protecting her daughter - threatening death to those who might hurt Mary. Mary had also confessed an undying love for Taylor. In many letters she poured out her love for the much older man. Recall that the director had a photo of Mabel Norman on his watch chain, a fairly clear sign that Mabel was one up on Mary. Not a good sign for a girl so deeply in love with Taylor.

Consider the direction the bullet traveled, from the lower area of the back to the upper area of the lungs. The killer held the gun in a strange position to kill the famous man. It seems the position would have been one that a shorter person hugging Taylor would have taken, firing the gun with the right hand, which would have been on Taylor's left side pointing upward.

I imagine MMM was hugging Taylor, then surreptitiously took the gun, holding it in her right hand, and fired it into his back left side in an upward direction. Remember, the papers in the room on Taylor's desk were undisturbed, thus, Taylor was most likely not sitting at the desk when shot as he would have disturbed the papers when falling from the chair. I think he was standing, hugging Minter, when she shot him and as he fell he knocked over the desk chair. Minter then repositioned the body in a gracious position with his arms to his side and his legs straight. As the chair had been knocked over, she also repositioned the chair and inadvertently placed it over his left foot; a position it could not have taken unless placed there after death.

No chance killer would have repositioned the body, or taken the time to rearrange the chair. No one entered the apartment through a half open door while Taylor said goodbye to Mabel as some speculate. Taylor let the person in after Mabel left because the killer was well known to him. Taylor must have let Minter in after Mabel departed and explained he was not going to continue a romance with her. Mary then asked for a parting hug and killed the director with her mother's revolver. The mother, grandmother, and sister would have created the alibi later. Recall that in a later lawsuit the sister said Mary was not at home that night as claimed.

Ask yourself, what killer would have repositioned the body with the arms at the side and the legs straight? Who would Taylor have let in at a late hour? Who had the connections to keep her daughter out of the limelight of the investigation? Who entered the mortuary alone for one last kiss? Who was blond, had access to a .38, and would have been able to get a shot into the director's back from armpit level aiming up? Mary Miles Minter was the killer.

Mary Miles Minter quickly left the screen for a life of seclusion. Odd, for one who had been so ready with men prior to Taylor's death.

Rick Geary has written many comics about famous murders. This one is about the death of William Desmond Taylor, a popular movie director in the 1920's. Geary does a great job of setting the mood with his precise drawings. I really liked how Hollywood changes throughout time. The story shows us Hollywood before becoming the film mecca.

After reading this, I think I'll read more of Geary's books. I liked this one a lot.

Rick Geary puts out another excellent book, this time moving his series on murder into the 20th century. The focus is of the murder of Hollywood director William Desmond Taylor in 1922.

Taylor was a director for the Famous Players studio who was found shot dead on the floor of his house on February 1st 1922. Geary masterfully sets the scene. How Hollywood began, the burgeoning interest in "moving pictures" and the dark side that wealth brings with it. He lists the number of actors and film execs who were heavily involved in drugs and all sorts of affairs.

Geary sheds light on Taylor's own sordid past. Leaving behind a wife and child in New York, he wandered west and started acting. He was secretly gay and rumours abounded about actresses he may or may not have been involved with. Those same actresses were heavily involved in heroin and cocaine and its speculated that Taylor's murder had something to do with a spurned actress who was on drugs.

It's a fascinating glimpse into a world not dissimilar to our own but very different from the world of today. Yet another deserving read from Rick Geary, Famous Players is an excellent book.

Rick Geary has a whole series of these books and they are all terrific. They are not heavy handed or sensationalistic like so many true crime books are. Geary picks interesting cases, does his homework and presnets the facts as he knows them to be.
Famous Players is a murder mystery of a Hollywood director in tinel town's golden age.William Desomd Taylor found dead in his house and no one was ever caught. Plenty of Hollywood goodness as truths are uncovered and plenty of characters for suspects. And I do mena characters because these people weren't your typical people next door.
Good fun and thought provoking. I would also recommend all the other books in the series.

the book is pretty interesting but not what I expected. I thought I was buying a biography on William Desmond Taylor not a comic book like history on it. But it's not bad.