- Paperback: 80 pages
- Publisher: NBM Publishing (Feb 1 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1561635596
- ISBN-13: 978-1561635597
- Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 15.5 x 0.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 181 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #306,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
It`s the early days of Hollywood, movies are just starting to come of their own and gain in popularity. New Stars are made. The movies are still silent but their stars` certainly are not in the scandal sheets. Amidst this new boiling cauldron, William Desmond Taylor, a successful director at the `upscale` Famous Players Studio is found shot in his home.. Could it have been the star Mary Miles Minter or a former butler? But then, what about that strange past Taylor had? Another delectable mystery as only Geary can tell `em!
About the Author
An award-winning cartoonist and illustrator, Rick Geary has worked for Marvel Entertainment Group, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and Heavy Metal, and has contributed to National Lampoon and The New York Times Book Review.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Silent Movie Scandal and Murder,
By
This review is from: A Treasury of XXth Century murder Famous PlayersThe Mysterious Death of Willi am Desmond Taylor (Paperback)
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.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.6 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews) 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Lively Dead End,
By Brent R. Swanson "coffee shop inspector" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Famous Players The Mysterious Death of William Desmond Taylor (Hardcover)
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. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very well done, from every aspect.,
By B. Long - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Famous Players The Mysterious Death of William Desmond Taylor (Hardcover)
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. 4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
First dissapointment of the series.,
By Allen N. Rubinstein - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Famous Players The Mysterious Death of William Desmond Taylor (Hardcover)
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. |
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