Sadly, the tragic "Chords of Fame" have continued to play on for far too many in and out of Hollywood in subsequent years, despite the cautionary tales of their forebears. Trust my hairdresser that Kenneth Angers is laughing all the way to the bank as he'd believe these nice immigrant boys who harmlessly ran movie studios to bring joy to the public and employ Jayne Mansfield's prehistoric boob job. Somewhat quaint what was considered scandalous in 1984 but ultimately unsubstantiated gossip is just not my thing. Other debunked urban legends started by the book include claims that impoverished film star Marie Prevost's body was partially eaten by her dachshund after she died in her Hollywood apartment in 1937, and that Jayne Mansfield was decapitated in her fatal 1967 car accident. Anger begins here to establish his theme, that of a phony Babylon, sex and violence amid plaster and Potemkin villages.

There's a difference: the 1965 version is packaged like that of a sleaze-gossip rag in 95 cent paperback form, versus the 1975 edition, which was published again after the ban was lifted, Anger having cleaned up some of his facts, embellished some of the fluidity and structure of the book, and laid out higher quality images into a "coffee table" hardcover format.The book details alleged scandals of Hollywood stars from the silent era through to the 1960s, including Charles Chaplin, Lupe Vélez, Mary Nolan, Rudolph Valentino, Marie Prevost, Mary Astor, Wallace Reid, Olive Thomas, Jeanne Eagels, Thelma Todd, Errol Flynn, Frances Farmer, Juanita Hansen, Mae Murray, Alma Rubens, John Gilbert, Barbara La Marr, Ramon Novarro, Jean Harlow, Carole Landis, Lana Turner, Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe. It was perhaps a little less thrilling than the first one--presumably because Anger had already used up all the superstar gossip.

Mr Anger is back to trawl through Hollywood for gossip, death (including a lengthy section, pre-Wikipedia, on Hollywood suicides), and gangster connections - ending with an impassioned attack on then-president Ronnie Reagan. This is TRULY FUCKING AMAZING and naturally being prone to interest in scandal and hearsay, I was salivating over how these long dead, "America's sweetheart" "deus ex machina" stars of the old Hollywood had such fucked up, mysterious and Lynchian lives, both in front of and behind the curtains of the film industry. Layout wise this book is a nightmare; unlabelled photos, unsourced quotes and heavy handed underlining that serves no purpose (except possibly to make it look like a dodgy webpage, some feat given this book was originally published in 1975! It turned out that when Clark Gable was still a bit player at MGM, he had let himself blow-serviced by Haines and seek his help to further his career at MGM.

For example, it claimed that Clara Bow engaged in sex with the entire USC football team, including a young John Wayne, a fallacy which has been debunked several times.

In a Very Good dust jacket with sunning to the pink spine type, light scratches to the surface, edge wear with chipping and some loss. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. It seemed to be somewhat of a voyeuristic look into the dreams and ambitions of vibrant people who fall into these seedy alley nightmares of Hollywood Babylon.

Hollywood Babylon also features chapters on the Fatty Arbuckle– Virginia Rappe scandal, the murder of William Desmond Taylor, the Hollywood Blacklist, the murder of Sharon Tate, and the Confidential magazine lawsuits. Il lato oscuro del sogno americano, sesso, droga, alienazione, depravazione, tutto riprovevole ma dannatamente intrigante; al servizio del mito. Failed Hollywood starlets mounted the Hollywoodland sign in hopes that King Kong would either kill them or cast them as his next leading lady? It probably helps to know the broader history of Hollywood to better appreciate some of the references made in this book. Trying to discern meaning from this has proven the perfect voyeuristic conclusion to the ultimate voyeur's book.

Et sur le dernier tiers, consacré aux suicides, on dirait parfois une rubrique nécrologique avec 2 lignes de texte, parfois une photo, et la date de la mort. It really doesn't matter if the stories here are true or not - and some people get upset about this.Kenneth Anger paints a sinister, evil picture of a Hollywood that chews its "stars" up and spits them out.