Book Review: Room 1219 by Greg Merritt (2013)
Synopsis: By 1921, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was one of Hollywood's first big stars and recently signed a contract with Paramount worth millions of dollars. Separated from his wife and living the high life, he rented three rooms at the Hotel St. Francis and celebrated with his friends and other guests, including actress Virginia Rappe. Days later, Rappe was dead and Arbuckle, who had been alone with her for fifteen minutes in room 1219, faced murder charges. This book details Arbuckle and Rappe's lives and the Labor Day scandal that both impacted Arbuckle's career and Hollywood history.
Review: As someone who loves classic movies and the Hollywood history surrounding them, I was familiar with the Fatty Arbuckle scandal that in some ways still impacts the movie industry today. So, when I came across Room 1219 at my local library, I decided to give it a try. It proved to be a good choice.
The book does a great job of telling Arbuckle and Rappe's individual stories against the backdrop of Hollywood's rise to becoming the movie capital of the world, describing the various changes in movie technology and audience wants that gave way to movie studios that were able to make a steady supply of featured-length films. I even ended up learning some things I never knew before, including some details about an even earlier scandal that surprisingly doesn't get discussed as much.
My favorite part of the book had to be the detail it gave about Arbuckle's criminal trials, explaining the strategies used both by the prosecution and the defense along with some of the outside factors that might have also played a role. It made it easier to understand why it took three trials and two hung juries before Arbuckle was finally acquitted despite the case against him seeming very weak on paper.
The author's analysis of each "fact" from the case was also intriguing, examining which things there was a consensus on and which conflicting theory was likely closest to the truth. He also took the time to eliminate some evidence completely because it ultimately proved neither theory.
Merritt's theory about what really happened in the 15 minutes Arbuckle and Rappe were alone in room 1219 also made sense (a romantic moment gone horribly wrong) and was arguably more accurate than the others, though it was still mostly conjecture. Plus, like all the theories, it didn't take the subpar medical treatment Rappe received enough into account, something that I personally think had much more impact on the outcome of this Hollywood scandal than anything.
Final Opinion: The book does a great job discussing one of Hollywood's first big scandals and the overall impact it had, whether it was increased censorship or morality clauses in contracts. I learned a lot and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Hollywood history.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other Hollywood-related books:
Book Review: Never Have Your Dog Stuffed and Other Things I've Learned by Alan Alda (2006)
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