Book Review: A Murder in Hollywood by Casey Sherman (2024)
Synopsis: First cast as a 15-year-old teenager in a film role that would earn her the nickname of "the Sweater Girl," Lana Turner became a Hollywood sex symbol and went on to a film and television career that lasted from the 1930s until the 1980s. Behind the scenes, however, Turner's life wasn't so glamorous, filled with failed and abusive romances, including to Johnny Stompanato, a mobster working for crime boss Mickey Cohen, a relationship that eventually ended with Stompanato dead on her bedroom floor and her teenage daughter, Cheryl, willingly taking the blame for the stabbing.
This non-fiction book presents an account of Turner's life, how it reached that pivotal point and the impact of the scandal on her career and mother/daughter relationship.
Review: A a classic movie fan, I was well-aware of both Lana Turner's film work and the scandal that nearly completely derailed her career. So, when I came across A Murder in Hollywood at the library, I decided it was worth taking the time to read. I was not disappointed.
While primarily a biography, this book could also be considered a book that tells the story of Hollywood's dark side and just how dark it was. Turner was arguably one of the film industry's earliest top stars, commanding a big salary, having her pick of leading roles, etc. Yet, the abuse she endured at the hands of men who were either more powerful or used violence to avoid feeling emasculated was staggering. If she endured that, I could only imagine what other actresses from that era had to go through.
The author doesn't pull punches either when it comes to naming names, outing famed action stars like Errol Flynn and Lex Barker as pedophiles while detailing the abuse both Turner and her daughter, Cheryl, went through. The parts about Cheryl and the way she was sexually abused by Barker were especially sickening, making me feel even more empathy for her because she was ultimately collateral damage as Turner kept entering her bad relationships, sometimes for love and other times for money.
Turner's relationship with Stompanato was arguably the most intriguing because it ironically sounded like something out of a movie. He entered the relationship with plans to get her in a compromising situation and blackmail her, only to have the relationship turn abusive and Stompanato turn into a stalker, forcing Turner to ultimately kill him. It even had a strange movie-like second act, with Turner's attorney staging the scene and convincing Cheryl to claim she was the one who stabbed him to protect her mother.
The latter admittedly left me with mixed feelings - Turner was an abused woman who didn't deserve to go to prison (or possibly even the gas chamber) but I hated reading about Cheryl being arrested, sent to juvenile hall and put through the stress of possible murder charges when she was still just a kid. Honestly, if I were to make a movie based on this, she would be the one I'd make it about, and the entire book did make me thing less of Turner as a mother.
Final Opinion: Lana Turner's story is a mix of tragedy and triumph. This book does a good job portraying that against the backdrop of early Hollywood, setting the stage for one of its earliest scandals. Despite the emotional roller coaster while reading it, it is a book I enjoyed and would recommend.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other biographies:
Book Review: Inventing the It Girl by Hilary A. Hallett (2022)
Book Review: Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca (2016)
Book Review: The Woman All Spies Fear by Amy Butler Greenfield (2021)
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