I love true crime. I love old Hollywood. These two together is a dream combination that will draw me like a moth is drawn to a flame.

In 1922, director William Desmond Taylor was shot to death in his bungalow. Wild reports (some false, some not) started to spread: a mysterious "doctor" who declared the cause of death as natural, studio people burning papers in Taylor's fireplace, actress Mabel Normand (whose alleged cocaine addiction Taylor had allegedly been trying to cure) rummaging through his things, lingerie monogrammed M.M.M, an affair with a young actress etc. It was also discovered that Taylor was actually William Deane-Tanner and had deserted his wife and child a few years prior. The murder was never solved.

In 1967, director King Vidor starts his own investigation, and although he claimed to have solved the murder, he didn't want to reveal his findings.

This is where Kirkpatrick's approach loses me. In 1982, Kirkpatrick gained access to Vidor's papers and compiled them into a murder mystery that is true crime but reads like a novel. The frame story inevitably leads to details about Vidor's personal life, which in turn made me lose my interest. I may be boring, but I just want my facts without any gimmicks. In the end, Vidor's and Kirkpatrick's conclusion is, although plausible, just another theory to a mystery that will most likely remain unsolved.

For those in need of a true deep dive into the case, taylorology.com is an exhaustive resource of different theories, original documents, photos etc.