King Vidor was a legendary film director largely forgotten by Hollywood at the time of his death. Sydney Kirkpatrick came to Vidor's home after his death to research a well deserved biography but instead discovered a buried box full of dynamite. In the box were notes for a planned project which was to be the director's comeback film. But the explosive nature of his findings had prompted Vidor to bury it, literally.This book is based on what Kirkpatrick found in that box. It is full of mystery and murder, love and lust and, in the end, sadness at the solving of one of the most famous and sensational scandels in the history of tinsletown. It is a mesmerizing journey into the early days of Hollywood and the lengths it would go to to cover up its secrets.In 1922 the murder of director William Desmond Taylor was so filled with scandel it ruined careers and nearly destroyed Hollywood. If the absolute truth had been known, it might have. King Vidor had been a part of this Hollywood in its formative years and planned to make his comeback film by telling the story of it. Kirkpatrick could have turned this into a pulp type expose but instead, and to his credit, takes a respectful and nostalgic tone, both for Vidor and a time gone by. He uses Vidor's notes and findings to let this murder mystery unfold just as it did for Vidor.For every film buff with a fascination for old Hollywood this is a book you can't put down. It is juicy but never tawdry, Vidor sifting through the misinformation of Hollywood and the corruption of the police to slowly get a picture of the truth he himsef couldn't yet tell because some of the players were still alive. The homicide and the aftermath is filled with names like Mabel Normand, Alan Dwan, James Kirkwood, Gloria Swanson, Claire Windsor, and Charolette Shelby and her waif like daughter Mary Miles Minter, an early rival of Mary Pickford.Vidor's reputation and the fact he had been a part of this Hollywood way back when gave him weight, and would prompt many to open up and talk to Vidor in a way in which they might not have to someone else. He would even get to look at police files that would contradict most of what was reported at the time, raising even more questions.As Vidor plays detective in order to write the screenplay that he hoped would put him back on top, Kirkpatrick lets us see a man who was once a vital part of the film industry, fighting to be remembered. During his investigation he would come into contact with old flame Coleen Moore, a lovely silent star with a fine career of her own. It was a happy coincidence and would force Vidor to make decisions affecting the rest of his life.A Cast of Killers is a fun, fast read tinged with sadness. King Vidor somehow knew it would be. Before beginning, the legendary director likened it to an old bottle of wine. If you love a good mystery, and/or Hollywood, this is one you have to read."I realized it was vintage stuff-the rarest vintage of all: a murder that has never been solved. One opens such a bottle at his own peril."King Vidor, 1967
A CAST OF KILLERS is a compelling look back into the 1922 unsolved murder of William Desmond Taylor. The author tells the story through the eyes of director King Vidor, using his actual research of the murder during the years sixty-six and sixty-seven.Once I picked this up, I could not put it back down, or rather, I didn't want to put it down for a second. Sydney D. Kirkpatrick knows how to grab ahold of a reader and keep them locked into the book until the very end. To make sure nothing spoiled the book for me, I didn't look anything up online (as I'm apt to do) until after I had read the last sentence. This proved to be for the best. Unfortunately, this is not the definitive answer to an unsolved crime, but just Vidor's (and I assume the author's) theory in a case that will likely never be truly solved. Also, the newsletter called Taylorology, which specializes in the murder, found 175 errors and contradictions in the 1986 edition of the book (the one I read). According to their website, most of those errors were corrected in the Twentieth Anniversary Edition.Still, I found the book to be absolutely riveting and was a good starting place to learn the basics of a crime I had never heard of before. A CAST OF KILLERS is written like a novel, therefore it's a fast read and very entertaining. I take the theory used in it with a grain of salt, but all-in-all, it was a worthwhile read.
What do You think about A Cast Of Killers (1986)?
this book is about a famous hollywood director King Vidor and he trying to solve the case of who killed the director William Taylor. the case in this book is like a typical hollywood movie but into a book with lots of sex, blackmail, drugs, lies and a very good confusing story. this books doesnt seem like it would actually happen it does surpirslingy. you really have to pay attention to the details and can hardly skim through pages but i recommend it to all who like to think and figure cases out. In alla very good book
—Marcus Villalobos
A Cast of Killers is a fascinating account of the murder of William Desmond Taylor and a sleuthing director King Vidor on the trail of who murdered him. Vidor wants to make a film about the Hollywood scandal which turned up no results and left an open case for the police. Along with Colleen Moore, lover and business partner, Vidor researches a case filled with contradictions and cover-ups.This book's print is rather large, and it makes the 300 pages go back rapidly with aid from the intriguing story. It is also highly suspenseful and entertaining. Even if the reader has no idea who William Desmond Taylor, Mabel Normand, Mary Miles Minter, or King Vidor are, he or she will still most likely enjoy the book.The afterward is outdated by now because the book was published in 1986. All of the Hollywood names mentioned are no longer living, and it is doubtful that any of the others are alive anymore.Even under the assumption that the story is true, one finds it hard to believe because of the format of this book. It reads like a fiction mystery novel or an episode of the popular television show Law and Order. However, this book is hardly credible. The "facts" in it are said to be from private papers King Vidor had together that were set aside for his film project. These documents consist of transcripts illegally obtained from the police and interviews from witnesses or friends to witnesses that are now deceased. None of these documents are properly cited; there is a lack of a bibliography or an appendix. The only citation states that the information was received from Vidor's son who made his father's notes available to the author. The claims the author makes about this book being the "true story of Hollywood's most scandalous murder" seem strange considering how much effort Vidor put into attempting to prove his theory. Kirpatrick seems to have made no such effort.Other questions come to mind when regarding the validity of this book. How did Kirpatrick come across the information that Vidor knew who killed Taylor and why were the findings so easily given to him after Vidor decided NOT to publish the information in fear of hurting people? And if the book were published because the author felt that no one alive who remembered or was attributed to the case would be negatively affected, why then did the police department not confirm the accusations in the book as being valid and close the case?This book is controversial, even today. If it were less sloppy, it could have been a major breakthrough in the case of William Desmond Taylor. As it is, A Cast of Killers is a highly entertaining and enjoyable work of fiction. Taken literally, it is only comparable to such trash as Hollywood Babylon.
—Samantha Glasser
The unsolved murder of William Desmond Taylor is one of the most fascinating stories from Hollywood's history. Unfortunately, A Cast of Killers does it little justice. It's easily the worst of the books I've read about the murder. It's very sloppy. Photos are mismarked, the research is poor. It reads more like a sensationalized version of events from a trashy gossip magazine. It also settles on one of the least likely solutions to the case and presents it as fact with very little evidence. Read "A Deed of Death" instead.
—Katie
