The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling and the MGM Publicity Machine

by E.J. Fleming

Eddie Mannix and Howard Strickling are virtually unknown outside of Hollywood and little-remembered even there, but as General Manager and Head of Publicity for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, they lorded over all the stars in Hollywood's golden age from the 1920s through the 1940s--including legends like Garbo, Dietrich, Gable and Garland. When MGM stars found themselves in trouble, it was Eddie and Howard who took care of them--solved their problems, hid their crimes, and kept their secrets. They were "the Fixers." At a time when image meant everything and the stars were worth millions to the studios that owned them, Mannix and Strickling were the most important men at MGM. Through a complex web of contacts in every arena, from reporters and doctors to corrupt police and district attorneys, they covered up some of the most notorious crimes and scandals in Hollywood history, keeping stars out of jail and, more importantly, their names out of the papers. They handled problems as diverse as the murder of Paul Bern (husband of MGM's biggest star, Jean Harlow), the studio-directed drug addictions of Judy Garland, the murder of Ted Healy (creator of The Three Stooges) at the hands of Wallace Beery, and arranging for an unmarried Loretta Young to adopt her own child--a child fathered by a married Clark Gable. Through exhaustive research and interviews with contemporaries, this is the never-before-told story of Eddie Mannix and Howard Strickling. The dual biography describes how a mob-related New Jersey laborer and the quiet son of a grocer became the most powerful men at the biggest studio in the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film, History, Media Tie In, Biography, Historical, Biography Memoir

325 pages, Paperback

First published November 29, 2004

About the author

E.J. Fleming has been researching Hollywood for decades and has penned biographies of Carole Landis and Wallace Reid, among other books. He lives in the country in Connecticut.

Reviews

[Carla Remy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read a quarter actually. I would like to read more of this someday,but right now - with Los Angeles being on fire - it is too depressing to think about the past.

[Luke Devenish · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the most sordid book about Old Hollywood I've ever read, which I guess says one of two things about me. I have either a) finally reached the bottom of the barrel in my ongoing passion for this topic, or b) I've barely touched the sides and the bottom is but a murk-smeared speck in the distance. I'm unsure which. I thought Hollywood Babylon II was gutter-level, but really that's just a collection of incriminating snapshots wrapped up in camp. The Fixers is SERIOUS. But sordid by no means equals unentertaining or unenlightening here; The Fixers is compelling and revelatory in turns. Other GoodReads reviewers have cursed EJ Fleming as a lousy writer with poor research skills, but I couldn't disagree more. He's a highly engaging scribe who knows his chosen subject matter all TOO well, as the exhausting bibliography attests. But that's not to say I don't feel like washing my hands a hundred times in a vat of boiling bleach. This is mucky stuff, with every page exposing a new abortion/adultery/lesbian orgy/suicide attempt/cocaine addiction/lavender marriage. At least he provides something of an explanation for this gobsmacking stew of sin: the EUROPEANS started it. Rings true to me. I suspended reading this around the 1942 mark. This is not because I wasn't enjoying it - far from it - but the 1930s stuff was my primary reason for picking this up in the first place, and now I've dovetailed into an allied book. But I shall return. When I feel clean again.

[Taylor Cleland · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible organization -- 100 page chapter with no sub topics, goes in and out of tangential background information, and not clear when information is researched or just a theory.

Also a horrific handling of the lgbtq community. While some of this is due to the era (2000ish), a lot of it leans into terrible stereotypes of lgbtq people as sexually lurid. Meanwhile, sexual straight men are held up as heroes.

This felt like a gross old man telling me shocking stories because he likes to see young people (women) squirm. Do not recommend. There are great books on these individual scandals and stories.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some Hollywood scandal books go to a certain level--there's the extreme gonzo Kenneth Anger angle, all the photos in their gory 1950s Confidential cover shots--Jayne Mansfield's dead dog by her corpse or Marie Prevost's dog-nibbled corpse, etc. offset by hyperbole, lies, and gossip; there's what I deem the wishful thinking fanfiction of Scotty Bowers and Darwin Porter--fiction stripping down and pretending it's nonfiction when anything but; there's the more cerebral craftiness of Charles Higham or Shaun Costadine, alleging the craziest of conspiracies and slurs, carefully unsourced; and then there's the Delores Umbridge like penned books that romanticize and glamorize but also dish the dirt, a la Hedda and Louella, with folks like Kitty Kelly, Jane Ellen Wayne, and Charlotte Chandler carrying the torch. (There are also fantastic writers within this field though like Eve Golden or Barry Paris or David Stern.)

But there's also a type of books like this. It seems fan based, judging solely by the writing and by the enthusiasm for his subject. And this belongs I think on any rabid 1930s/40s fan's shelf, if only to completely spoil the movie Hail Caesar! further. Because Eddie Mannix was a monster. Not that this comes to a complete surprise to anyone who has read a few books on MGM or the studio system--or that a former underworld connected amusement park bouncer suddenly in charge of thousands of exploitable desperate women with a penchant for punching dames might be a total son of a bitch. Or that the studio system itself was designed to exploit, use, and discard people. Even LB Mayer was unceremoniously escorted out with no farewell. Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Joan Crawford were all the "more stars than in the heavens" until the studio decided it was time to snuff out that star, it was done with complete disaffection by Eddie Mannix, who even as an old invalid was still kept on payroll, because they'd wheel him in to fire people because he was so good at it. Howard Strickling was head of publicity so he had a more spin doctor approach to problems, rather than abuse, rape or murder, but he helped to cover it up nonetheless. And it was actually far worse at Columbia Pictures.

There are issues within the book though. For starters, its organization--completely chronological, which is fine, but what is NOT fine is every time a star winds up in trouble again, which is frequent (see Mickey Rooney & Spencer Tracy), all previous scandals are regurgitated like it's our first time reading about it. Sometimes the book contradicts itself. Well, was Jean Harlow forced onto the casting couch with LB Mayer and traded sex for parts? Or as it reports later tell them all to go take a hike and spurned a gift of furs? I noticed quite a few errors in the book too, which might just means it wasn't perhaps edited or proofed thoroughly enough. Mabel Normand for example did not die at the age of 31. And really? 30 A List movie stars died of drug overdoses in the year after Wally Reid's death? There was a whirlwind of scandal involving drugs in Hollywood--Desmond Taylor's death, Juanita Hansen, Alma Rubens, Barbara La Marr, Mabel Normand--but not 30 and not like Mary Pickford was found slumped somewhere with a needle in her arm.

Jobyna Ralston was not a big MGM star in 1934. She didn't even work for MGM when she was a lead. She was good in Harold Lloyd features, but her time had long passed. Her last film was in 32 at Criterion--NOT at MGM. While Barbara Stanwyck did marry Robert Taylor, she never worked at MGM, so I found it weird how often she showed up within the book, when she has very little to do with either Mannix or Strickling. Silent film is riddled with tragedies, why was Karl Dane's suicide repeated so often, when he was a Paramount star? What WOULD make an interesting book would be perhaps a nice overview of the various studios within the system. I recall a Bette Davis interview, that constant strife with Jack Warner aside, she appreciated that there was no running around the desk nonsense that other studios had, and how Warners really was run as a blue collar factory for example, which led to its own and different abuses it seems (like how Warners' stars were the first to help break up the studio system because of suing to the Supreme Court over contract extensions).

The mix of outright wrongness with deep insight I think is a bit jarring. Because Fleming does I think know what he's talking about--if perhaps edited better, sourced a GREAT deal better (more on that to come), added photos, and perhaps arranged by celebrity rather than chronology, this could easily be a great book. As for the sourcing, there are some pretty major claims laid here. Spencer Tracy as a sexual predator, molesting a 14 year old Judy Garland. Oh, and Clark Gable probably molested her too, right around the time she warbled "Dear Mr Gable..." at 15. I don't believe either story by the way. Charles Boyer having an affair with Katherine Hepburn. Pretty much everything to do with Jean Harlow, who easily has a spot in the most maligned person in the world hall of fame, a long with Clara Bow.

In a way most of the claims are ridiculous--from Joan Crawford outlandishness to Gables--because where the hell would you find the time for so much wanton debauchery and still be at the set at 5am. Most of the imported Broadway folks found Hollywood insufferably boring and judging by quite a few memoirs by people actually there at the time, it was less crazy then you might think. And it's too bad, because it does TRY to source things at least, the book is riddled with footnotes, and actually going through and checking the claims, the worst seem to come from Jane Ellen Wayne, whose oeuvre is voyeuristic speculation about various actresses' love lives.

He breathlessly reports everything however, both the facts and the nonsense without really weighing or commenting on the validity of anything, which is again too bad, because I am sure he could. One part of Hollywood history I actually know very little about is the whole Jeanette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy phenomenon. I have seen like Naughty Marietta and one other and was unimpressed by the Iron Butterfly. Maybe it's like Celine vs. Barbra, you can only really swear allegiance to one. If the many dubious and contradictory scandal regarding her private life is true in this book, I wonder what her fans (who are many and completely rabid still) make of this book. Her fans all seem to also be really into Loretta Young and Irene Dunne, so will assume they will be pissed.

Really, even knowing very little about MacDonald other than she did light operettas and was married to the bland Gene Raymond, was that she was very good buddies with Dunne and Young herself in real life. Attending mass daily, collecting swears for the jars, attending Republican rallies, and in the meantime, being a prostitute, but also frigid, having sex with the grotesque LB Mayer daily, but marrying a gay guy for cover because she was also dating another gay guy. And it's probably all libelous trash, but a good chunk of the book is about that. (Aka, I know nothing still about Jeanette MacDonald other than there are a ton of lurid whispers about her--but I guess she joins very good company.)

Pretty much every racist lie about Lupe Velez is repeated. Thanks Kenneth Anger!

Where it shines is the end--with the murder of George Reeves and Mannix's final cover up. Here the author does evaluate the sources and present all facts of what happened. He does much of the same thing with Clark Gable's fatal hit and run, which many reputable sources have reported on, even though the cover and framing was skillfully done. The last fifty pages actually are probably the best of the book.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-Read due to a library mistake...but just as well. Enjoyed just as much!! This is my favorite Hollywood book. I like Fleming's thoughts on incidents and I feel he treats it all with a reverence.


The world knows MGM was its own universe. I was aware of some of its dirty laundry but apparently there are countless mysteries and secrets that will never be known. After reading this book, I’m wondering if drugs, sex and violence were more prevalent then than it is today! I have to admit my eyes did grow wide with surprise at many of the revelations. My view of some of the Hollywood world is now a bit tarnished, but I still appreciate what was created. And now when I watch a classic old movie, I will either be smirking or sympathizing for quite a few of my favorite actors. I highly recommend this book to those that love old Hollywood. 2/4/2011

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting material, but the sourcing was not great. It read like the author found some ancient prop man in a nursing home and asked him for every bizarre, unsubstantiated rumor he ever heard about MGM. Also, the book was broken into huge chapters arranged by decade, and within each chapter jumped around from scandal to scandal, star to star, seemingly at random. If you like tabloid-style history, you'll enjoy this book.

[Vanewimsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best I can say for this book is that it's a lively and entertaining read. But it's fiction. Or worse -- at least part of it is fiction, and since you can't tell the nonfiction part from the fiction part, it might as well all be fiction. The topics that I already knew a great deal about (the Roscoe Arbuckle scandal and the murder of William Desmond Taylor) were riddled with total falsehoods.

The book tries to convince you it's on the level by having extensive footnotes. However, the books in the footnotes are themselves unreliable, such as the "biography" of Louis B. Mayer by Charles Higham. In other words, as long as somebody somewhere printed a false but sufficiently lurid story, this book retails it as fact. Not to mention that many anecdotes lack any footnotes at all.

It's ridiculously repetitive. Facts or anecdotes are repeated in a later chapter, in the same chapter, and sometimes even within a few pages. And don't get me started on the messed up spelling and grammar. The proofreading is so bad that Norma Talmadge turns into her sister Natalie Talmadge in a single paragraph. The Luger that killed George Reeves is repeatedly misspelled "Lugar."

Finally, some of the stories (such as about Carole Landis) have no connection to Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling, or MGM; they're just there because they feature sex and/or violence.

[Xenia · Rating 1 out of 5]

At first it was interesting, but then it just stretched out in a long line of affairs, abortions, and alcoholics. I got burned out. I kept putting it down and then going back to it weeks later.
At first, it felt like a historical fiction about Hollywood and I liked it. Then it was like reading a sad biography and felt so tragic. Later, it felt like I had picked up a true crime book because it was so sensationalized. In the end, it was like browsing the National Enquirer at the checkout. I didn't feel so deeply for those poor little rich folks. And it ruined my vision of some of my favorite golden Hollywood actors. Some of the actors were definitely used and abused by the studios; but some just didn't know when to leave well enough alone. if you like big name dropping, scandals, conspiracies, and the golden age of Hollywood then you might like it.

[Lauri I. Sandoval · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating biography of Mannix and Strickling’s fixing it for the stars of the Golden Age, 1920’s 30’s and 40’s. Amazing what they got away with in those days. Makes you take a look at Hollywood legends in a different light.

[Van Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

A MUST READ FOR THOSE WHO LOVE CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD HISTORY

E.J. Fleming has penned an insightful history of the seamy underside of Hollywood during its Golden Era. Anybody who craves history and loves the Studio Era will drool over this behind the scenes examination of the people who shielded the stars from the light of day. The stories about Garbo, Gable, Flynn, Haines, Robert Taylor , etc., are illuminating for various reasons. The strict moral codes that governed not only Hollywood but also defined the early 20th century America compelled the studio heads to keep the private lives of their cash cow stars shielded from public scrutiny. This is no longer true for contemporary movie stars. They can flaunt their true colors for the most part with impunity. Now, some may argue that Fleming’s tome amounts to seedy trash and those private lives deserve to be left alone. I disagree! I can appreciate the stars and their prima Donna lives. They were thespians who could not afford to let their private lives be paraded before the public. Meantime, what the MGM publicity machine did to wash their dirty linen as well as the sordid sagas of some stars who were punished for their behavior is stunning, particularly one comedian whose career was sabotaged because of his success. The George Reeves story is especially illuminating for its cover-up of his murder. Fleming provides more than ample documentation for readers. An excellent behind the scenes look at a bygone era!

[Melissa Morrison · Rating 1 out of 5]

I rarely write reviews but I felt I had to about this one. If you love old Hollywood and think it’s all glamour and wonder, do not read this book. I honestly feel like someone just told me Santa wasn’t real, which of course he is! Although the author did a lot of research, it is so badly organized that it is a frustrating read. He was overly detailed about useless facts, lacked detail where it counted, and honestly, I’m not sure anyone proofed this book before it went to publish. The grammar and blatantly bad structure and spelling was enough to break this English lover’s heart. He even spelled a person’s name two different ways in the same paragraph. Pure laziness would be the way I characterize this author. End of rant.

[Anjana]

I refuse to rate this book.Well it was interesting in the beginning but ...it's just my view...l felt his prejudice seep into the book...he was misogynistic, homophobic, xenophobic,racist ....Also he is soft on most most of the awful people and unnecessarily hard on others in which women were in majority..

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suggested tag lines for this book: "more abortions than stars in the heavens!" Or "a suicide on every corner!"

Ultimately extremely depressing, but very interesting once you're out of the first chapter or so.

[Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. The author had written, more recently, another about the death of 13 year old Danny Croteau at the hands of a Springfield, MA Catholic priest, that was pretty damn good. But there’a a large chunk of time between “The Fixers” and “Death of an Altar Boy…” over a decade, and the writing is day and night.

There’s not much organization here. The author would get on a roll about one thing, and never go back to the topic at hand. Celebrities and drama are brought up with really no context. Separating the chapters out by era made sense, until you start reading. I didn’t bother to write down everything, but I read many, many statements taken as fact that I know are untrue.

I’m going to focus on a handful of the author’s comments about Jean Harlow, as examples, because these in particular stuck out to me, as I’m a massive fan of hers.

One rumor that continues to dog Jean Harlow, for example, is that her mother didn’t allow her medical care when she was dying from renal failure, due to her Christian Science beliefs. I’m no fan of Harlow’s mother, but this has been proven, as of the early 90s, to be untrue, thanks to David Stenn’s phenomenal biography on Harlow, “Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow.” Harlow was receiving medical care -albeit for the wrong condition, from an incorrect diagnosis, but she was being treated from the moment she collapsed on the set of “Saratoga” until her death.

This book also states liver problems would, quote, “lead to her (Harlow’s) death.” While I haven’t read “Bombshell” in quite a few years, Harlow died of kidney failure. Did she have liver problems? Possibly, but it didn’t kill her. Her kidneys were her Achilles Heel.

This is also the first I’ve read that Harlow having an affair with Louis B. Mayer. Huh? Oh, and she also was a frequent visitor to the House of Francis, a Hollywood brothel run by Lee Francis. (I’d love to know when she’d have the time to go to a whorehouse.) Where’d any of this come from? When I searched for a source, I was unable to find one in the book’s “selective bibliography.”

One anecdote I hope is true is about Lionel Barrymore, who supposedly used to yell at the young MGM actors from his dressing room bungalow, as they came in and out of MGM’s school house. He wanted them to SHUT UP. I laughed for a solid minute reading that!

Again, the selected bibliography didn’t help. I’s unfortunate that so many things I read, I wasn’t able to link back to anything.

The book read very much like all actresses were whores and sluts, while the men, no matter what they did, walked on water. The author didn’t treat each actor the same, and his opinions became clearer and clearer as I reached the 1950s with George Reeves and his death. I was disappointed it was so slanted, and wasn’t written in a way to allow me, as the reader, to decide what could have happened. I expected the facts to be simply laid out, but I didn’t get that. He gave his opinions on Reeves, Paul Bern’s death, and the confusing car accidents and possible death of a pedestrian at the hands of Clark Gable. Out of them all, Reeves read the longest.

There were also sooooooooooo many spelling mistakes—Katharine Hepburn’s name was misspelled, for example, that it left me wondering how the book was published. Many missing words, too. Was this not proofread by anyone?

Ultimately, this was a Hell of a long read for me, and I didn’t really enjoy it. If anything, it intrigues me to start reading some of the books Fleming used to write “The Fixers” if they’re accurate. I’m happy I didn’t pay for it, as my library had a copy I was able to borrow.

[Marc T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended with a grain of salt.

As far as Hollywood scandals go, this has quite a number, and the author, for the most part, seems to have done his due diligence. It is footnoted well, and the research seems studious if not scholarly, but there are a number of discrepancies. Now, I know Wikipedia is not a font of veracity, and under normal circumstances I would take the research and word of an author who seems to be as invested and as versed in his content as Mr. Fleming over the innumerable amalgamated scribes at Wikipedia, but there are very questionable points in Mr. Fleming's reporting (and some outright inaccuracies) that call into question whether the man is sloppy (or his editor) or speculating a wee bit too much, perpetuating myths and legends instead of clearing them up. And some of his timelines just don't add up.

Is it entertaining? Yes. Is it accurate? I would guess for the most part as much as can be verified. Is it researched? It seems to be, according to its heavily footnoted body. (The question of course, is how accurate and reliable are his sources in the footnotes that he is taking for gospel?)

A note on the formatting: whether it is poor formatting in the transposition to Kindle or due to sloppy editing, I found the paragraph breaks (or lack thereof) to be nonlinear at times. He'll be discussing one thing and in the same paragraph start discussing another unrelated thing, sans transition - I mean none at all. The flow would have made more sense if there had been a paragraph break (or a section break even better). i imagine, giving Fleming the benefit of a doubt, that it is a poor transition to Kindle. But man, the jarring sudden turns and changes in the flow of content was annoying.

[StLOrca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nope.

DNF, because it's a bad book: badly written, badly proofread, badly edited. It's a shame, because I was looking for a good history on some of Hollywood's hidden past, along the lines of Sin in Soft Focus or The Celluloid Closet.

There's a reason a lot of noir is set in Los Angeles (Raymond Carver, Walter Mosley, and James Ellroy all set their stories there): behind the sun, the shades, and the stars lurks a lot of dirt. Who do you call when your movie star gets pregnant by a married movie star? Who do you call when your famous-actor client allegedly beats someone to death, or drunkenly runs over a pedestrian?

For decades, all of this and more happened behind the glitzy curtains of the film industry. I was ready for some deep dish in this book, but all I got was a baloney sandwich. Between the typos, the repetitive jargon (how many times can you call someone a "barrel-chested Italian"?), and the lazy scholarship, I finally gave up after fifty pages or so. It's a shame, because there are fascinating stories in the book and the author does a great job detailing the birth and adolescence of the film industry: Harry Warner, Louis B. Mayer, Irving G. Thalberg, D.W. Griffith and many more make appearances, their stories tightly interwoven. I simply couldn't get past the sloppy authorship. Hire a proofreader and a ruthless editor and I'll be glad to give it another go. In the meantime, read Ellroy's brilliant L. A. Confidential for a fictional look behind the curtain.

[Randy Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Entertaining Recounting Of Hollywood Scandals

Ostensibly writing about Hollywood “fixers” Eddie Mannix and Howard Strickling, Fleming uses this premise to tell us about the many, many scandals dealt with by these men involving stars at MGM from the 1920s until the 1950s. The majority of these scandals involve sex (hiding a leading man’s homosexuality, arranging for a leading lady to have an abortion, etc.) or violence (abusive husbands and/or wives, actors involved in drunken brawls, and even the occasional accidental death). And few major MGM stars of that era are overlooked. Clark Gable, Spencer Tracey, Joan Crawford and a host of others have their worst moments laid bare in these pages. It’s well written and entertaining, and it’s carefully researched and scrupulously footnoted, so I can’t question its accuracy. But it’s also fairly depressing if you think famous people are somehow above the sort of base behavior the rest of us participate in, because they clearly aren’t. In fact, it kind of makes the argument that being rich and famous turns almost anyone into a pure hedonist. My only complaint is that the last section, about the 1950s, deals almost exclusively with the mysterious death of Superman actor George Reeves and goes on a bit too long. Still, it’s an interesting read. Overall, if you have any interest in Hollywood scandals and the seedy side of show business, this is the book for you.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The focus of the book is (sort of) the scandals of the 1930s (homosexuality, adultery, bigamy, abortion, drugs, and occasionally murder) and Mannix and Strickling, the MGM execs who covered it all up by any means necessary. Pay off the DA or the papers? No problem. Turn a murder into a suicide or blame Clark Gable's hit-and-run on someone else? A little more work, but doable. Force unmarried stars to tie the knot or gays to make opposite sex marriages? Par for the course.
Unfortunately the book isn't at all focused. If Fleming writes about Clark Gable or Spencer Tracy (two stars who did a lot that needed covering up), he has to give their full history from childhood on, which isn't particularly relevant. Fleming also spends more time on various characters sex history than the work the gruesome twosome put in to suppress them.
Another problem is that while Fleming is very clear when he's speculating about various cover-ups (what exactly is the story behind Clark Gable's hit-and-run incident?) a lot of the sexual goings-on are more contested than he admits (one Danny Kaye biography made a persuasive case against Donald Spoto's claims Kaye and Laurence Olivier were lovers).
Worth reading for seeing the precursors to Harvey Weinstein in action, but read with caution.

[Farquar McSpadden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Update: I had to downgrade this from three to two stars. I speed-read up to 26%, and simply had to give up. The book is a spaghetti's mess of everything about MGM and Hollywood, with very little about Mannix and Strickling. Though this is all written with obvious love for the topic, it's very choppy and amateurish. With regret, I put this book down.

_____________

These are a very generous three stars simply because of the topic: Eddie Mannix. I mean, who ever thinks about, much less writes about, Eddie Mannix and the inner workings of MGM, other than weird fans like me or E.J. Fleming?

But I sensed trouble in Chapter One, when the book trotted out all the usual Hollywood-book fluffery. If you know anything about Hollywood history, skip Chapter One entirely. Pure fluff.

The other moment is a paragraph about Howard Strickling's family, and how it dates back to 1632 or something like that, and all I could think was: Your research is showing. This is the type of research you deftly add. You don't dump the whole file.

I'm on page 32, and I already know what I'm in for. I plan to ram through the book as fast as I can and get what I can out of it. But it's not worth a good, careful read.

[Ray · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually only review fiction on my Goodreads account. However, I am also an avid early Hollywood non-fiction reader, and I feel the need to go on the record that "The Fixers" is an atrocity.

The biggest disappointment was the lack of information about Howard Strickling and Eddie Mannix. I am sure there is a lot less source material available about any non-actor or non-studio head. And finding info about the people who made it their business to bury secrets couldn't be easy. BUT...there were maybe 10 pages total devoted to any specific info about these two guys, and almost everything else came from biographies of other people. The MGM publicity and security departments had hundreds of employees--I don't believe there isn't primary source mat3rial of some sort in the archives that could have least given us a "day in the life" view, if not a fuller sketch of Mannix and Strickling's daily life.

In fact, this book was nothing more than an annotated timeline of early 20th century Hollywood scandals. And at least half of that comes from unsubstantiated or unreliable sources. It was sort of like reading a Wikipedia article.

I read the author's Paul Bern bio and thought it was better done (though still questionable not to mention honophobic).

[Barbara Dominguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting

At first it didn't seem to be very much about Mannix or Strickling..but then again, the author did need to give some history of making movies, studios, Hollywood..and of course actors and actresses. They did indeed protect MGM's stars.. sometimes for a very begrudging Mayer, but overall, they were protecting MGM.
It was scandalous and sad with some of the things that they got away with doing..worse was the fact that they had several people in their pockets making the law go out the window. Some of the small to medium details differ with some other books that I've read that are fairly recent. Some information I already knew and some of it I didn't. Some events got cleared up, and some are still a mystery. How much of the information was a plant to keep Stars inline.. and we just still believe it? Judy Garland lived such a sad life for someone so talented. It makes you appreciate the stars that lived a more reputable life and weren't extremely crazy. But, now I can put a back story and face to the "Fixers" and the events that they had to..fix.

[Mediaman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dull rehash of a few major Hollywood “secrets” that have long been covered in other books. With 17 pages of footnotes and bibliography, this writer essentially does a college term paper using material found elsewhere and his only unique spin is a focus on the heads of publicity at MGM, who were the master liars that paid off cops and journalists to keep scandals quiet.

But even that fails. Instead we get a long history of early Hollywood, repetitive recaps of well-known scandals, and very little about the two “fixers.” Then suddenly after “the last big secret” in the 1950s (death of George Reeves), the book wraps up quickly, skipping past the next 40+ years.

This is not journalism—it’s gossip, hearsay and speculation. When the author can’t figure out the truth he inserts his own guess. Of course, these people are all dead so he can’t be sued for something like saying Joan Crawford “starred in a pornographic movie” with no solid evidence.

It might sound fun but it’s too dry and narrow in its focus. It needed a fixer to make it worth reading.

[John Kenrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun but totally unreliable

This book is a collection of all the most nasty rumored scandals of Hollywood's golden years, repeated here despite name having been debunked long ago. The factual inaccuracies are so frequent that I can begin to believe most of the text. I enjoy show biz gossip, but not when it devolves into one lie after another as it does in this book. Circumstances of death are often totally wrong, and reliable sources regarding the secual preferences and activities of stars are routinely ignored. I could never quote this book as a source of anything but sewer slime. Many nasty fictions are provided for stars who Mannix & Strickling never worked with. Shame on EJ Fleming for such an irresponsible and pig ignorant book.

[Koren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back in the early days of Hollywood, the movie studios spent a lot of time and money making sure the public saw the actors and actresses as squeaky clean and morally pure. If word got out, it could ruin an actor's reputation. In this book, it would seem like that was a full-time job. This book makes it sound like pretty much everyone was having an affair, was gay, having an abortion, committing suicide or being murdered. I have watched a lot of the old movies were there were quite a few people in this book that I had never heard of. The book was most interesting when I had at least heard of the people they were talking about. I think a lot of the stories in this book are common knowledge to people who have read a lot of golden age of Hollywood bios. Lots of typos in this book.

[Leftbanker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as research for something that I was working on a while back, so I didn't finish the book. Not because I didn't like it, but because I got what I needed from it. What I got out of it was a cool history of old school Hollywood and the ruthless nature of that business back in the early years of the film industry.

The book was somewhat of a mess on a narrative level and desperately needed an editor which seems to be a major problem in this era of self-publishing and diminishing profits for publishing houses. Still, the book was a lot of fun and very interesting regarding the history of the film world in the early 20th century.

[Rusty · Rating 2 out of 5]

A curious book. Packed with nonstop stories (supposedly backed up with evidence) about many of Hollywood's stars. Manically written, with stories often overlapping, as if the writer was in a rush to catch a bus. Most stories here will be somewhat known to most, but many new details and theories - who knew, for instance, that Spencer Tracy was such a mess? - may surprise. If you like your favorite old stars unblemished, this is not the book for you - but if you want warts and all, and I do mean ALL the warts, some details are real eye openers. I do wish it had been better written and found myself skimming quite a bit.

[Rebecca Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a lot of very interesting information, but badly needs an editor. Breaking the book up into sections based on decade was an excellent idea, but the way the author seemed to stick to a chronological telling of all the events combined made for difficult reading. Having chapters based on individual scandals or celebrities would have made for much smoother reading. There were numerous typos which after awhile became more noticeable rather than less.

It's a shame that author obviously spent so much time researching and writing this book for a less than stellar outcome.

[Cynthia Bemis Abrams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this as background information for my podcast, Advanced TV Herstory. Fleming's storytelling of some of Hollywood's most lingering mysteries and secrets is backed by research... or at least corroboration.

Fleming unearthed a lot of information through interviews and deep digging, thereby giving him the ability to connect dots and create a through-line on many of these stories and events for the first time. But contrary to the book's title, it's only a little bit to do with Mannix, Strickling and the machine and as much to do with the bubble of power (and wild ways) of golden Hollywood.

[Autumn Kearney · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling, and the MGM publicity machine. The sections are as follows - Movies Find Hollywood -- Building the Emerald City -- Omens, and the Twenties End Roaring -- The 1930s: The Golden Age of Trouble -- The 1940s: War Inside and Out -- The 1950s: relics and the Last Big Secret -- Postscript: fade out

Hollywood scandals and rumors from the past are impossible to prove. Nevertheless, it makes for interesting reading.

[Julie Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very gripping insider story of old Hollywood

This book really talks about the insider stories of the movie stars, who were under contract to the studios. The fixer guys had to cover up some big stories or invent a lot of things to keep their stars reputations in tact. I thought it was pretty gritty, and interesting reading.