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Murder Hollywood Style Who Killed Jean Harlow's Husband?
Paul Bern was married to the world's greatest sex symbol, Jean Harlow, and was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer's top producers. Why would a man who has everything kill himself?
When his body was found early on the morning of September 5th 1932 in his Beverly Hills home everything seemed to point to suicide.
Samuel Marx was the MGM story edition at the time. He knew both Bern and Harlow intimately. After years of investigation Marx, together with Joyce Vanderveen, had reconstructed this true-life detective story, ending with the revelation of Paul Bern's murder.
With an extraordinary cast of characters that ranges from Louis B. Meyer to F. Scott Fitzgerald, 'Murder Hollywood Style' rips the lid off the studio cover-up with compelling evidence that Bern was murdered - and why.
When his body was found early on the morning of September 5th 1932 in his Beverly Hills home everything seemed to point to suicide.
Samuel Marx was the MGM story edition at the time. He knew both Bern and Harlow intimately. After years of investigation Marx, together with Joyce Vanderveen, had reconstructed this true-life detective story, ending with the revelation of Paul Bern's murder.
With an extraordinary cast of characters that ranges from Louis B. Meyer to F. Scott Fitzgerald, 'Murder Hollywood Style' rips the lid off the studio cover-up with compelling evidence that Bern was murdered - and why.
271 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 25, 2019
Way back in 1932 Sam Marx was present when Paul Bern was found dead in his home. Bern was the husband of Hollywood star and sex goddess Jean Harlow so the studio she was working for, MGM, did not want any adverse publicity. The necessary machinery was brought into action to keep the incident low key and declare it a suicide, as there was a note, albeit not particularly realistic, by the body.
Louis B Mayer and Irving Thalberg were present at the scene and they wrote the script, as it were, for the servants who had found the body to relate to the authorities, who were called, inexplicably, some hours later. Not surprisingly, in view of what was presented, a verdict of suicide was returned.
However, Marx returned to the case many years later and sought out some of the people involved who were still alive. Piecing together their evidence together with files of the time procured from the appropriate authorities he discovered that Bern had been involved with a lady for many years and had more than likely married her. She was still alive at the time of his death, so having married Jean Harlow he had in fact committed bigamy. The lady in question had had a breakdown and had not circulated for some 10 years but when she felt recovered enough she set out to meet up with her former paramour/husband.
It would appear that this she did on the night that he died and, based on new evidence from the servants, who had remained silent for all the intervening years, she more than likely murdered Bern by his poolside. She then departed and the studio took over re-arranging the scenario, something at which they were well versed!
Dorothy Millette, for that was her name fled on a paddle steamer bound for Sacramento but on its arrival there she had gone missing and was later presumed drowned.
Marx and his co-author set out all the facts which make the book read like a first-rate thriller, even though there is a touch of the conspiracy theory about it.
Louis B Mayer and Irving Thalberg were present at the scene and they wrote the script, as it were, for the servants who had found the body to relate to the authorities, who were called, inexplicably, some hours later. Not surprisingly, in view of what was presented, a verdict of suicide was returned.
However, Marx returned to the case many years later and sought out some of the people involved who were still alive. Piecing together their evidence together with files of the time procured from the appropriate authorities he discovered that Bern had been involved with a lady for many years and had more than likely married her. She was still alive at the time of his death, so having married Jean Harlow he had in fact committed bigamy. The lady in question had had a breakdown and had not circulated for some 10 years but when she felt recovered enough she set out to meet up with her former paramour/husband.
It would appear that this she did on the night that he died and, based on new evidence from the servants, who had remained silent for all the intervening years, she more than likely murdered Bern by his poolside. She then departed and the studio took over re-arranging the scenario, something at which they were well versed!
Dorothy Millette, for that was her name fled on a paddle steamer bound for Sacramento but on its arrival there she had gone missing and was later presumed drowned.
Marx and his co-author set out all the facts which make the book read like a first-rate thriller, even though there is a touch of the conspiracy theory about it.
March 10, 2023
Written by former MGM chief story editor Samuel Marx, this book explores the mysterious death of studio producer Paul Bern, recent husband of star Jean Harlow. Marx's first-hand account of many of the events lends a great degree of authenticity to his conclusions. The narrative jumps around a lot, which at first helps to hold interest but ultimately makes the story more confusing than it should be, especially with the large amount of characters involved. Similar in many ways to King Vidor's investigations into the mysterious death of silent film director William Desmond Taylor, detailed in "A Cast of Killers."
December 19, 2020
Interesting book, not only about the murder itself but also about the studio system and the Hollywood of the time.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews