Hollywoodnt – Hollywood'nt … Holl

Lana Turner and Johnny Stompanato were doomed from the start of their ill-fated romance. He wanted a glamorous and rich movie star on his arm, and she wanted a big strong protector. Her daughter was the wild card they didnt plan on.

Shocked by the sudden turn of events, Lana Turner faces the biggest scandal of her life. The events are even more dramatic than her films. As Johnny Stompanato lays dead on the floor a series of events take place that would be talked about for decades.

Step back in time to April 1958 and into the rented Beverly Hills home of actress Lana Turner. A fight is underway between her and her lover, John Steele (aka Johnny Stompanato). The door opens, a sudden action and a death occurs. This is where we begin with Homicide in Lana Turner’s Pink Bedroom. (From the book Movie Star and the Mobster).

We revisit a topic from the past – Movie Star and the Mobster. In April 1958 Lana Turner’s lover, Johnny Stompanato, is stabbed to death inside her plush pink bedroom in Beverly Hills. It became the scandal of the 1950s and was the basis for the book, Movie Star and the Mobster. The book won the Hollywood, New York and London book festivals after it was first publishing in 2016. The story is the subject of our latest series. Listen for a preview.

With Superman back in theaters and a new book – Curse of the Silver Screen – covering the drama behind the curse of Superman – we are revisiting the 1978 feature film and the history behind the curse on those associated with the movie, as well as the tragedies suffered by a number of those associated with the film, including Marlon Brando, Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve.

With a new book out on Cursed movies and troubled backstories behind classic motion pictures – Curse of the Silver Screen – we are revisiting one of the chapters on the book – The Curse of Superman. In this episode we look back at the production of the 1978 film Superman, the inspiration, the producers, the director and casting of the film, as well as the production mishaps and troubles that delays and expanded the budget of the film.

Roman Novarro’s life came to a tragic end on October 30, 1968, when brothers Paul and Tom Ferguson, aged 22 and 17, came into his home. It was believed that he may have met at least one of the men earlier and when they called him and offered their sexual services he invited them over. Investigators believed that Novarro had hired prostitutes in the past to come to his Laurel Canyon home and that the Ferguson brothers may have obtained Novarro’s telephone number from one of his previous sexual partners. The brothers believed the star had money hidden in his home and came there looking for it.

Ramon Novarro never really reconciled with who he was and was troubled by his conflicted feelings he had for his Roman Catholic religion and his homosexuality. He hid being gay so he could keep working in Hollywood and the pressure lead to a life-long struggle with alcoholism. Fortunately, he had purchased a home with the money from his successful years and managed to sustain a life in Hollywood during the years when work was harder to come by. Huty23544 022

In 1935, when his contract with MGM Studios expired, the studio opted not to renew. Novarro struggled to find work, but occasionally found roles to earn an income. By the 1940s, he was working less frequently, but in 1949 he landed a supporting part in John Huston’s, We Were Strangers. In the 1950s his work was moving toward television and by the 1960s what little income he could earn came from supporting roles on TV shows.

Ramon Novarro achieved his biggest success in 1925 with the silent film version of Ben-Hur. With revealing costumes he became a sex symbol with the film’s release and a Hollywood heartthrob overnight. After Rudolph Valentino’s death in 1926, Novarro became the top Latin actor in Hollywood and was known for his swashbuckler action roles. Considered one of the great romantic leads, he hid the fact that he was gay for most of his life. He starred opposite Norma Shearer in The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927) and Joan Crawford in Across to Singapore (1928). As movies became talkies his voice didnt translate well and he star persona suffered.

Born in 1899, Ramon Novarro was a Mexican-American actor who began his career in silent films in 1917. He worked his way up to a leading man and eventually became one of the top box-office stars of the silent film era. During the 1920s MGM named him its “Latin lover” and he took over the role of Hollywood’s biggest sex symbol after the death of Rudolph Valentino. He was one of the first Latin American actors to achieve major success in Hollywood, but he hid his homosexuality and as sound came into films, his career fell apart.

Prosecutors surmised that in the murder case of Ramon Novarro, two young men – believing that a large sum of money was hidden in Novarro’s house – entered his home on October 30, 1968, looking for the loot. Authorities believe the brothers tortured Novarro for hours to force him to reveal where he’d hidden his money. Sadly, there was none. They left the house with only $20. The actor died of asphyxiation, by choking to death on his own blood. In this new series we will look back at the murder, the life of the actor and the path that put him on a collision course with tragedy.

Before our 2025 series kicks off we have a special holiday treat episode. In the past we used to do a podcast episode of our old series The Movie Files during the holidays of a film that takes place during the Christmas season that’s not really a Christmas movie. To revisit the tradition we offer a visit with Lady in the Lake, a 1947 film noir classic that has a good dose of holiday flair but it not a holiday flick.

As we close out this series, the final episode offers some questions and some answers behind Bette Davis, Wicked Stepmother, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Joan Crawford and Wicked Becomes Her.

The filming of Wicked Stepmother would be a troubling experience for everyone involved, but more so for its star. As health troubles made it difficult to work, she would exit the production after little more than a week on the set. The director would face a decision as to what to do what his film when his star disappeared. His decision would be surprising to many in Hollywood when he opted to rework the film around what little footage he had of Davis. No one was more surprised than the star herself. WICKED STEPMOTHER, Bette Davis, David Rasche, 1989, (c)MGM

As Bette Davis ages, the roles grew fewer and farther between, but she managed to find the occasional film or TV project, as well as appearance on awards shows and talk shows. It was one of those appearances that gave Larry Cohen the idea to craft a film with Bette Davis in mind. The idea was a kind gesture, but would prove disastrous.

As Bette Davis struggled to remain relevant past Baby Jane, she would take on a number of roles, but be largely trapped in the horror genre of the day. Similarly, Joan Crawford would also find herself starring in horror films. By the 1980s, Crawford was gone, but Bette was working more and more in TV. Though she searched for good film work.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? would forever tie Bette Davis with Joan Crawford. The iconic motion picture would inspire a host of films and keep both Crawford and Davis working through the 1960s. It would also be one of the stories that gave director Larry Cohen the drive to created Bette Davis’s final film, Wicked Stepmother.

As we revisit the career of Bette Davis, this episode looks at her highs and lows and how the actress, star and movie queen would struggle and thrive in Hollywood. All the challenges she faced in the 1950s and 60s would prepare her to do battle with her final director, Larry Cohen.

This time we dig deeper into the story behind how Wicked Stepmother came to life and how director Larry Cohen landed Bette Davis as the star of his film. Written with Davis in mind, Cohen’s film was inspired in part by the many film Davis made in her later years and would be a black comedy spoof of horror films. The story behind the movie is more fascinating than the movie itself. Larry Cohen and Bette Davis