Sunset Strip by James Reach

James Reach was a prolific playwright of over 200 plays, radio and film scripts, and seven novels. I'll seek him out after reading this entertaining and "surging novel of Hollywood" that struck just the right balance, I didn't want it to end. The cover's claim "She used men as stepping stones to fame" has nothing to do with this story of filming a 3 million dollar spectacle akin to The Ten Commandments. It is 1953, when Biblical epics equal box-office.

This features Johnny Mashak, assistant to Solomon T. Brophy, the President of Monolith Pictures. With failing health, and tired of producing dreck, Brophy's doctor has given him just enough time to film one last picture he can be proud of, assuring his name will never be forgotten.

"The Scarlet Wench", the life and loves of Mary Magdalene written by an obscure parson, was a bestseller the world over. Two times before, production was stopped due to accidents, labeling it a jinx. Money man Kent Hadley asserts it a colossal waste of money. Director Rex Carnehan has just been nominated, and this production could use the artistic 'Carnehan touch'. Linda Gant, a seductive ex-burlesque dancer rising to top roles, was not even considered for the lead. They found a young, inexperienced newcomer possessing that magic star-quality the camera loves. She could be the next Marilyn, if she can learn to act. Lying about her age at just 17, Dolores Overholtz has a stage mother determined she will succeed, until they meet another of the actors, Bruce Randall. A long-time alcoholic more known for being a prostitute than an actor, Randall is dry now and desperate enough for a role that he blackmails Carnehan with those illicit photos he has of Rex with that young man. Yes, Carnehan is described as a 'homo' and a 'pervert', but also the best Director.

Johnny rises from assistant to Executive Producer as Carnehan disappears, found days later in a transvestite party house. Our male lead Greg Manville grows up fast when on a dark night, he runs a man down and flees, and it is up to Johnny to handle the fallout. Dolores is rebranded Dolores Dean, and the Hollywood gossip mill hits high gear promoting her, to the anger of her home town boyfriend Cliff, just nuts enough about her to ride around in his hot rod, flying high on speed and 'thrill sticks', arriving in town with a loaded .38.

This has all the salacious thrills you'd expect from a novel titled Sunset Strip, told brightly without being comic. I have only touched the surface of the plot, which unfolds smoothly without disrespecting its characters. This is not The Day of the Locust or A Star Is Born; it knows what it is without being crass, and really delivers entertainment.

1957 / Paperback / 128 pages