Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Sex, Deviance, and Drama from the Golden Age of American Cinema

Anne Helen Petersen examines the star-making machines of the Hollywood movie studios and what that means for the actual people whose lives are manipulated in the press, and for how those stories reflect the desires and prejudices of America at the time. Scandals of Classic Hollywood looks at thirteen star stories, almost entirely sourced from newspapers and magazines, with the occasional public record or star's own writings to give a glimpse to the truth behind the headlines.

In an effort to focus on specific facets of society and how that influenced the studios' PR, the aspects of the stars' stories are occasionally elided or truncated for space, but otherwise Petersen takes a broad picture view, much as the gossip columns and magazine show more spreads did. Each story begins with the "discovery" - how the star became a star - and traces out how that set a star image, which was then further developed by movie roles and offscreen behavior. There are hundreds of potential stories to choose from, and Petersen selected this baker's dozen carefully: they are arranged chronologically, and also grouped to highlight certain themes. The first batch shows the formation of the Hollywood Star Image in the early days of the studios, followed by sex symbols of the 1920s, then sex symbols of the 1930s, two iconic romantic couples, women that were destroyed by the studios, and men who rejected the studio system.

I had originally come to the Scandals from The Hairpin, where I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the media and gossip surrounding the old movie stars and how that reflected contemporary American society, and also how the expectations of society and big business constrained the stars' actions. That series, which I read almost from the beginning in 2011, greatly changed how I watch and appreciate movies, and even gave me a new understanding of modern celebrity gossip. So I was predisposed to like the book, which provides almost entirely new material of the same theme. I was surprised to realized that a lot of my enjoyment of the series came from seeing the magazine covers and publicity photos alongside Petersen's analysis. While the book has a very thorough list of every single article or headline referenced in the stories, it's not quite the same as seeing the headlines and the context of clothing or pose or even other headlines and titles on the same page. At least the references allow me to look them up, and the different format of the book to the Hairpin posts means the lack of images wasn't a complete loss. It would have been nice to see at least a few. (How amusing that the book's cover design is an explicit callout to the Confidential rag, which was so influential in its short lifespan, which I only know because of the Hairpin posts.)

It was also a little strange to read a few different anecdotes and to realize that certain parts of the star images and accepted truths may very well be pure fabrication, which Petersen only occasionally reminds of. She does point out that she's analyzing the gossip and PR and what it means on a sociological level, so it doesn't necessarily matter what the "real" truth is - the falsehood is still true to millions of people. But there's a short bit in the story about Clark Gable and Carole Lombard that refers to his on-set romance with Loretta Young, and the resulting secret baby - only a few months after she wrote this, Petersen herself learned from Young's son that it was no romance at all, and she felt unable to speak out about it or name it as anything else, partly because she didn't know for over 60 years that there were words to describe what had happened. It was only a brief paragraph reference in Scandals, but this additional knowledge of this specific incident really drove home for me how much was fabricated, and how much the studios controlled the stars, beyond what Petersen describes.

This is a fascinating book and it charts the rise and fall of the Hollywood studio system in an interesting way. I suspect that much of my appreciation and enjoyment comes from being an avid reader of Petersen's work online as well as in the book. I would love to have a print version of the essays she had originally wrote for her blog about modern starmaking and the additional ones from the Hairpin that go into more depth about the gossip columnists and the fan magazines, to accompany this book. show less

Anne Helen Petersen wrote her PhD dissertation about the cultural significance of gossip magazines, so it is only fitting that her first book, Scandals of Classic Hollywood is an attempt to "help rescue gossip, the study of stars, and scandal from the cultural wastebasket." To do so, she retells the stories (some familiar, some long forgotten by all but dedicated film buffs) of Hollywood's earliest and mid- period stars, with an eye toward revealing how the studios, fan magazines, and gossip columns worked together to make or break actors' careers.

For example, "America's Sweetheart" Mary Pickford and the dashing actor Douglas Fairbanks had an extramarital affair before they divorced their respective spouses and married each other. Had show more the public seen their relationship a sordid tale of infidelity, their reputations would have been destroyed and their careers may well have been over. However, magazines like Photoplay promoted their romance as the inevitable triumph of true love, and Pickford and Fairbanks emerged from the threat of scandal more popular than ever.

On the other hand, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was not so fortunate. In one of Hollywood's first major scandals, he was implicated in the death of Virginia Rappe, an actress who died under mysterious circumstances in his hotel room. Even though Arbuckle was eventually cleared in court, the gossip press continued to associate his name with orgies and debauchery. His career never recovered.

Petersen reviews these and other film-star scandals with obvious affection for the bygone era of "Old Hollywood," when movie stars seemed to embody everyone's hopes, dreams and fears. It must have been a lot of fun for her to peruse the old gossip sheets she lists as her sources. Despite the author's academic credentials, the text is never weighed down by grad-school jargon or pompous theorizing. If you, too, would like to revisit the days when movie stars really were larger-than-life figures, you may enjoy this book. show less

An enjoying and thoughtful book dissecting on major Hollywood scandals from the golden age of cinema and how they reflect on the social mores and fears of the times. I would have enjoyed a few more recent stories to explore whether and how things have changed since the era of a few powerful gossip columnists being drip-fed stories by studios, but there's a lot to like here anyway. Petersen's writing hits the perfect balance between pulpy pop and thoughtful academia and the stories she's chosen have broad appeal both as classic Hollywood gossip and as thoughtful sociology.

People looking for a Hollywood Babylon-style selection of vicious rumors and urban legends will be disappointed with Scandals of Classic Hollywood. Instead of simply retelling the scandalous stories most people already know, the book looks at how scandals were spun to make and break careers. Petersen’s scholarly approach is interesting, but it won’t be to everyone’s tastes.

Anne Helen Petersen's book gushes with plenty of backstage gossip about high profile illicit affairs from the golden age of American cinema, if perhaps with less sex and deviance than her subtitle suggests.

Scouring the past pages of the tabloid press, Petersen examines the rise and fall of former matinee idols, blonde bombshells and rebel rousers.

The book does offer some juicy morsels in its bite-size chapters, but most of it is rather tame by today's standards.

The real revelation is how Hollywood's behavior continues to influence our cultural values.

Lifestyles which were once regarded as scandalous and very hush-hush -- drug addiction, infidelity and sexual orientation -- are now status quo.

The sensationalized antics of yesterday's show more stars have set a precedent that have become social norms. A tolerance for such behavior has been established, eliciting only eye rolls rather than a shocked gasp when reading about other people's private affairs. show less

“Scandals of Classic Hollywood” is an easy, breezy read for those who love Hollywood gossip and are interested in knowing about scandals of earlier generations of film stars.

The author, Anne Helen Peterson, takes the reader through the history of the movies via some of the juicier scandals of the stars of the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s.
Hollywood has always been scandal ridden – from the not so chaste as they appeared Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, to the legal troubles that ruined the careers of Fatty Arbuckle and Clara Bow.

We learn of the early deaths of Wallace Reid, Jean Harlow, Rudolf Valentino and James Dean, and the angst ridden lives of Judy Garland, Dorothy Dandridge and Montgomery Clift. The author introduces us to show more the “power couples” of their time: Gable and Lombard, and Bogie and Bacall, and the irresistible sexuality of Mae West and Marlon Brando.

Movie buffs will not learn anything new, but a younger generation of film enthusiasts, upon reading this book, will want to learn more about the famous names mentioned, and their films and careers, and their impact on the movies. show less

3.5 stars
It’s been years since I read a Hollywood scandals book. While well acquainted with early Hollywood, ie. Fatty Arbuckle etc., there were some things I wasn’t aware of. Speaking as one who delights in the stars and movies from Hollywood’s Early and Golden eras SCANDALS OF CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD is both entertaining and enlightening. In contrast to my prior, admittedly limited, reading Ms. Petersen gives more background and details beyond the salacious and titillating. She leads up to the scandal putting it in context with the individual’s personality. In terms of the effect the incident or behavior has on a career, fans, etc..it’s framed by society’s morals, values, and expectations of that celebrity. The latter is the show more aspect that gave me the most food for thought, how handlers/publicists would spin these lapses of better judgment or bad behavior to make them acceptable or forgivable. In a sense these scandals say as much about society as they do the actors. Fascinating standpoint.
Before SCANDALS OF CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD I had never heard of Anne Helen Petersen or Hairpin. Checking out her column is now on my must do list.

SCANDALS OF CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD is an entertaining, fun, and palatably revealing look at us wrapped in the actions of others.
Reviewed for Manic Readers & Miss Ivy’s Book Nook show less