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Deadly Illusions : Jean Harlow and the Murder of Paul Bern
Deadly Illusions Jean Harlow and the Murder of Paul Bern
Author: Samuel Marx
In 1932, three months after his marriage to film star Jean Harlow, Hollywood producer Paul Bern was found shot to death. The verdict was suicide, and the motive was alleged to be Bern's despair over his sexual immaturity and impotence. Marx, Bern's contemporary at MGM, refutes this negative characterization of his friend and argues that Bern was...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780394582184
ISBN-10: 0394582187
Publication Date: 9/19/1990
Pages: 271
Rating:
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 5

3.3 stars, based on 5 ratings
Publisher: Random House
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review
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harlowish avatar reviewed Deadly Illusions : Jean Harlow and the Murder of Paul Bern on
"Deadly Illusions" was a very good read with some interesting insights. Although I tend to think that David Stenn's recreation of Paul Bern's death in "Bombshell" is more believable than Marx and Vanderveen's murder theory, this book did a good job of dispelling some of the myth surrounding Paul Bern's suicide, such as his alleged impotence. It also sheds some more light on Bern and Dorothy Millette, both rather shadowy figures in Harlow's history. Whether you do or do not believe the authors' murder theory, this is a worthwhile book because of the insights it gives us into the characters of key Hollywood players and kingpins in the early '30s.
reviewed Deadly Illusions : Jean Harlow and the Murder of Paul Bern on + 4 more book reviews
A good book. Mainly about the "incident" (Paul Bern's murder), it does offer insight as to how a woman so young (she was 26 when she died) could live so big.
nascargal avatar reviewed Deadly Illusions : Jean Harlow and the Murder of Paul Bern on + 352 more book reviews
This is a decent Hollywood true mystery book. In 1932 in Beverly Hills, film producer Paul Bern lay dead. Hollywood kingpins Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg arrived even before the police. Because Paul Bern wasn't just any producer. He was the husband of Jean Harlow, MGM's rising star, and the studio would protect her-at any cost.


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