Movie Answer Man
Movie Answer Man (01/26/2003)
Q. Kenneth Anger's appearance at the Siskel Film Center prompted me to browse through my copy of his book, Hollywood Babylon. I was surprised to see that Anger's chapter on the mysterious death of Thomas Ince is virtually identical to the version related in Peter Bogdanovich's film "The Cat's Meow"--including the suggestion that Louella Parsons was given a lifetime contract in return for her silence. I was under the impression that film's depiction of Parsons as an eyewitness was an original idea, but obviously that is not the case. (Rich Gallagher, Fishkill NY)