Supported by a primary record or strong direct evidence.
CASE INDEX / HOLLYWOOD CASE FILE
The stories Hollywood left unresolved.
Hollywood Case File reconstructs Old Hollywood stories from archival records, contemporary reporting and traceable sources.
THE RECORD
Drama, with the evidence left visible.
Attributed to a credible published source, memoir or interview.
Contested, contradictory or unsupported by the available record.
ACTIVE FILES / 04
CASE HCF-004 / MYTH VS. RECORD
Clara Bow and the USC Football Rumor: From a 1927 Tea to a 1965 Paperback
One rumor has followed Clara Bow for nearly a century. The earliest link we found between Bow and the USC team is a 1927 tea party. The earliest explicitly sexual version we found was printed in 1965, in a book that called the allegations unsupported. The case follows the trail in between, and names the pages we could not read.
Documented with stated search limits
CASE HCF-003 / MYTH VS. RECORD
Marilyn Monroe's Pink Dress Was Reportedly Sold for $12
Vogue reports that a collector bought Marilyn Monroe's pink gown from Fox for $12. A 2010 auction report put the winning bid at $310,000, before fees. The case follows the gown from screen to museum, and marks where the paperwork stops.
Reported with stated limits
CASE HCF-002 / THE STUDIO MACHINE
The Injunction That Took Joan Crawford's Letty Lynton Off the Screen
MGM licensed the novel behind Letty Lynton, but three connected scenes reproduced protected expression from a play it never acquired. The resulting injunction reached Crawford's completed film and kept it outside ordinary authorized circulation for decades.
Documented with stated limits
CASE HCF-001 / THE STUDIO MACHINE
Warner Bros. Said Olivia de Havilland Still Owed Them 25 Weeks
Seven years after Olivia de Havilland began working for Warner Bros., the studio said unpaid suspensions meant her contract was not finished. The court had to decide whether California law meant seven calendar years or seven years of actual service.
Documented