AllMovie

A&E examines a tale that proves fact is stranger than fiction in City Confidential: Old Hollywood -- Silent Stars, Deadly Secrets. William Desmond Taylor was one of the up-and-coming movie directors of his time, having just broken into the studio system in Hollywood. When he was mysteriously murdered in his bungalow by a single gunshot wound in the back in 1922, all of Tinseltown was perplexed. Rumors instantly started circulating that he was killed by his many paramours, that he was gay, and even that he was taken out by drug-dealing mafia. But, no theory stuck. In 1967, King Vidor tried to solve this long-standing case, but his attempts came to a curious halt. In this one-hour special, A&E reveals the true killer and the crime that spawned a movement.