J.B. Prescott's Hollywood Years¶

1938-1940: Dreams, Disillusionment, and Detective Fiction¶

Arrival in Tinseltown (1938)¶

J.B. Prescott arrived in Los Angeles on a smoggy September morning in 1938, his battered typewriter and a single suitcase in tow. The jacaranda trees lining Sunset Boulevard were bare, their purple blooms months away, mirroring Prescott's stripped expectations.

Like many of his literary contemporaries, Prescott found himself drawn to Hollywood by the siren call of lucrative screenwriting work. The promise of financial stability and the allure of seeing his stories brought to life on the silver screen proved irresistible.

The Studio System¶

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)¶

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios signed Prescott to a six-month contract at $250 per week. His office, a cramped cubicle on the third floor of the writers' building, overlooked the backlot where set builders hammered and sawed from dawn to dusk.

First Assignments¶

"Starlet's Folly" - Prescott's first assignment was to polish dialogue for this tepid romantic comedy. His revisions, praised in New York literary circles, were deemed "too clever by half" by producer Monroe Stahr. Stahr's exact words: "This ain't The New Yorker, Prescott. Give me lines a Kansas farmhand can understand."

Chastened, Prescott adapted.

Shadows of Sunset (1939)¶

The Breakthrough¶

Prescott's next project, "Shadows of Sunset," a noir-tinged drama about a washed-up silent film star's desperate comeback attempt, fared better. Director Michael Curtiz appreciated Prescott's sharp dialogue and narrative economy.

Critical Reception¶

The Hollywood Reporter, November 15, 1939: "In a town built on dreams and illusions, 'Shadows of Sunset' dares to peek behind the curtain, offering a stark, often unflattering portrait of Hollywood's darker side."

Variety: "Shadows" became Prescott's sole credited screenplay, earning modest praise for its "acerbic wit and unexpected pathos."

Cast: - Constance Bennett as Gloria Desmond - A tour-de-force performance - Claude Rains as a cynical studio fixer - Stealing every scene

Direction: Michael Curtiz made excellent use of shadow and light, creating a noir-ish atmosphere that underscored the moral ambiguity of Prescott's Hollywood.

Rating: ★★★ (out of four) Runtime: 112 minutes Produced by: Warner Bros. Pictures

Life in Hollywood¶

Musso & Frank Grill¶

Prescott frequented Musso & Frank Grill on Hollywood Boulevard, where he rubbed elbows with fellow literary expatriates. William Faulkner, three sheets to the wind, once cornered Prescott in a booth, rambling about the "goddamn idiocy" of cinema for two hours straight. Prescott nursed a gin rickey and took mental notes.

Living Arrangements¶

Prescott rented a bungalow on North Orange Drive, a Spanish Revival with cracked stucco and overgrown bougainvillea. The house became the fictional office for his detective character, Zeb Marlowe. His neighbors, a washed-up silent film comedian and an ambitious chorus girl, unwittingly provided character inspiration.

The End of MGM Contract¶

MGM declined to renew Prescott's contract in March 1939. He freelanced, contributing uncredited rewrites to Warner Bros. and Paramount productions.

Rejected Pitch¶

His pitch for an adaptation of John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" was rejected by every major studio. Fox executive Darryl F. Zanuck's response: "Nobody wants to see a bunch of Okies in the dust."

The Birth of Zeb Marlowe¶

Creative Outlet¶

Disillusioned with the studio system, Prescott channeled his frustrations into a series of short stories featuring Zebediah "Zeb" Marlowe, a hard-boiled private detective turned studio fixer. Marlowe debuted in Black Mask magazine's March 1939 issue with "The Starlet's Secret."

Editor Joseph Shaw praised the story's "authentic Hollywood grit."

Writing Process¶

Prescott wrote Marlowe stories late at night in his rented bungalow. The cracked stucco and overgrown bougainvillea became part of Marlowe's fictional world, grounding the detective in a lived-in Los Angeles.

Peak Disillusionment (1940)¶

The Chateau Marmont Incident¶

Prescott's Hollywood disillusionment peaked in the summer of 1940. At a Chateau Marmont party, he witnessed a young starlet's cocaine-fueled breakdown. The next morning, he began writing "The Last Reel," Zeb Marlowe's final case and a scathing indictment of Hollywood excess.

Final Days in Los Angeles¶

Before leaving Los Angeles in October 1940, Prescott visited the Griffith Observatory. Looking out over the sprawling city, he muttered a line that would later appear in "Challengers of the Secret Tree": "Hollywood's a dream factory built on quicksand, producing mirages for the masses."

Return to New York¶

Prescott boarded the Super Chief train bound for Chicago with: - Eight Zeb Marlowe stories - An unproduced original screenplay titled "The Alchemist's Reel" - A profound understanding of cinema's power and pitfalls

His Hollywood experience, though brief, left an indelible mark on his writing, infusing his later works with a visual flair and a keen awareness of narrative economy.

Journal Entry¶

In his journal, Prescott's final entry from Los Angeles read:

"Two years in the celluloid circus. Came seeking fortune, found folly. Yet in this city of broken dreams, I've glimpsed a new language of storytelling. The challenge now: to merge the best of both worlds, to create literature that moves with the immediacy of film while retaining the depth of the written word."

The Celluloid Casefiles¶

The stories born from Prescott's Hollywood disillusionment would be collected as "The Celluloid Casefiles," featuring eight interconnected detective stories:

The Starlet's Secret
Lights, Camera, Blackmail
The Cutting Room Floor
Double Exposure
Fade to Black
The Stuntman's Fall
Reel Trouble
The Final Cut

These stories provided readers with an unprecedented insider's view of Hollywood's dark underbelly, blending hard-boiled detective fiction with biting social commentary.

Legacy¶

Prescott's Hollywood years stand as a testament to the complex relationship between literature and cinema in the early 20^th century. Like many of his peers, he found the allure of Hollywood irresistible, yet ultimately unsatisfying. However, unlike some who merely became embittered by their experiences, Prescott transmuted his disappointments into art.

Through Zeb Marlowe and "The Celluloid Casefiles," he created a lasting legacy that bridged the worlds of hardboiled detective fiction and Hollywood satire, offering readers a unique glimpse into the hidden workings of the dream factory.

In the end, Prescott's sojourn in Hollywood, while not a commercial triumph, proved to be a crucial chapter in his development as a writer. It honed his observational skills, broadened his understanding of human nature, and provided him with a wealth of material that would inform his work for years to come.