A Cast of Killers by Sidney Kirkpatrick Page A

his account? And if he did, why? The record is not clear.
    “Taylor arrived at the Realart Studios offices later that morning, where Julia Crawford Ivers, his screenwriter, was waiting for him. From reports I’ve gathered, they had an argument over the next picture Taylor wanted to direct: The Rocks of Valpre. Ivers said that there wasn’t enough action and the story was too convoluted to follow, and Charlie Eyton said the picture would be too expensive. They would have to wait the return of Cecile B. deMille himself, who was with director Jimmy Kirkwood aboard the Aquitania, at that moment enroute from Europe to New York. But there was no big rush. Ivers, at the time, was occupied with another picture at another studio.”
    Vidor paused only to sip champagne. “So Taylor left, disappointed, of course, but with too much work to do to brood about it. After lunch at the studio commissary, he left for Projection Room C, where he did some editing on his latest picture, The Green Temptation, with coworkers he treated with utmost respect. His editor, Edy Lawrence, reported that Taylor kissed her hand at the end of that editing session—a remarkable gesture, when one considers the way most directors treated their editors. Significantly, many of Taylor’s coworkers who attended this session were thought to have been the same people at Taylor’s bungalow the next morning, picking through his possessions.
    “After work, with Fellows driving, he stopped at the office of Marjorie Berger, his tax accountant. During their two-hour meeting, Taylor expressed his frustration at not being able to distinguish his own signature on checks from those forged by Edward Sands. Berger told Taylor that she was glad that Taylor was finally rid of Sands, whom she obviously disliked. Taylor did not comment on this point but was reported to have looked at Berger with an expression that seemed to say: ‘I’m not so sure of that.’
    “Before Taylor left, he wrote a check for her services, then another to Ada Tanner—which was how police were able to locate his sister-in-law, and break the story that Taylor was not who he pretended to be.
    “On his way home, Taylor briefly stopped at Robinson’s department store, purchased two books—one a German translation of a criticism on Nietzsche—and then went to Parker’s Bookstore, where he bought a two volume anthology, The Home Book of Verse , which was to be a present for Mabel Normand. He was, after all, a very literate man. Mack Sennett, Mabel’s long-time partner, would have given her candy, but not Bill Taylor.
    “After that he may or may not have stopped at the bank again. I don’t know for sure because I haven’t yet seen the police records. The important thing, at this juncture, is who Taylor ran into while out shopping or visiting the bank. He saw Mary Miles Minter and her grandmother, Juliet Miles, driving down Broadway, out for a ride in Minter’s lavender touring car. Taylor and Minter exchanged a few friendly greetings. Hugs and kisses? Count on it. Minter was in love with Taylor. Her mother, Charlotte Shelby, would surely be told of the chance encounter. Or was it a chance encounter? Had Mary and Bill secretly planned to meet? Perhaps it was meant to look accidental. Don’t forget Mary’s grandmother, Juliet Miles, was her chaperone that afternoon, and would report back to Charlotte, the Major Duomo in the household. Did Taylor whisper something in Minter’s ear when they embraced? Did Minter whisper something in Taylor’s ear? Did they plan to meet secretly later that night?”
    “He actually met Minter that day? You’re sure about it?” Artie Shaw asked.
    “Of course,” Vidor replied, hoping he didn’t sound short with Shaw. “It was in one of the interviews she later gave.”
    Moore tipped her champagne glass in Vidor’s direction, as if to say ‘Bravo’ for a job well done.
    Vidor continued: “Back at home, Taylor changed his clothes and called Mabel Normand on