An independent producer unwisely opens a can of worms after he decides to make a movie about the unsolved murder of a famous silent film director in 1929.

Hollywood 1950. The successful producer Larry O'Brian arrives in Los Angeles to found a motion picture company. He buys an old studio which was unused since the days of silent movies. He's shown the office where the famous director Franklin Ferrara was shot. The case has never been solved, although there were many suspects. O'Brian becomes fascinated by the subject and wants to shoot a movie about it. He investigates the murder and soon gets into danger himself.—Tom Zoerner <[email protected]>

New York producer Larry O'Brien comes to Hollywood with the intention of getting into independent film production. While looking for story material he comes across a deserted film lot which, it appears, was last used by a director who was mysteriously murdered many years ago, in the silent film era. He thinks the story would make a good film and, while tracking down details of the long-forgotten crime, finds himself involved in the mystery as the director's killer also tries to put O'Brien out of the way in order to silence the investigation. A lot of old names---some real, some not---from Hollywood history---are dug up until the mystery has been solved. Partly based on the unsolved murder of director William Desmond Taylor.—Les Adams <[email protected]>