The Strange Love of Molly Louvain

During her intense interview with police, Molly Louvain sarcastically suggests she is responsible for multiple crimes, including the death of William Desmond Taylor. Taylor, a Hollywood director, was indeed murdered in 1921. The scandal rocked Hollywood. His unsolved death prompted Hollywood's self-imposed Production Code. She also says she killed "Rothstein." This would be Arnold Rothstein, once head of organized crime in New York City. She says she kidnapped Dorothy Arnold --- a wealthy socialite who disappeared in New York City on December 12, 1910 and whose case has never been solved. Finally she said she stole Charley Ross. This refers to the kidnapping of Charles Ross, a four-year-old child on July 1, 1874 in Philadelphia. This was the first high-profile abduction for ransom case in the U.S. and was never solved. All of these cases would have been familiar to audiences of the day.

Scotty is supposed to be a hot-shot reporter, and yet: He knows her name is Molly, her photo is in the papers, but it never, ever occurs to him that she might be THE Molly.

Featured in Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood (2008)