If you wish to read even more about Arbuckle, here are some titles I found in the Peninsula Library System; no doubt these and other titles are available at your local library.
FRAME UP! THE UNTOLD STORY OF ROSCOE "FATTY" ARBUCKLE by Andy Edmonds [1991]
From Library Journal
Edmonds's biography of the stage and screen star is as much an homage to Arbuckle (1887-1933) as it is an investigation into the sensational trial that virtually ruined the man and his career. Author of Hot Toddy ( LJ 4/15/89 ) and Let the Good Times Roll (Avon, 1984), Edmonds is a skilled writer who brings a wealth of information to the popular biography. She convincingly defends Arbuckle by presenting an in-depth psychological portrait while she exposes the underside of Hollywood power politics and its cost in human terms. The book is notable for its treatment of early Hollywood history, the relationships between stage and screen, producers and talent. Written for a general audience, this will do well with readers intrigued by celebrities, and those interested in screen and stage comics.
- Robert Rayher, Sch. of the Art Inst. of Chicago
[photos; filmography, index]
THE DAY THE LAUGHTER STOPPED; THE TRUE STORY OF FATTY ARBUCKLE by David Yallop [1976]
From Book Jacket:
... uses exclusive interviews, trial and grand jury transcripts, and material thought destroyed long ago, to reveal a withering tale of a whole industry's fear and selfishness. ... eloquent, angry testimony will finally restore Roscoe to the stature that his rich contributions to the history of film have so clearly earned him.
[room diagrams, photos, filmography, bibliography and sources, index]
MURDER BY THE BAY; HISTORIC HOMICIDE IN AND ABOUT THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO by Charles F. Adams [2005]
Chapter 9, The Movie Star and the Party Girl - 1921; pages 140-161
[photos, sources and citations, index]
THE GREAT TRIALS OF THE TWENTIES; THE WATERSHED DECADE IN AMERICA'S COURTROOMS by Robert Grant and Joseph Katz [1998]
Chapter 3, The Trials of "Fatty" Arbuckle, pages 76-97
[select bibliography, index]
The case also is the catalyst for at least two novels:
DEVIL'S GARDEN by Ace Atkins [2009] [Fiction]
from Library Journal:
In September 1921, silent film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was tried for the murder of budding actress Virginia Rappe after a wild, boozy bash at a San Francisco hotel. The case was particularly notorious because William Randolph Hearst unleashed the full force of his media empire on it, allegedly tainting evidence and claiming Arbuckle crushed Rappe under his immense weight. A key private investigator for Arbuckle was none other than a young Pinkerton agent named Sam Dashiell Hammett, who turned up much more than a botched police investigation and an unethical autopsy. On the margin of the case was a web of Hollywood intrigue and corruption worthy of its own scandal, fueled by the looming demise of the silent film and Hearst's desire to preserve mistress Marian Davies's acting career. Atkins's (Wicked City) latest noir historical thriller showcases one of the most infamous Hollywood murder trials with a compelling style and a deft blend of fact and fiction. Sure to appeal to Hollywood buffs and mystery readers alike, this is recommended for popular fiction collections.[See Prepub Mystery, LJ 12/08.]—Susan Clifford Braun, Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, CA
I, FATTY; A NOVEL by Jerry Stahl [2004] [Fiction]
from Library Journal:
Stahl (Permanent Midnight) brings us into the fascinating, nearly forgotten era of silent film through the persona of Fatty Arbuckle, who escaped an impoverished and abusive childhood by joining the vaudeville circuit and eventually became one of the major film stars of that period. Working with Mack Sennett and his Keystone Cops, as well as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, Arbuckle perfected the kind of broad physical comedy appreciated by early movie audiences. Arbuckle was a millionaire in the 1920s, when the budding film industry was awash in drugs and scandal. With the onset of Prohibition and changing morals, he found himself a scapegoat for Hollywood and his career ruined when he was framed for the rape and murder of a starlet. Unfortunately, Stahl's fictionalized memoir technique distances the reader from the immediacy of Arbuckle's life story. Readers have to get past his wise-guy, self-hating tone and cliched period slang, while the narrative's repetition and heavy-handed prefiguring remove any suspense. Still, it's worth the read.-Reba Leiding, James Madison Univ. Libs., Harrisonburg, VA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
