Deadly Illusions: Jean Harlow and the Murder of Paul Bern by Samuel Marx

“Things are seldom what they seem.”

On Labour Day, 1932, producer Paul Bern–husband of budding starlet Jean Harlow–was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the head. Bern’s death was ruled a suicide, and the case was considered closed. Co-author Samuel Marx was one of the first people on the scene at the Bern home on that fateful morning. Marx never swallowed the official suicide story, and he had nagging doubts about Bern’s death. Over the years the rumour circulated that Bern was impotent, and over time, this rumour was accepted as fact. Doubts that Marx had about the case grew–partially due to the horrendous stories that circulated about Bern’s brief marriage to Harlow. As a result, author Samuel Marx and his wife Joyce Vanderveen became so curious about Bern’s death that they dug back through the evidence from this decades-old case.

Samuel Marx knew and respected Bern. They worked together at MGM studios, and to him, so many things about the Bern case just didn’t add up. Why would Paul Bern–who’d only been married for 2 short months–shoot himself? Why were MGM studio executives at Bern’s house hours before the police were called? Who was the mysterious woman seen leaving Bern’s house on the morning he was found dead?

Deadly Illusions: Jean Harlow and the Murder of Paul Bern establishes the controlling atmosphere of studio life at MGM in the 30s. Studio executives opened and passed along telegrams, stars were subject to strict morality clauses, and the biggest stars were the studio’s most prized commodities. The studio’s goal was to “maximize” Jean Harlow’s “winning ways and minimize her liabilities.” Authors Marx and Vanderveen dig through long-forgotten documents, testimony and eyewitness accounts to present overwhelming evidence that Paul Bern was murdered. For those interested in Jean Harlow or old Hollywood, Deadly Illusions presents a cast of colourful characters and a fascinating, sad story.