Hollywoodland
Ben Affleck

On March 16, 2000, Franklin County, 53-year-od Ohio resident Robert William Handley stood before a judge seeking to change his name. The new name he wanted? Santa Claus. Anyone who has seen a picture of Mr. Handley will confirm that he looks like the man who shakes when he laughs like a bowl full of jelly – big white beard, gut, rimmed glasses, and so on. He has been portraying the fictional character for years, even earning the nickname Santa Bob at the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity house where he is a cook. Probate Judge Lawrence Belskis rejected the application, stating, “'Although thousands of people every year do take on the identity of Santa Claus around Christmas, the court believes it would be misleading to children in the community, particularly the children in the area where the petitioner lives, to approve (the request).” The judge went on to note that it would traumatize Columbus area children to find Santa’s name some day in the obituary column. “The sorrow caused from the sight of such an obituary should be avoided.” Those with a sense of humor can still look forward to seeing Santa’s death in the newspaper because the jolly one, formally David Lynn Porter, is a bus driver for the Utah Transit Authority and lives in a small town just south of Salt Lake City. Washington DC area children will get to morn the death of Peter Robert Phillips. You might know him better by the name on his Florida birth certificate and DC driver’s license, Jesus Christ. There is no word if the local newspaper will have to retract the obit three days later or who his twelve pallbearers will be.  Still, on June 17, 1959, children across America awoke to newspaper headline proclaiming that Superman was dead. The Man of Steel was not faster than a speeding bullet when according to the press he put a revolver to his head and pulled the trigger.
George Reeves portrayed Superman/Clark Kent in the television show, The Adventures of Superman for five years, 1953-1957. Born George Bessolo in Woolstock, Iowa, Reeves, at one point in his career was a young actor who big things were expected. He got his big break in 1943 starring opposite Claudette Colbert in the Oscar-nominated film So Proudly We Hail. Instead of reaping a host of great roles, Reeves found himself in uniform for Uncle Sam, where he exercised his acting chops in such roles as warning soldier on the dangers of venereal disease. Finding Hollywood crowded when he returned, Reeves slummed in film like Samson and Deliah and The Adventures of Sir Galahad. So it was little wonder that when serial actor Kirk Alyn decided not play Superman on the boob tube, Reeves jumped at the chance. Problem is he became typecast and couldn’t get another role to spare his life. The only acting work he could get outside of the show was a guest spot on I Love Lucy where he played Superman.  Still, things were looking up for the actors as the producers of The Adventures of Superman decided film another season of the series and was scheduled to make a movie in Spain. Even his personal life was looking up, he was to marry Lenore Lemmon on June 19th. So it came as a shock when he was pronounced died three days earlier from a gunshot wound to the head. Was it suicide or murder? The overarching facts are clear. On June 15, Reeves, Lemmon, and a few guests were drinking and partying at his home. After one A.M., Reeves went up to bed. A short time later, a shot rang out. Everyone at the party ran up to the bedroom and found Reeves sprawled nude across his bed dead with a bullet hole in his right temple. The medical examiner ruled that the Man of Steel had committed suicide, but rumors flew around Hollywood that the actor was murdered. These whispers were so strong, that Reeves’ mother delayed the cremation of the body for three years so that a proper investigate could be held. It seems Reeves had a long-term affair with Toni Mannix, the wife of MGM and Loew’s Theaters, Inc. executive Eddie Mannix, a man known for his connections to the bent nose crowd. While the affair had come to an end the previous year, Mrs. Mannix did not handle to well. Superman was so concerned that he even sought out his attorney on how to handle the situation. There was some evidence to suggest foul play. There were no fingerprints on the gun. No power burn marks from the gun surrounding the head wound, suggesting the gun had to be several inches form his head. The spent shell was discovered under his body and the gun was found between his feet. It also bothered people that the police were not called until at least a half an hour after the body had been discovered. This could have allowed those in the residence a chance to get their stories straight. It was also strange that the police never bothered to test for gunpowder residue on the corpus’s hands. The police also found two bullets embedded in the wall. Lenore claimed that they were the result of her fooling around with his gun a few weeks earlier. There was no evidence of a break-in and all of the house guests swear that no one followed him up to his bedroom. Evidence supporting suicide is his .27 blood alcohol content and a surplus of painkillers that flowed through his system due to a suffering from a recent car accident. He was also tortured by severe headaches from said accident and was depressed by having to return to the Superman series. Was it a jealous Lenore Lemmon? A fatal attraction Toni Mannix? A gumba hired by Eddie Mannix? Suicide? Truth, Justice & the American Way follows private detective Lamar Moglio as he investigates what happened.
In many ways the entire making of this film is a Hollywood story. Ben Affleck, who at one point, looked like the next big leading man, took this roll in an effort to rebuild his career after several awful career choices and an extremely public relationship with Jennifer Lopez. In an age old Hollywood story, Affleck is hoping this small role will allow him the chance to get back on the A list, get a few more big paydays until he makes one too many bad movies and has to rebuild his career again. I just hope this rebuilding effort gets moving because I am getting tired of waiting around for the next installment of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan series and the Daredevil franchise. Add to this, a studio who is on pins and needles because Warner Brothers, part of the corporation that owns DC Comics, which created Superman, will be examining this film with a fine-toothed comb, making sure that no copyrighted material appears in the film.

Verdict: A C/C+ Movie