Murderers, Mobsters, & Madmen: Volume 6: Hollywood Police Files

One way or another, the Hollywood police have been kept busy with murders on their ground. There are numerous theories about the killings of Thelma Todd, Jack Healy (Three Stooges), Elizabeth Short, alias The Black Dahlia, Bugsy Siegal and Johnny Stompano. The files of William Desmond Taylor, Raymond Navarro and Sal Mineo are also re-opened. Femmes fatales are often deadly for the man's wallet or reputation -- these ladies killed for real. From Calamity Jane, gang boss Ma Baker and New York madame Polly Adler to axe-murderess Winnie Ruth Judd and others, we look at the Black Widow Spider syndrome. Rare archival footage and many hitherto unseen interviews, film, video clip tapes, and photographs are included in this hour-long program.

Directed by Nick Bougas, Murderers, Mobsters, & Madmen: Volume 6: Hollywood Police Files leans on a strong ensemble — Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Short, Mary Miles Minter — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 1992.