The Purple Diaries: Mary Astor and the Most Sensational Hollywood Scandal of the 1930s

One of Hollywood's first scandals was nearly its last.

1936 looked like it would be a great year for the movie industry. With the economy picking up after the Great Depression, Americans everywhere were sitting in the dark watching the stars-and few stars shined as brightly as one of America's most enduring screen favorites, Mary Astor.

But Astor's story wasn't a happy one. She was born poor, and at the first sign that she could earn money, her parents grabbed the reins and the checks. Wido...