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...