Staging Hollywood Scandal

Abstract

This essay recovers Carroll and Garrett Graham's forgotten Hollywood novel Queer People (1930). I argue that the Graham brothers conceived of their novel not as a literary masterpiece but as a backdoor entrance into studio writing departments. Rather than assuming an audience of outsiders, as the Hollywood novel had tended to do, the Grahams wrote Queer People primarily to catch the attention of industry insiders. Like their protagonist's unconventional route to fame, they hoped their bold novel would lead to more respect and opportunity around town. Although Queer People was nearly adapted into a Hollywood film, it ultimately fell into obscurity as the industry kept it from ever reaching the screen.