Liam O'Flaherty

Hollywood Cemetery Liam O'Flaherty

From the introduction by Dr Jenny Farrell: Liam O'Flaherty spent the best part of a year in the United States, from late April 1934 to June 1935, mostly in Hollywood. It was the year his cousin John Ford made the famous film adaptation of O'Flaherty's 1925 novel "The Informer..". Originally published in 1935, "Hollywood Cemetery" is O'Flaherty's sardonic fictionalised account of his encounter with an industry that is emblematic of the American Way of Life. The disclaimer "All the characters in this book are highly improbable for obvious reasons" - sets the tone. The entire novel continues in this riotous manner, telling the story of the Irish writer Brian Carey working with American producer Jack Mortimer, his companion-secretary Larry Dafoe and cameraman Shultz, to make a film of his novel "The Emigrant." What unfolds exposes the core of Hollywood film-making.