Vixens, Floozies and Molls

the long version

They were everywhere, at least on the silver screen of the 1920s and 1930s: vamps and vixens with a dangerous talent for slinking away with a scene. Bad girl roles abounded, and most actresses played at least one. But for a small group of actresses, the spike heel was a perfect fit, and they wore it, over and over again. Because censorship required that goodness prevail, the bad girl was often a supporting or secondary role. As a result, few of these actresses are well known today, and the viewer who catches one of their brassy performances is left to wonder: Who was that lady I saw last night? That was no lady, of course. That was the gangster's moll, the floozy, the nasty debutante. That was Hollywood's bad girl - and this book tells the stories of 28 actresses who brought her to life.