From the golden age of art movies and underground cinema to X-rated porn, splatter films, and midnight movies, this breathtaking thriller is a tour de force of cinematic fact and fantasy, full of metaphysical mysteries that will haunt the dreams of every moviegoer. Jonathan Gates could not have anticipated that his student studies would lead him to uncover the secret history of the movies—a tale of intrigue, deception, and death that stretches back to the 14th century. But he succumbs to what will be a lifelong obsession with the mysterious Max Castle, a nearly forgotten genius of the silent screen who later became the greatest director of horror films, only to vanish in the 1940s, at the height of his talent. Now, 20 years later, as Jonathan seeks the truth behind Castle's disappearance, the innocent entertainments of his youth—the sexy sirens, the screwball comedies, the high romance—take on a sinister appearance. His tortured quest takes him from Hollywood's Poverty Row into the shadowy lore of ancient religious heresies. He encounters a cast of exotic characters, including Orson Welles and John Huston, who teach him that there's more to film than meets the eye, and journeys through the dark side of nostalgia, where the Three Stooges and Shirley Temple join company with an alien god whose purposes are anything but entertainment. "An irresistible book . . . the perfect film buff's novel." — Booklist "Huge, deep-delving movie-lover's delight—and as rich a novel about the metaphysics of moviemaking as has ever been." — Kirkus Reviews "A novel of great force and originality, nearly every page of which crackles with lust for film." — USA Today "Tantalizing...scary as a Stephen King novel...has the power to fill even the most casual filmgoer with an awful, creeping dread." —Bret Easton Ellis, author, American Psycho and Less than Zero "A real shake-up of your psyche." — The Courier-Gazette "The boldest novel about film since Suspects ." — Los Angeles City Beat Theodore Roszak was a professor of history at California State University–Hayward and the author of 18 books, including the international bestseller The Making of a Counter Culture. He has twice been nominated for the National Book Award. His articles have appeared in The New York Times , The Nation , The Atlantic Monthly , and Harper's . Roszak died in July 2011. Flicker A Novel By Theodore Rozsak Chicago Review Press Incorporated Copyright © 1991 Theodore Roszak All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-55652-577-3 Contents 1 The Catacombs, 2 An Erotic Education, 3 The Magic Lantern, 4 Venetian Magenta, 5 The Children of Paradise Caper, 6 The Grave Robber's Progress, 7 Zip, 8 The Sallyrand, 9 The Perils of Nylana, 10 The Celluloid Pyre, 11 The End of the Affair, 12 Orson, 13 Deeper into Castle, 14 Neurosemiology, 15 Rosenzweig, 16 Olga, 17 Six Minutes Untitled, 18 Dr. Byx, 19 Sleaze at the Ritz, 20 Black Bird, 21 Morb, 22 Sub Sub, 23 The Connection, 24 The Great Heresy, 25 The Oracle of Zuma Beach, 26 The Sad Sewer Babies, 27 Angelotti, 28 2014, 29 Inner Sanctum, 30 The Conqueror Worm, 31 Paleolithic Productions Presents ..., 32 The End of the World and Selected Short Subjects, THE FILMOGRAPHY OF MAX CASTLE, APPENDIX: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE MOVIES, CHAPTER 1 THE CATACOMBS I saw my first Max Castle movie in a grubby basement in west Los Angeles. Nobody these days would think of using a hole in the wall like that for a theater. But in its time — the middle fifties — it was the humble home of the best repertory film house west of Paris. Older film buffs still remember The Classic, a legendary little temple of the arts wedged unobtrusively between Moishe's Strictly Kosher Deli and Best Buy Discount Yard Goods. Now, looking back more than twenty years, I can see how appropriate it was that my first encounter with the great Castle should take place in what might have passed for a crypt. It was a little like discovering Christ in the catacombs long before the cross and the gospel became the light of the world. I came like the bewildered neophyte wandering into the dark womb of an unformed faith, and found ... what? Not a sign of the kingdom and glory to come. Only a muffled rumor of miracles, an alien rite, an inscrutable emblem scratched on the crumbling wall. Still, in the deep core of his being, the seeker feels conviction stir. He senses the great hungering mystery that lurks before him amid the rubble and rat droppings. He stays and tastes of the sacrament. Transformed, he returns to the world outside bearing an apocalyptic word. That was how I discovered Castle years before he acquired the cult following my life's work as scholar, critic, and enthusiast would one day bring him. In my case, the sacramental supper was a single flawed film, a dancing phantom of light and shadow only dimly perceived, less than half understood. Having begun its career as a censored