Unkindness of Strangers

Warner Brothers is getting it from all sides and Joe Bernardi seems to be everybody's favorite target. "e;A Streetcar Named Desire"e; is unproducible, they say. Too violent, too seedy, too sexy, too controversial and what's worse, it's being directed by that well-known pinko, Elia Kazan. To make matters worse, the country's number one hate monger, newspaper columnist Bryce Tremayne, is coming after Kazan with a vengeance and nothing Joe can do or say will stop him. A vicious expose column is set to run in every Hearst paper across the nation on the upcoming Sunday but a funny thing happens Friday night. Tremayne is found in a compromising condition behind the wheel of his car, a bullet hole between his eyes. Come Sunday and the scurrilous attack on Kazan does not appear. Rumors fly. Kazan is suspected but he's not the only one with a motive. Consider: * Elvira Tremayne, the unloved widow. Did Tremayne slug her one time too many? * Hubbell Cox, the world weary flunky, whose homosexuality made him a target of derision. * Willie Babbitt, the muscle. He does what he's told and what he's told to do is often unpleasant. * Jenny Coughlin, Tremayne's private secretary. But how private and what was her secret agenda? * Jed Tompkins, Elvira's father, a rich Texas cattle baron, who had only contempt for his son-in-law. * Boyd Larrabee, the bookkeeper, hired by Tompkins to win Cox's confidence and report back anything he's learned. * Annie Petrakis, studio makeup artist. Tremayne destroyed her lover. Has she returned the favor?