Scandals in Hollywood’s Golden age might have been covered up, but often the people whose opinion mattered most- the Studio moguls- knew all about whatever tawdry scandal or problem had to be covered up. This would often result in actors having a difficult time finding work once their secret had been revealed. What would a fallen actor with bills to pay do? As it often turned out, anything, and in Hollywood that meant heading off to Poverty Row.
One such fallen star was Bela Lugosi. Bela, who was already seen as being difficult to work with, had a nasty addiction to morphine, which made things worse. His drug fueled tardiness and unreliability made him poison around Hollywood. It also made his films harder to insure. Bela was forced to find whatever work he could find, so he started slumming it in B-Films. Poverty Row studios cared little about Bela’s baggage. His name on the marquee was all that really mattered.
