Until sexual predators in Hollywood were outed with the #MeToo movement, many young actresses found that the key to survival in the competitive film industry often began on the casting couch. In Nekesa Afia’s new novel, As Long As You’re Mine, the protagonist, Lorelei Davies also struggles with keeping secret that she’s Black.
Lorelei’s real name is Millicent Davies and her family lives in Watts, which, back in the 1930s, was primarily poor and Black. Millicent is a popular singer at Cloud Nine, a club frequented by Hollywood bigwigs. She’s soon noticed by a Hollywood producer and director, Kenneth Webster, who promises to make her a star. What she doesn’t find out until she is already under contract and owing him money, is that having sex with him every Wednesday is part of the deal.
Webster’s instincts are spot on and Lorelei soon becomes a star for Sunset Studios. She’s cast in romantic musicals, often paired with leading man, Tommy Ross. With her voice and his dancing moves, they become one of Hollywood’s beloved duos. Fans believe the two are having an affair, rumors spread by gossip columnist Cheryl Lawrence. When Tommy appears in public, however, his wife, Sophie, blond, sophisticated, and beautiful, is the one on his arm. Lorelei’s moments with Tommy happen behind closed doors, often in her dressing room.
Lorelei is a talented actress, but she’s not enamored of all that comes with being a star. She’s at her happiest when she’s able to steal away for an afternoon to spend time with her family in Watts. They are also the reason she keeps working, to help support them financially. But the strain of living a double life takes it’s toll. To keep her going, Kennth supplies her with pills, uppers when she’s exhausted, and downers, when she needs to sleep. Her career is on the line with her next film, Live, Love, and if she fails, one of her costars, Ramona Penderghast, is waiting in the wings.
The narrative bounces between 1934, when Lorelei is still alive and acting, and 1954, when Tommy and Sophie are raising a daughter, Thea. Lorelei died shortly after giving birth to a girl, reportedly taking her life. But when Tommy is found dead, also by suicide, he leaves behind a note confessing to Lorelei’s murder. Thea’s world is shattered, and she sets out to prove that both Lorelei and Tommy were murdered. Working with a journalist and poring over Lorelei’s journals, Thea uncovers more about the actress’s life and how that love affair with Tommy was very real. She also learns about her own background which has her rewriting not only her past, but her future.
Nekesa Afia’s novel brings to vivid life that Golden Age which was never as bright and shiny as moviegoers were led to believe. That Millicent also had to hide her ethnicity shines a light on the many battles Black actors faced in Hollywood. And while we may have thought we have left all of that behind, where we are now in our country is a reminder that freedoms are never free. The battle continues.
As Long As You’re Mine
Nekesa Afia
Top photo: Bigstock
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