Sam Wasson, The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood. New York: Flatiron Books. 2020. 397 pages. Chinatown is arguably the greatest mystery/detective movie ever made.  The 1974 production had the Midas touch: an unrivaled power to bring out the very best from every star.  Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston gave no better performances.  Lesser known actors, from Perry Lopez to Burt Young, were as exemplary in their roles as they are remembered ("You can't eat the Venetian blinds, Curly").  The best also came from everyone involved in Chinatown's production.  Jerry Goldsmith's lush theme haunts us still.  Writer Robert Towne, with help from assistant Edward Taylor, penned the platinum standard dialogue, while Sam O'Steen's editing exacted the precise.  The efforts of producer Robert Evans and the directing by Roman Polanski (a...(Read Full Post)