The Mysterious Montague: A True Tale of Hollywood, Golf, and Armed Robbery

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He was a 1930s golf legend and Hollywood trickster who adamantly refused to be photographed. He never played professionally, yet sports-writing legend Grantland Rice still heralded him as “the greatest golfer in the world.” Then, in 1937, the secrets of John Montague’s past were exposed—leading to a sensational trial that captivated the nation.

From three-time New York Times bestselling author Leigh Montville

John Montague was a boisterous enigma. He had a bagful of golf tricks, on and off the course. He could chip a ball across a room into a highball glass, and knock a bird off a wire from 170 yards—and when the big man arrived in Hollywood in the early 1930s, he quickly became a celebrity among celebrities. He lived for a time with Oliver Hardy (whom he could lift, one-handed, onto the country club bar) and played golf with everyone from Howard Hughes and W. C. Fields to Babe Ruth and his close friend Bing Crosby, whom he famously beat while playing only with a rake, a shovel, and a bat. Yet strangely Montague never entered a professional tournament, and in a town that thrived on publicity, he never allowed his image to be captured on film.

The reasons became clear when a Time magazine photographer snapped his picture with a telephoto lens … and police in upstate New York quickly recognized Montague as a fugitive wanted for armed robbery. As Montague was indicted in the tiny upstate town of Jay, New York, hordes of national media descended and turned a star-studded legal carnival into the most talked about trial of its day – the trial of “the Mysterious Montague.”

From the glamour of 1930s Hollywood, to John Montague’s extraordinary skill and triumphs on the golf course, to the shady world of Adirondack rumrunners and bootleggers, three-time New York Times bestselling author Leigh Montville captures a man and an era with extraordinary color, verve, and energy. The Mysterious Montague is Leigh Montville’s most entertaining achievement to date.

What Customers Say About The Mysterious Montague: A True Tale of Hollywood, Golf, and Armed Robbery:

It felt like he found them all. Most interesting to me: the details Montville is able to piece together through his research. there just aren't quite as many to Montague's life as I had hoped. It's an entertaining gem of history that's good enough for a long plane ride, a weekend out camping or at the beach.Even at 200-and-something pages, though, it's too long. I felt like it could have been one of my all-time favorite Vanity Fair magazine articles, but as a book, the tale is stretched a little thin.

It is a very well paced book and even though "Montague's" talents and life eventually are unravelled, getting there is a great ride.Montville does an admirable job of communicating just how unique the man was while casually but carefully casting doubt on his abilities and associated claims. The cast of characters surrounding the story are a veritable Who's Who of Hollywood. What an incredible tale. It remains a mystery even at the book's completion just how strong and how accomplished his golf skills were. And many pages tease us with small stories that sound as if they would qualify for their own book: Otto Schnauber who lived in an attic for 20 years coming down daily to romance the woman of the house while her husband was at work and Death Valley Scotty - America's number one mystery man.I vote for it being turned into a movie. Engaging story that grabs you just by reading the back cover. Truly a story that lives up to the maxim that truth is stranger than fiction.

The golf professional was Willie Low. A great golfer that flew under the radar. Sincerely, Carl Welty The book is full of stories of Montague playing super great golf and being very humble about it. Member of Lakeside G C in southern california. Fellow members Oliver Hardy of Laurel and Hardy, Bing Crosby, Johnny Weissmuller, Howard Hughes and to top it off George Von Elm U S Amateur Champion.

I'd be surprised if people didn't enjoy this read A four star recommendation without a doubt. This was a fun read from beginning to end. It wasn't necessarily a mystery and it didn't necessarily have a feel good ending, but somehow very enjoyable.

His ultimate fall is predictable, but that doesn't lessen the Greek tragedy aspects of it.There is depth hidden in the seemingly straight-ahead sportswriting in this book. Montague/Moore seems to be a nice enough (perhaps) blue collar guy who got blinded by the white spotlight of life among the rich and famous. Perhaps the ultimate moral of the story is that you don't have to pursue celebrity; sometimes it will find you, and eat you for lunch. Starting with an armed robbery in upstate New York and ending in a Hollywood graveyard filled with stars, this story of the rise and fall of a awe-inspiring golfer ground up by America's fickle taste in celebrities can be read on a surface level as a linear biography of a sideshow performer who fell short of the American Dream as the public watched, then went away. But beneath the story lies a commentary about who we are Americans are as a people and it isn't very pretty.While a certain cultural literacy of America and show business from 1930 ti 1970 can be helpful, it is by no means essential to the enjoyment of this the book.Filled with press clips that both hail and revile the title character(s), and dropping more celebrity names than a than a Hollywood social climber, The Mysterious Montague left me saddened.