IN AN EXCERPT FROM "MONEY, MURDER AND DOMINICK DUNNE," ROBERT HOFLER DETAILS THE LATE WRITER’S STUDIO FILMS WITH HUSBAND JOHN GREGORY DUNNE

The music of The Doors has a timeless appeal. Born in an era of technological innovation, distant conflict, charismatic cult figures, and social transformation, the band’s enigmatic frontman, Jim Morrison, tapped into the dark underbelly of the American cultural imagination, dredging a literary and cinematic heritage that has allowed them to take on enduring universal appeal. While much is made of Morrison’s musical contribution, less is known about his initial interest in cinema.

If you’ve ever seen Oliver Stone’s bananas retelling of Jim Morrison’s life in The Doors, you probably have an idea of what Jim Morrison’s brief foray into professional filmmaking was like. A listless young man of indeterminate origin obsessed with the darker side of culture and spirituality makes lascivious films that earn the scorn of his classmates before he dramatically quits to embrace life as a poet.