cover image Dollarville

Dollarville

Pete Davies, Peter Davies. Random House (NY), $17.95 (211pp) ISBN 978-0-394-57780-7

In 16 stories written over 50 years, Schulberg offers a slightly quaint grab-bag of vintage fictions, each carrying its own moral message. The title piece, a portrait of a down-and-out movie director, features that epitome of Hollywood amorality, Sammy Glick, in an appearance that predates What Makes Sammy Run? by several years. Two tales published 20 years apart, ``Hollywood versus Chris Samuels, Age Nine'' and ``A Second Father,'' cover familiar Schulberg territory with their portraits of the lonely son of a mostly absent Hollywood studio chief. Other stories, including four new to print, range in setting from Mexico City to New York City to the Florida Keys. Many of these pieces first appeared in Playboy , Esquire or Colliers in the '30s and '40s, but the book does not identify original publication dates, nor are the stories in chronological order. Without that context, readers may feel slightly lost; the style, while rich, is rather dated. Publication of this collection coincides with an anniversary edition of What Makes Sammy Run? (Jan.)