This week the docs take a brief jaunt OUT of Los Angeles to the sunny and gorgeous sands of Hollywood’s Desert Playground - aka Palm Springs. Although a year round destination for relaxation and glamour, there are dark aspects among the glittering sapphire pools of the Oasis of the Desert’s past. After all, a place with golden age ties to Hollywood is bound to have some sordid stories to tell - case in point: the tumultuous life of Tom Neal, a promising Hollywood actor in the late 1930s, groomed to be the next Clark Gable. Neal's career, however, was overshadowed by scandalous affairs and headline-grabbing incidents that eventually derailed his success. Despite a brief resurgence as a leading man in the 1940s, his off-screen behavior, including a notorious altercation with actor Franchot Tone, led to his downfall. By the 1950s, Neal struggled to find work, relegated to minor roles on local soap operas, where he continued to clash with colleagues. Despite several attempts to reinvent himself over the years, his desperation and addiction led to business failures, scandal and a brutal murder.

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189. Vintage Case: Palm Springs and the B- List Murderer, Tom Neal