'I felt lucky. I was heading for the U.S.A., Hollywood and a million dollars. "Deal the cards, Jess," I said.'

But not all the cards dealt to Browning turn up trumps. And Richard Browning has a marvelous talent for mucking up even lucky breaks. In fact, he's only really good at one thing; that is, getting away.

Sure the would-be Aussie movie star makes it to the U. S. of A., but San Francisco proves to be a long way from the starlets, palm trees and swimming pools of Hollywood, at least by the route only he could choose, through Mexico. And then, when he gets to Beverly Hills, he finds bootleggers in the swimming pools, anarchists on the movie sets and starlets just too hot to handle. Not to mention making an enemy of the 'king' of Hollywood, Douglas Fairbanks - the 'city of dreams' becomes nightmare land.

'Beverly Hills' Browning is the second volume of Richard Browning's memoirs, transcribed from the tapes found among his papers and edited by Peter Corris.