“Hollywoodland” and “The Black Dahlia”, two films based on two different crimes, both claim to be the greatest unsolved murder in U.S. history. You could argue that neither is the greatest unsolved murder in Los Angeles history, let alone the U.S., but that doesn’t matter.

One can find more virtue and loyalty in a drug deal than in Tinsel Town, and Hollywood crime has become a guilty pleasure like “Cops.”

“L.A. Confidential” continues to be the best film made about the underworld immorality of Hollywood. Director Allen Coulter’s “Hollywoodland” makes a bold attempt, but comes up short of that standard.

The movie is based on the notorious suicide of TV’s Superman, George Reeves (Ben Affleck), who reportedly shot himself June 16, 1959. His fiancé, Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney) hosted a small party earlier in the evening while Reeves spent much of it in alone in his room. As the party wound down and only a few guests remained, Reeves came downstairs and sat in his living room with the others. He played one song on his guitar, then slowly got up and went back upstairs. Moments later, according to Lemmon and the other guests, a gunshot rang out. They ran upstairs to find Reeves naked on his bed with a gunshot wound to his head.

It seemed like an obvious suicide until police found two bullet holes in the floor just feet from the bed. Further investigation showed Lemmon had suspiciously waited 45 minutes to call police. It was also discovered that Reeves had previously had an affair with Toni Mannix (Diane Lane), wife of MGM vice-president Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins), a man Reeves indirectly worked for while playing Superman. Mannix was rumored to have strong mob ties and also was under suspicion for staging the car accident that killed ex-wife Beatrice. All of these characters are based on real people. The one fictitious character is Louis Simo (Adrien Brody), a private investigator the film revolves around.

The story itself is attractive enough, and Coulter (HBO’s “Rome,” “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City” and “Six Feet Under”) weaves the tale in between truth and conjecture as he establishes the possibility that Reeves was murdered.

One complaint is that he focuses too much attention on Simo’s personal life. Simo quickly becomes the film’s main character and we discover new evidence as he does. But who’s interested in his personal struggle in dealing with his estranged son and ex-wife? The movie’s most riveting parts dealt with the investigation and Coulter should have stuck with that.

Another minor complaint is the notion everyone in the 1950s was a hard-drinking chain smoker is slightly overdone. Every character in this film had a cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other. Were they all alcoholics back then?

Any negative is minor compared to the positives, particularly the acting. Lane and Brody are perfect and Hoskins steals every scene he’s in. And then there’s Affleck. When did he become the most hated actor in Hollywood? This guy was America’s sweetheart 9 years ago when he won the Oscar for co-writing “Good Will Hunting.” He became a superstar with “Armageddon.” It’s a shame the media-induced nausea that was “Bennifer” erased his credibility as an actor. Affleck became almost comical, and as a result, he’s a perfect choice to play Reeves. Reeves was humiliated by what he did to make a living. He wanted to be considered a serious actor and was embarrassed and emasculated every time he put on the Superman costume. He became typecast and was laughed at whenever he attempted to branch out. Affleck might relate to that, and his Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival was deserved.