Problem Child

“Detour: A Hollywood Story”--the much-talked about autobio of Lana Turner’s daughter, Cheryl Crane, written with Cliff Jahr--has been snatched up for the screen by producer Allan Carr. Already hitting some bookstores ahead of its Jan. 11 pub date, the tome encompasses a tumultuous mother-daughter relationship and the stabbing death of Turner’s mobster boyfriend.

Carr and Richard Cohen, owner of the TV company Casablanca IV, will co-produce. It’s so early, Carr doesn’t know how it will be scripted--as a feature film, TV movie of the week or miniseries. But: “Whatever we do, it will be like the book, truthful and tough--with a happy ending.”

As Carr noted, “Detour” isn’t the case of a “star baby” blabbing viciously on Mom, a la Christina Crawford (“Mommie Dearest”) or B. D. Hyman, a.k.a. Bette Davis’ daughter (“My Mother’s Keeper”). In fact, said Carr, “Cheryl and Lana are very close. This is the story of a mother and daughter who found each other.”

(Turner’s own 1982 autobio, “Lana: The Lady, the Legend, the Truth,” is at Warners TV, with no current production plans. Meanwhile, Woody Allen’s new “September” has a subplot similar to the Lana-Cheryl relationship.)

The stranger-than-fiction “Detour” alleges that Crane was raped repeatedly for two years (beginning when she was 10) by her actor-stepfather, the late Lex Barker. She also relives that fateful Good Friday of 1958--when she snared headlines at 14 for stabbing gangster Johnny Stompanato to death (ruled a justifiable homicide). Crane also details stints in reform school and a mental institution and unapologetically discusses her lesbianism--the book is dedicated to her female lover of nearly 18 years.

All this is delivered amid the tinseltown glamour of the ‘40s and ‘50s. As Carr noted: “Lana Turner is as close to Hollywood royalty as we’ve ever had--so Cheryl’s life was surrounded by that glitter. But, this isn’t just a Hollywood story--people in the Midwest will be able to relate. Mothers and daughters everywhere can relate.”

Crane, now living in S.F., will be a consultant. (Carr doesn’t know if Turner will be involved.) Crane kicks off a PR tour for the book in early January on the “Today” show.