Category: crime fiction
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One American Author’s Writings Inspired Multiple Films Noir, Yet His Name Is Less Well Known Than Other Top Noir Storytellers of His Generation
Edward G. Robinson, “Night Has a Thousand Eyes” (1948). By Paul Parcellin By any measure, Cornell Woolrich was a virtual human writing machine who cranked out fiction at a feverish pace. He’s credited with 22 novels under his name, 17 more under the pseudonym William Irish, two more as George Hopley (including one of the…
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High Mass: Whitey Bulger, LSD and a Devil’s Deal
Johnny Depp as Whitey Bulger? Yup, the actor who played Dillinger in “Public Enemies” is going to play another crime icon, and the movie is slated for release next year. More about that later. Dick Lehr, a former Boston Globe reporter and co-author of a new book about the life of James “Whitey” Bulger was…
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Crime in the New Wild West
A lot of people say that “No Country for Old Men” is Joel and Ethan Coen’s best film so far. I’d find that a difficult choice to make. But I’ll say that “No Country” is one of my favorites. Javier Bardem has gotten all the kudos for his portrayal of devil incarnate Anton Chigurh —…
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Their Mileage May Vary: Thundering Down ‘Plunder Road’
I took James Ellroy’s advice — it didn’t come directly from him, you understand — and checked out “Plunder Road,” one of his all-time favorite crime films that was included in Monday’s post. It’s a great-looking, pared-down gritty drama made in 1957, obviously on a small budget. The cast includes the great Elisha Cook Jr.,…
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Remembering the City’s Prince of Pulp
“It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window.”— Raymond Chandler, “Farewell, My Lovely,” 1940 This Saturday, July 23, marks the 123rd anniversary of the birth of one of this city’s greatest fiction writers, Raymond Chandler. Chandler was born on July 23, 1888 in Chicago. But…