Featuring History of Mystery/Detective Fiction and Other Literary Ramblings of Elizabeth Foxwell
Monday, February 29, 2016
Artist Paul Corio and spy/detective fiction.
New York's McKenzie Fine Art Gallery notes in information on Ghostzapper, its new exhibition of Paul Corio works, that the artist titles some of his paintings after spy and detective fiction. Could Moscow Rules be inspired by Daniel Silva's novel? The exhibition is on view until March 13.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
New Haven Register on tombstone effort for AEF pianist Helen Hagan.
Helen Hagan in YMCA uniform, ca. 1919 |
Update, 3/27/16. See also Yale Daily News piece of March 11 on the Hagan and the grave marker effort.
The grave marker campaign has surpassed its fund-raising goal, taking in a total of $1605. Thanks to all who so generously contributed.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Fund a tombstone for black composer-pianist Helen Hagan, "the darling of the doughboys."
Hagan in YMCA uniform, ca. 1919 |
• Listen to Hagan's sole surviving composition, Concerto in C Minor
• Learn more about Hagan and read her letter to W. E. B. Du Bois
Update, 3/27/16. The grave marker campaign has surpassed its fund-raising goal, taking in a total of $1605. Thanks to all who so generously contributed.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Mr. Arkadin (aka Confidential Report, 1955).
Orson Welles in Amsterdam, 1952. Photo by Harry Pot. Anefo, Dutch Nat Archives |
Monday, February 22, 2016
British Library event on Eric Ambler, May 6.
Ad for film of Ambler's Mask of Dimitrios (1944) |
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
The Lee Marvin Show (1963-64).
1963 ad for The Lee Marvin Show |
Labels:
Detective TV shows,
true crime,
TV detectives
Monday, February 15, 2016
Review: Tipping the Valet, by K. K. Beck.
Valet Tyler Benson faces more than just cranky customers in Tipping the Valet: A Workplace Mystery, K. K. Beck's first mystery in more than 15 years. Tyler's father has saddled him with a huge debt after pursuing a losing culinary scheme, placing the family in danger of losing their home; his fellow valets seem embroiled in something shady; and the attractive hostess of Ristorante Alba where he works does not seem to realize he exists. Further complications ensue when an attempt is made on the life of dot.com entrepreneur and restaurant patron Scott Duckworth, his father's former boss, and a body is found in a trunk that just so happens to have Tyler's fingerprints on it. Hapless but scary Eastern European gangsters pressuring the restaurant owners also add to Tyler's problems.
Beck's trademark sense of humor and sure plotting provide an enjoyable read for mystery fans. It's great to have her back.
Beck's trademark sense of humor and sure plotting provide an enjoyable read for mystery fans. It's great to have her back.
Tuesday, February 09, 2016
Murder in the Private Car (1934).
After a switchboard operator learns that she is an heiress, she becomes the target of kidnapping on a train. The film, which features Charles Ruggles, Una Merkel, Walter Brennan, Sterling Holloway, and an actor in a gorilla suit, is based on the play "The Rear Car" by Edward E. Rose.
Monday, February 08, 2016
Tom Williams on Chandler's life and work.
In part 1 of a two-part episode of the podcast The Soul of California, author Tom Williams (A Mysterious Something in the Light) discusses influences on Raymond Chandler's life and work with podcast host Richard Dion.
Update: Part 2 of the podcast (which discusses Chandler's classic essay "The Simple Art of Murder" and the portrayal of Philip Marlowe) is now posted.
Update: Part 2 of the podcast (which discusses Chandler's classic essay "The Simple Art of Murder" and the portrayal of Philip Marlowe) is now posted.
Labels:
hardboiled,
Philip Marlowe,
Raymond Chandler
Tuesday, February 02, 2016
The Ninth Guest (1934).
Before Christie's And Then There Were None, penthouse partygoers in The Ninth Guest are informed by radio broadcast that they will be murdered one by one. The film is based on a play by Owen Davis and the novel The Invisible Host by Bruce Manning and Gwen Bristow. According to the 15 Feb. 1934 New York Sun, "Manning was on the [New Orleans Times] Picayune and Miss Bristow was on the Item. They both were assigned to cover a hanging in St. Mary's parish. There they were married—in the courthouse basement by a blind justice of the peace." (The Sun has swapped the papers—Bristow wrote for the Picayune and Manning for the Item.) Manning also was a screenwriter and director who worked on some film projects with Vera Caspary and Deanna Durbin, and Bristow is known for her Plantation trilogy.
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