Film Music Friday: The films of Gene Hackman.

Kansas Public Radio's Film Music Friday pays tribute to Gene Hackman, who died in February, including the score for The French Connection (1971; director William Friedkin, composer Don Ellis, screenwriter Ernest Tidyman [author of Shaft]).

Score to Cape Fear (1991).

In Film Score Friday, Scott Bettencourt discusses the release by Quartet Records of the score to Cape Fear (dir. Martin Scorcese, 1991), in which composer Elmer Bernstein incorporated elements of composer Bernard Herrmann's score for the earlier Cape Fear film (dir. J. Lee Thompson, 1962) as well as Herrmann's score for Torn Curtain (1962) that Alfred Hitchcock rejected (see Steve Vertlieb's account for the story behind that, which resulted in a permanent rupture in the Hitchcock-Herrmann relationship). To listen to clips from the 1991 Cape Fear score, go here. Both films were based on the novel by John D. MacDonald.

New: The Harry O Viewing Companion.

New from McFarland: The Harry O Viewing Companion by Steve Aldous and Gary Gillies, with comprehensive information on the 1972–76 TV series with David Janssen as Harry Orwell, a San Diego cop turned private detective. It includes goodies such as interviews with co-stars Anthony Zerbe (who won an Emmy for his performance in the series) and Les Lannom; fascinating details from the papers of series creator Howard Rodman; a look at guest stars such as Farrah Fawcett, Jodie Foster, and Kurt Russell; as well as behind-the scenes images lent by Zerbe and photos of shooting locations.

J.C. Bernthal on Agatha Christie, Best Part of the Book podcast.

J. C. Bernthal, author of Agatha Christie: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction, will discuss the life, work, and enduring popularity of Christie as well as his experiences as a Christie fan and challenges in writing the book on the Mar 14 episode of The Best Part of the Book, McFarland and Co.'s podcast. I edit the companion series. 

Take 25% off the Christie Companion with coupon code BESTPART on the McFarland website.

2025 Dove Awardee: David Geherin.

The Detective/Mystery Caucus of the Popular Culture Assocation announced its latest Dove Awardee: David Geherin, professor emeritus of English at Eastern Michigan University, who is an Edgar nominee in the Best Critical/Biographical category this year for Organized Crime on Page and Screen. He received earlier Edgar nominations for The Crime World of Michael Connelly: A Study of His Works and Their Adaptations (2022), Scene of the Crime: The Importance of Place in Crime and Mystery Fiction (2008; also nominated for a Macavity Award), and The American Private Eye: The Image in Fiction (1985). His other books include Carl Hiaasen: Sunshine State Satirist (2019), Funny Thing About Murder: Modes of Humor in Crime Fiction and Films (2017), Small Towns in Recent American Crime Fiction (2015), and Elmore Leonard (1989).

The award, given to individuals who have contributed to the serious study of mystery, detective, and crime fiction, honors well-known mystery scholar George N. Dove. The chair of the Dove Award Committee is Rachel Schaffer (Montana State University Billings). Past recipients include Frankie Y. Bailey (University at Albany, SUNY), Martin Edwards, Barry Forshaw, Douglas G. Greene, P.D. James, Christine Jackson, H. R. F. Keating, Margaret Kinsman, Maureen Reddy (Rhode Island College), Janet Rudolph, J. K. Van Dover (Lincoln University), and yours truly.  

• David Geherin reads from Organized Crime on Page and Screen.