Diagnosis: Unknown (1960).

Lawrence G. Blochman from
UC-Berkeley's The Blue and
Gold (1922)

The series Diagnosis: Unknown featured Patrick O'Neal as pathologist Daniel Webster Coffee (created by Edgar winner Lawrence G. Blochman) who investigated cases of murder.

Rod Serling at war.

I want you to know what shrapnel and "88s" and mortar shells and mustard gas mean.

—The dedication of an unpublished short story by Rod Serling to his children, quoted in Anne Serling's As I Knew Him

Rod Serling with his 1960 Emmy
for outstanding writing
(for The Twilight Zone)

Rod Serling served as a paratrooper in World War II and was profoundly affected by his experiences. In Vincent Casaregola's thoughtful discussion "War in The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Haunted Visions of World War II" in Horrors of War, he notes that one-sixth of Twilight Zone episodes are about war (these include "The Purple Testament" with William Reynolds and "The Quality of Mercy" with Dean Stockwell; other examples from Serling's oeuvre are "The Time Element" aired on Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, "The Strike" for Studio One, and The Rack). In the episode below from Writing for Television: Conversations with Rod Serling, Serling states, "I was traumatized into writing by war events."

"Night Ride" (1953).

In this episode of Four Star Playhouse, subway passengers wonder which one of them is a murderer sought by the police. Costars include David Niven and Rhys Williams, in a story by Lawrence B. Marcus and a screenplay by Seeleg Lester and Merwin Gerard.

Historic images of counterfeiters.

John S. Bell, chief of
the Secret Service (1888–90);
Newark (NJ) police chief (1884)

The Unwritten Record blog of the National Archives highlights historic mugshots of counterfeiters—both men and women—from the Secret Service files in its collections.

"Fraction of a Second" (w/Bette Davis, 1958).

Adapted by Kathleen Hite from the story "Split Second" (in Kiss Me Again, Stranger, 1953) by Daphne du Maurier, this episode of Suspicion features Bette Davis finding strangers in her house, although they insist they are the owners. Costars include Marian Seldes.

Exhibition on artist Everett Raymond Kinstler.

On view until July 4 at the Brinton Museum in Big Horn, Wyoming, is the exhibition "Journeys West and Beyond," which features the work of Everett Raymond Kinstler. Kinstler's oeuvre encompasses portraits of political figures, comic books, dime novels, westerns, and pulp works.

"Alter-Ego" (1972).

This episode of Circle of Fear (aka Ghost Story, 1972, creat. Richard Matheson) features a boy's troublesome doppleganger. Costars are Sebastian Cabot, Helen Hayes, and Charles Aidman; the writers are Edgar winner Stanley Ellin (story, "Robert," 1958) and D. C. Fontana (screenplay).

"True Crime" exhibition, USC.

Eugene Francois Vidocq, NYPL

On display until May 31 is the exhibition "True Crime" at the USC Libraries, which features "the history of detectives in the popular imagination" and includes a handwritten letter from legendary private investigator Eugene Francois Vidocq and the "black bird" from The Maltese Falcon. (See review of the exhibition in LA Weekly.)

Danger on the Air (1938).

Lee J. Cobb in
Danger on the Air (1938)

An unpopular sponsor is murdered during a radio broadcast, and an engineer (Donald Woods) investigates. This comedic mystery, based on Death Catches Up with Mr. Kluck by Xantippe (aka actress, writer, and radio producer Edith Meiser), features Nan Grey, William Lundigan, and Lee J. Cobb.

New pulp reprints from Altus Press.

I have ... a face like a gargoyle and the disposition of a tired tarantula. —Norbert Davis, May 1941 Argosy

A scene from Max Brand's
Champion of Lost Causes (1925)

Among the new releases of Altus Press, a specialist in pulp reprints:

• Doan and Carstairs: Their Complete Cases by Norbert Davis. Boozy PI Doan teams up with his lofty Great Dane, Carstairs.

• Champion of Lost Causes by Max Brand (introd. William F. Nolan). Samuel Loring takes up the cause of a woman accused of murder.

• Sabotage by Cleve F. Adams. Detective Rex McBride races to prevent the destruction of an important dam by an implacable enemy.

X Marks the Spot (1942).

Author Stuart Palmer,
U-Wisc Class of 1928. U-Wisc
Alumni Magazine Dec 1934

In this film, a private detective who is also an army lieutenant pursues the killer of his policeman father and discovers traffickers in rubber. One of the film's screenwriters is Stuart Palmer (creator of spinster sleuth Hildegarde Withers).

Doris Roberts on Brenner (1959).

Doris Roberts in The Taking of
Pelham One Two Three (1974)

The Paley Center for Media offers a 1959 clip with Doris Roberts and Edward Binns from the police TV drama Brenner in honor of veteran character actress Roberts, who passed away on April 17.

Inspector Hornleigh Goes to It (1941).

Alistair Sim in
Inspector Hornleigh Goes to It

In this film, Scotland Yard's Inspector Hornleigh (Gordon Harker) and his somewhat bumbling sidekick Sergeant Bingham (Alistair Sim) are on the trail of Nazi spies when murder occurs. This film is the third in a series (Inspector Hornleigh, 1939; Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday, 1939).

Houghton Library's Fu Manchu collection.

Ad for The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929)

In this blog post, Harvard's Houghton Library highlights its collection of volumes by Sax Rohmer featuring the nefarious Dr. Fu Manchu and discusses fears of the "yellow peril."

"The Turn of the Screw" (with Ingrid Bergman, 1959).

John Frankenheimer,
ca. 1962

One of the many adaptations of "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James (whose 173rd birthday is April 15) was directed and produced by John Frankenheimer in 1959 for the Startime TV series. Ingrid Bergman played the governess who fears the effects of a malevolent influence on her young charges, and Paul Stevens was the servant Quint. Here are two clips from the program.

Clues 34.1: Agatha Christie.

Clues 34.1 (2016), a theme issue on "Reappropriating Agatha Christie" in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of her death, has been published; see below for abstracts. To order a print copy of the issue or to subscribe to the journal, email McFarland & Co.

Update, 4-26-16. The issue is now on Kindle, Google Play, and Nook.

Clues 34.1: Reappropriating Agatha Christie
Guest editors: Alistair Rolls and Jesper Gulddal

Reappropriating Agatha Christie: An Introduction 

ALISTAIR ROLLS AND JESPER GULDDAL (U of Newcastle)
The Agatha Christie corpus has long been encumbered by agendas and critical perspectives that effectively prevent close analytical scrutiny of her novels. The authors explore possible avenues for a reappropriation of Christie and particularly highlight the need for irreverent rereading that brings to light the textual complexity of her detective fiction.

“Beautiful Shining Order”: 
Detective Authority in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express JESPER GULDDAL
Using the work of Pierre Bayard, this essay presents a “counterinvestigative” reading of Murder on the Orient Express (1934) that highlights the undermining of Poirot’s unshakable authority as a detective and his solution. The essay argues that the dénouement fails in accomplishing complete transparency and reducing the literary complexity of Christie’s plot.

Agatha Christie and the Fantastic Detective Story 

SUZANNE VAN DER BEEK (Tilburg U, The Netherlands)
The author problematizes the restrictive categorization of Agatha Christie’s novel And Then There Were None via the critique by Tzvetan Todorov in his study on the literary fantastic. Christie’s work, she argues, overthrows the dichotomy between the natural and the supernatural as well as creates a fantastic detective novel.

Metafictional Agatha Christie: Self-Parody as the Perfect Crime 

IRENA KSIĘŻOPOLSKA (U of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw)
The author examines the narrative structure of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, emphasizing the self-reflexive quality of the novel and seeking to establish 
its parodic intentions. Through the use of formulaic unreliability, clichéd characters, facile plot devices, and a comic detective, Agatha Christie deliberately constructs her text against the conventions of the genre.

Transforming Justice? Murder on the Orient Express 1934–2010


MERJA MAKINEN WITH PATRICK PHILLIPS (Middlesex U)
This essay compares the Agatha Christie novel Murder on the Orient Express (1934) and the Phillip Martin adaptation (2010). Viewing adaptations as transformations, the essay analyzes four differences--- genre production, violence, justice, and Hercule Poirot---to argue for two differently rich texts sharing the same plot and characters across different  media.

Symons's "The Mystique of the Detective Story" (1981).

In March 1981 author-critic (Mortal Consequences/Bloody Murder, etc.) and then-Detection Club president Julian Symons (1912–94) delivered a lecture on "The Mystique of the Detective Story" at the Vancouver Institute, contrasting modern works with those of the Golden Age. He gave a humorous precis of a typical English country-house mystery and emphasized "the power of reason" in Golden Age mysteries. Symons discussed the work of Patricia Highsmith, noting, "Ripley is the horrific modern counterpart of [E. W. Hornung's] Raffles." He also dealt with the mysteries of P.D. James and Ruth Rendell as well as his own books. "Whatever its merits may be, [the crime story] does begin and end as sensational literature," he stated. He mentioned his admiration for George V. Higgins, as well as Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, and critiqued John Creasey. Symons considered Nicholas Blake (aka Cecil Day-Lewis) as one writer who bridged Golden Age and modern mysteries.

M. Pamplemousse on BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Featured this week on BBC Radio 4 Extra are Michael Bond's hapless sleuth Monsieur Pamplemousse and his faithful doggie sidekick Pommes Frites.

"Laura" (with George Sanders and Robert Stack, 1955).

Dana Wynter in "Laura" (1955)

One of four screen adaptations of Vera Caspary's Laura is a 1955 TV version for the 20th Century-Fox Hour (also known as "A Portrait of Murder.") It features George Sanders as columnist Waldo Lydecker, Dana Wynter as advertising executive Laura Howe (rather than Hunt), and Robert Stack as detective Mark McPherson.

Conan Doyle's "The Field Bazaar" (1896).

Illustration by Sidney Paget for
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. Wellcome Library, London

I fear that my good nature in giving explanations
has seriously compromised my reputation.
—Sherlock Holmes, "The Field Bazaar" (1896)

In "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes: The Field Bazaar (Illustrated)" for The Green Bag Almanac & Reader, lawyer David Hutchinson and George Mason University law professor Ross E. Davies team up for a presentation of "The Field Bazaar," a lighthearted Holmes-Watson outing by Arthur Conan Doyle that appeared in the 20 Nov. 1896 issue of The Student magazine of Edinburgh University (Conan Doyle's alma mater). Hutchinson provides some Sidney Paget-like illustrations for the piece. (thanks to Law & Humanities blog)

Rudolph receives 2016 Dove Award.

The latest recipient of the George N. Dove Award for contributions to the serious study of mystery, detective, and crime fiction is Janet Rudolph, editor of Mystery Readers Journal and founder of Mystery Readers International. The award will be presented today by the Detective/Mystery Caucus of the Popular Culture Association; the chair of the Dove Award Committee is Rachel Schaffer (Montana State University Billings). Past Dove recipients include Frankie Y. Bailey (University at Albany, SUNY), Douglas G. Greene, P. D. James, H. R. F. Keating, Maureen Reddy (Rhode Island College), J. K. Van Dover (Lincoln University), and yours truly.

Asimov's The Caves of Steel (1964).

Isaac Asimov.
Library of Congress,
Prints and Photographs Div.

Among the vast oeuvre of Isaac Asimov are mysteries with the futuristic detective Elijah Baley and his robot partner R. Daneel Olivaw. One is The Caves of Steel (1953), which was adapted for British television in 1964. Here are some tantalizing (if low-budget) clips from the episode for Story Parade, which include a glimpse of Peter Cushing.

Police vehicles through history.

New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia (back seat, right) takes a spin
in a New York World's Fair police car, ca. 1939–40. NYPL.

Tokyo's Police Museum has just opened a "history of police vehicles" exhibition, but those not in Japan can view modes of transportation for law enforcement in other places:

• Baltimore City Police Motors Unit
• Police vehicles, Carbondale (IL) Police Department
• Massachusetts State Police horseback patrols, 1920s–1930s 
• Metropolitan policewomen on motorcycles, London, 1920
• Metropolitan Police car and motorcycle, London, ca. 1935
• Vehicles gallery, National Border Patrol Museum
• Ohio State Highway patrol vehicles
• Police car retrospective
• Restoration of a 1972 Plymouth Fury patrol car, Pennsylvania State Police
• Portland Police Mounted Patrol, Portland (OR) Police Museum 
• Historic fleet, San Diego Police Museum
• Vintage police cars, Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum 
• Patrol wagon-ambulance, Trenton (NJ) Police Museum, ca. 1910
• Police jeeps, US Air Force police, 1950s

The Ghost Breakers (1940).

Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard follow up The Cat and the Canary with this film in which Hope is a radio commentator and Goddard inherits a castle near Cuba plagued by all sorts of spooky occurrences.

"Detective's Holiday" (dir. Blake Edwards, 1954).

Publicity shot of
Dick Powell, 1937.

In "Detective's Holiday," vacationing detective Dave Robinson (Dick Powell) thinks he may have come across a suspect in a robbery. This episode of Four Star Playhouse is directed by Blake Edwards and based on a story of the same name by Octavus Roy Cohen (repr. Reader's Digest Teenage Treasury, Vol. 2: Endeavor, 1957 and Great True Stories of Crime, Mystery, and Detection, from the Reader's Digest, 1965). Twilight Zone fans will spot Barney Phillips as Robinson's detective partner.

BBC Radio 4 Extra: Collins's "Who Killed Zebedee?"

Going into the room, I saw something rolled up perpendicularly in the bed curtains. Miss Mybus had made herself modestly invisible in that way.
—Wilkie Collins, "Mr. Policeman and the Cook"

Wilkie Collins, NYPL

This week BBC Radio 4 Extra offers a two-part version of Wilkie Collins's "Who Killed Zebedee?" (aka "Mr. Policeman and the Cook," 1881) read by Ronald Pickup. In this short story, a police officer with an uneasy conscience looks back on the murder of a lodger in a boardinghouse. Those who would like to read the story can do so here.

The Unguarded Hour (1936).

Franchot Tone, left, and Roland Young
in The Unguarded Hour

In The Unguarded Hour, Lady Helen Dearden faces a tough situation: if she testifies in a murder trial, the career of her barrister husband will be ruined. But if she doesn't, an innocent man will be convicted. Further complications include the implication of her husband in another murder and the threats of a blackmailer. Based on a play by Ladislas Fodor and directed by Sam Wood, the film stars Loretta Young, Franchot Tone, Roland Young, and Henry Daniell.

There also are some radio versions: a 1944 Lux Radio Theater production with Robert Montgomery, Loraine Day, and a reprise by Roland Young, plus a 1952 Theatre Guild on the Air version with Nina Foch and Michael Redgrave.

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.

New Haven Register on tombstone effort for AEF pianist Helen Hagan.

Helen Hagan in
YMCA uniform,
ca. 1919

I'm quoted in today's New Haven Register piece on the campaign to fund a tombstone for pioneering black pianist-composer Helen Hagan, who played for more than 100,000 black troops of the AEF in France.

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.

Fund a tombstone for black composer-pianist Helen Hagan, "the darling of the doughboys."

Hagan in YMCA
uniform, ca. 1919

After posting on my American Women in World War I blog about pioneering black composer-pianist Helen Hagan (1891–1964; Yale 1912; only black performing artist sent to WWI France), I was stunned to learn that she lies in an unmarked grave in New Haven's Evergreen Cemetery. Please join me in the effort to obtain a grave marker that recognizes her achievements, and spread the word.

• 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.

Mr. Arkadin (aka Confidential Report, 1955).

Orson Welles in Amsterdam,
1952. Photo by Harry Pot.
Anefo, Dutch Nat Archives

Starring, written, and directed by Orson Welles, Mr. Arkadin features a confidence man looking into the shrouded past of a millionaire, as key witnesses are bumped off. The film costars Michael Redgrave, Patricia Medina, and Mischa Auer. It has a somewhat torturous history, with incarnations that include radio plays, deleted scenes, and a European version called Confidential Report.

British Library event on Eric Ambler, May 6.

Ad for film of Ambler's Mask of Dimitrios (1944)

To mark the British Library Publishing reissues of Eric Ambler titles such as A Kind of Anger, A Passage of Arms, and The Light of Day, "Eric Ambler: Father of the Modern British Spy Thriller" has been scheduled for May 6 at the British Library. Ambler's life and work will be discussed.

The Lee Marvin Show (1963-64).

1963 ad for The Lee Marvin Show

In 1963–64, actor Lee Marvin had a syndicated TV program (also known as The Lawbreakers and Lee Marvin Presents Lawbreaker) in which principals (witnesses, investigators, family members, suspects, etc.) participated in reconstructed crimes, and Marvin provided narration. Star Trek's Gene Roddenberry is listed as screenwriter on the Seattle episodes "The Michael Olds Story" and "Queen Anne Killer Unidentified." Produced by Vernon E. Clark, the program is available on DVD. The episode below features Hartford police officers in a case about a boardinghouse killer with a violent temper. a

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cry of the City (dir. Robert Siodmak, 1948).

Based on Henry Martin Helseth's The Chair for Martin Rome, Cry of the City features wounded killer Richard Conte doggedly pursued by police lieutenant Victor Mature. Shelley Winters and Debra Paget costar; Robert Siodmak (The Spiral Staircase) directs.

New edition, Judith Lee stories.

Valancourt Books has issued a new edition of Richard Marsh's Judith Lee stories (1912–16), edited by Edge Hill University's Minna Vuohelainen. As I mentioned in this blog post, Lee is an early female detective with capabilities in ju-jitsu and lip-reading. Marsh (aka Richard Bernard Hellmann, 1857–1915) is best known for The Beetle (1897), and his mysteries, horror works, and ghost stories have been reprinted by Valancourt.

Philby, Greene, and Our Man in Havana.

Ad for Our Man in Havana
(dir. Carol Reed, 1959)

Over at Lapham's Quarterly, Lawrence Osborne discusses the genesis of Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana, including Greene's time in MI6 and his relationship with Kim Philby of the Cambridge spy ring. There's a reference to Greene traveling with "an equally youthful Claud Cockburn"—that's the lefty father of mystery author Sarah Caudwell.

Seven Keys to Baldpate (1917).

Poster for Seven Keys to Baldpate (1917)
with George M. Cohan & Hedda Hopper

Based on a 1913 novel by Earl Derr Biggers (the creator of Charlie Chan), this silent film stars theater legend George M. Cohan (who adapted it for the stage) as a writer struggling to finish a novel in an inn where mysterious things are occurring. Actress (later gossip columnist) Hedda Hopper co-stars. (Other versions include a 1935 film with Gene Raymond, Eric Blore, and Walter Brennan.)

California and woman jurors, 1917.

Reporter Winifred Black.
Library of Congress,
Prints & Photographs Div.

Although Los Angeles had an all-female jury in 1911, San Francisco Examiner reporter Winifred Black celebrated California's decision to impanel women for juries in July 1917. (Link to article)

More on woman jurors:
• "Women on Juries: How the Experiment Failed in Washington," Sacramento Daily Union 5 Sept. 1896: 6 ("The lawyers . . . said that the trouble was the lack of the logical faculty in the female mind.")

• Cynthia Harrison, rev of The U.S. Women Jury Movements and Strategic Adaptation: A More Just Verdict, by Holly J. McCammon.

Winifred Black, The Washington Times 31 Jul 1917: 16

Red Nightmare (1962).

Robert Conrad in Red Nightmare

This heavy-handed Warner Brothers film produced for the Defense Department to illustrate the dangers of communism features Jack Webb, Jack Kelly, Robert Conrad, Peter Breck, and Andrew Duggan.

New CD: Film Noir at Paramount.

Intrada has recently released Double Indemnity: Film Noir at Paramount, which includes selections from Miklos Rozsa's score for Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity; Hugo Friedhofer's score for Wilder's Ace in the Hole; Franz Waxman's music for Anatole Litvak's Sorry, Wrong Number; Victor Young's music for Byron Haskins's I Walk Alone; Gail Kubik's score for William Wyler's The Desperate Hours; Leith Stevens's music from Michael Curtiz's The Scarlet Hour; and Heinz Roemheld's music from Rudolph Mate's Union Station. (thanks to Film Score Monthly)

 

The Unholy Four aka The Stranger Came Home (1954).

Stark House Press ed.
of Stranger at Home

Based on Stranger at Home ghosted for actor George Sanders by noted sci-fi writer and Big Sleep screenwriter Leigh Brackett, The Unholy Four features a man with amnesia seeking to discover which of his friends tried to kill him. Paulette Goddard stars.

The Christie tapes.

Agatha Christie, 17 Sept 1964.
Photo by Joop van Bilson, Anefo.
Dutch Natl Archives

BBC Radio 4 Extra is beginning to air excerpts from tapes made by Agatha Christie as she prepared her autobiography. The first episode is "The Semi-Pro" in which she discusses the creation of Miss Marple and also states: "I was eminently a writer for entertainment."

They Met in the Dark (1943).

James Mason in
They Met in the Dark

Based on The Vanishing Corpse (1941) by the Detection Club's Anthony Gilbert, They Met in the Dark features James Mason, Joyce Howard, and David Farrar in a tale of a disgraced naval officer, murder, and wartime espionage.

Meyer on The Seven Per-Cent Solution.

In this thoughtful 1981 event of the Writers Guild Foundation focused on adaptation, director-writer Nicholas Meyer discusses issues encountered in adapting his novel The Seven Per-Cent Solution to the screen. There also is interesting coverage of the novel versus film of Brian Garfield's Death Wish and Meyer's film Time After Time that pitted H.G. Wells against Jack the Ripper. Says Meyer:

I feel that if you are taking the life of someone famous as being worthy of making a film about, he or she is worth making an accurate film about. It is peculiarly revolting to me to watch biographical films that have felt the irresistible need to improve the lives of their subjects in order to render them sufficiently palatable or entertaining to an audience.

Meyer also states, "I am troubled by the fact that we now place more emphasis and importance on packaging than what is being packaged
. . . . Where does dramatic license end and vandalism begin?"

Of related interest: I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere podcast interview with Meyer

"A Study in Panic" (1954).

In this episode from Four Star Playhouse, Dick Powell is a self-satisfied newspaper columnist who writes about panic, which triggers a threat to his life. Dorothy Malone co-stars as a copyeditor with a background in psychology.

Christie in Mesopotamia.

The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology uncovered a photo in its archives of a "Mrs. Mallowan"; archivists realized that she was known better by another name: Agatha Christie. Christie was visiting a UChicago-Penn excavation at Nippur in Mesopotamia with her second husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan, ca. late 1940s/early 1950s.

Fugitives for a Night (1938).

Frank Albertson in
Fugitives for a Night

An actor is suspected of murdering a producer in this film scripted by famous blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (whose 110th birthday falls on December 9).

See the trailer.

70 years of Gallimard's Serie Noire.

French publisher Gallimard has published C'est l'histoire de la Série Noire (1945–2015) to mark the 70th anniversary of its crime fiction series Série Noire. Founded by Marcel Duhamel, Série Noire was instrumental in establishing the literary reputation of hardboiled authors such as Chester Himes (e.g., Coffin Ed Johnson/Grave Digger Jones series) and Charles Williams (e.g., Dead Calm). The Bibliothèque des littératures policière (Bilipo) in Paris is hosting an exhibition in conjunction with the book.

The Wall Street Mystery (1931).

In this short film based on a short story by S. S. Van Dine, Stagecoach's Donald Meek (as the sleuthing Dr. Crabtree) and Superman's John Hamilton (as Inspector Carr) investigate when two stockbrokers are found shot to death. Modern audiences may dislike the stereotyped portrayal of a black elevator operator.