Wed 23 Dec 2015
Reviewed by William F. Deeck: JOHN FARR – The Deadly Combo.
Posted by Steve under Authors , Reviews[23] Comments
William F. Deeck
JOHN FARR – The Deadly Combo. Ace Double D-301, paperback original, 1958. Bound back-to-back with Murder Isn’t Funny, by J. Harvey Bond.
Two factors militate against this novel for me: I am not all that fond of the hard-boiled mystery and listening to jazz I find painful. Despite my biases, I must conclude that John Farr, a pseudonym of Jack Webb, has written a dandy novel.
Mac Stewart. whose position on the Los Angeles police force I don’t quite understand — he’s a plainclothes detective who cruises just like a patrolman — has been a jazz enthusiast since he used to sit in alleys listening to tin pan in a noisy speakeasy. Stewart’s love for the music drew him to Dandy Mullens, a former jazz great, from whom he learned a great deal. When Mullens is found stabbed to death in another alley, Stewart investigates on his own.
As I said, this is a hard-boiled novel, but Farr often approaches poetry in his writing. particularly when he is dealing with jazz. It’s somewhat fair play, also, though Stewart is helped by the murderer — at least the first one — being not too bright.
Bibliographic Notes: First of all, the Jack Webb who wrote this book is not the radio-TV-movie actor Jack Webb. There was a lot of confusion about this in the early days of mystery fiction fandom (and elsewhere I’m sure). The Jack Webb who wrote this book was the author of eleven mystery novels under his own name, nine of them with the unlikely sleuthing pair of Father Joseph Shanley and Sammy Golden.
As John Farr, Webb wrote five more crime and detective novels, two of them with a series character named Cy Clements, about whom I know nothing. The Deadly Combo was Mac Stewart’s only appearance.
December 23rd, 2015 at 7:05 pm
Yet another author whose books I’ve owned for over 40 years and have never read. It sounds as though I shouldn’t have missed this one. I think it’s handy. I’ll go look.
December 23rd, 2015 at 9:16 pm
May I suggest: https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=941
December 23rd, 2015 at 9:45 pm
Bill
Thanks for the suggestion. I’d have made it myself, if I’d remembered. Another reason to look this book up. Or hunt it down, as the case may be.
December 23rd, 2015 at 9:17 pm
Funny thing about this Jack Webb is, he seems to be imitating the “other” Jack Webb we all know of, who WAS a big time Jazz enthusiast as well as creating “Dragnet”, about a police department in action. It does make you wonder. I also seem to remember in at least one of the radio dramas Webb did, “Pat Novak for Hire”, there was a local neighborhood Priest character who played a major role.
December 23rd, 2015 at 9:48 pm
Paul
There isn’t supposed be any connection between the two Webb’s, but you’re right. Maybe there’s more than anyone realizes.
And while we’ve talked about this before, I’ll add for everyone else’s benefit that PAT NOVAK is my favorite all time radio show. It’s too bad that Webb didn’t do a whole lot more of them.
December 23rd, 2015 at 9:53 pm
I concur with Bill D.’s high praise of THE DEADLY COMBO. Very good novel, the jazz background expertly done. Deserving of a better venue than that of an Ace Double.
Actually there are three novels by Webb writing as John Farr that feature Cy Clements: DON’T FEED THE ANIMALS (Abelard), THE LADY AND THE SNAKE (Ace), and SHE-SHARK (Ace). Clements is an expert on reptiles who works for the San Diego Zoo and functions as an amateur detective. These novels aren’t as well crafted as Webb’s Father Shanley and Sammy Golden mysteries, but nonetheless worth reading. As are his non series books, particularly the one reviewed by Bill C. for 1001 MIDNIGHTS.
December 23rd, 2015 at 10:05 pm
The longer I do this blog, the more books there are for me to read, and thinking back a few posts, the more movies to watch that I never heard of before.
PS. Thanks for the correction, Bill!
December 23rd, 2015 at 10:39 pm
I read a few Webb books but never felt he was exploiting the name though, just a confusing coincidence.
December 24th, 2015 at 12:20 am
Many years ago there was a reference book on crime and mystery writers and the entry for Jack Webb was about the actor and not the writer. When a second edition of the reference work was published I wrote a new and correct entry.
December 24th, 2015 at 1:05 am
For the record, Webb also wrote one Western novel, HIGH MESA (Dutton 1952, as by Tex Grady), his first published book.
December 24th, 2015 at 1:12 am
William Deeck says “…listening to jazz I find painful.” I’ve heard this statement from jazz haters before and what they don’t seem to understand is the fact that there are several different types of jazz. Dixieland, Swing and big band, bebop, hard bop, avant garde or free jazz, etc.
All these types sound very different to me and I’ve worked my way through the different styles until I was actually even able to enjoy free jazz. It took me decades to break through and be able to enjoy free jazz but now I like it a lot.
December 24th, 2015 at 2:11 am
Bill
I’m fairly sure I have that Tex Grady western as a Popular Library paperback. I should have known that wasn’t his real name.
December 24th, 2015 at 2:17 am
What I liked about Bill D’s review was that he admitted that he didn’t like jazz but was able to read and enjoy the book anyway, and even admire the poetry of the prose when Farr was writing about it.
I don’t go so far as caring for free jazz as much as you do, Walker, but when I listen to most of the other varieties you mention, all I can do is wish I had any kind of musical talent, and I don’t.
December 24th, 2015 at 5:30 pm
Jazz seems to pop up on a regular basis in mystery fiction since the 1950s. I don’t think I’ve ever run across any references to post-Coltrane music, though. Most writers don’t seem to have listened to too much beyond late 50s/early 60s Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck. Even Bill Moody’s Evan Horne books tend to look back to players like Clifford Brown and Chet Baker rather than address the current scene. Also, has anyone ever researched references to jazz in the genre?
December 24th, 2015 at 5:39 pm
Jim
I think you’re right about any mixture of mystery fiction and jazz staying pretty close to the mainstream of the world of the latter.
Here’s a Google link to a long excerpt from the book Jazz Fiction: A History and Comprehensive Reader’s Guide by David Rife, if it works:
https://books.google.com/books?id=JBg_hMUl6KgC&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=mystery+fiction+jazz&source=bl&ots=YSW_237yJY&sig=C0PZoChSdy9PBZyEzFaCkANpaqU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiPpryTx_XJAhUBy2MKHTfxCyoQ6AEIPTAF#v=onepage&q=mystery%20fiction%20jazz&f=false
Other input welcome!
December 24th, 2015 at 5:46 pm
Scouting around the Internet, I found a book I should have but which I don’t believe I’ve heard of before: Murder…and All That Jazz, edited by Robert J. Randisi (Signet, 2004). Stories by Michael Connelly, Peter Robinson, Robert Ferrigno, Laura Lippman, Max Allan Collins, Julie Smith, Craig Holden, John Lutz, John Harvey, Billy Moody, Ed Gorman, Martin Meyers, Les Roberts, and Christine Matthews.
Anyone seen it?
December 24th, 2015 at 7:42 pm
Thanks for the link, Steve. The Randisi anthology sounds intriguing. I’ll have to find a copy.
December 24th, 2015 at 9:50 pm
I have the Randisi anthology but haven’t read it. Think it’s in the family room bookcase. I’ll take a look.
December 25th, 2015 at 3:16 pm
Walker,
I gave up trying to explain jazz or recruit for the side ages ago. When you say the word you either get a knowing nod from fellow lovers or looks of either confusion or disgust.
I don’t much care for country music, but my reaction to it is far less viral than the one others have to jazz.
Steve,et al,
I suspect the ties between jazz and the mystery were born in the hardboiled genre and the pulps though music had played a major role as early as Sherlock Holmes and his violin. It was always a natural affiliation, and more when film noir came along. Cornell Woolrich particularly used music in his stories.
Jazz in its earliest form was born out of low dives and speakeasies, the kind of places gangsters and private eyes naturally hung out in. Among the staples of the genre are the chanteuse who moans a few low tunes in smoky joints and the piano player who yearns for her. Even Dick Tracy has Eighty Eight Keys. Slim Callaghan in Peter Cheyney’s stories could barely leave his offices without falling over a leggy low slung likely chanteuse and the gangster who ran the club where she sang, something Dennis Potter exploited in THE SINGING DETECTIVE which was largely inspired by Cheyney and Slim (despite some attempts to tie them it is highly unlikely Potter ever heard and episode of RICHARD DIAMOND).
Long before Mike Hammer had Harlem Nocturne and Peter Gunn Henry Mancini and his jazz belle Edie singing at Mothers the ties were there. Think of Eliza Cook Jr.s drug induced drum solo in PHANTOM LADY. Goodis SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER was already exploiting a natural tie. Dick Powell’s crooning Richard Diamond may not have quite been singing jazz but he was sailing in the waters.
I have no idea when the first mention of jazz occurs in the genre. Likely it is something disparaging and racist long before the hardboiled genre came along though. I seem to recall at least a Craig Kennedy mystery taking place in a nightclub, and I can’t recall but I am pretty sure there is a disparaging reference in at least one Bulldog Drummond story and perhaps a Fu Manchu. My guess would be the first appearance in the genre is likely somewhere among the adventures of Nick Carter or one of his contemporaries — and not a favorable one.
December 26th, 2015 at 12:48 pm
And there is the Blue Note setting with the jazz pianist playing in the background in the radio series of “Crime Photographer.” George Harmon Coxe was a jazz fan and made sure that was in the show when he created it. The credits at the end of the show credit Herman Chittison as the jazz pianist.
December 26th, 2015 at 11:15 pm
I can’t recall for certain but I suspect some of the low joints Frank L. Packard’s Jimmie Dale hung about in wearing the guise of Smarlinghue were smoky jazz joints. Whether the music was mentioned or not any reference to black musicians (and usually not that polite terminology) implied that ‘unhealthy’ jazz music in popular literature from the turn of the century past WWI.
December 27th, 2015 at 12:02 am
This old review by Bill D. has just kept on giving. Thanks, everyone, for your comments — all of them I found extremely useful and informative. Don’t let this go to your heads, but I think you’re the greatest.
January 23rd, 2021 at 1:33 am
Just an opinion: early references to jazz in pulp literature –which might to our eyes today seem racist and unflattering –could hardly have been any worse than everyday American citizens thought, spoke and behaved at the time. Explore Katherine Archibald’s ‘Wartime Shipyard’ for corroboration of working-class views.