Yes, I know it’s a few hours early in the part of the world where I live, but perhaps not yours. In any case, it’s late enough here to be New Year’s Eve, which is still a very good time for both Jonathan and I to wish everyone all of the best for 2025!

ALASKA SEAS. Paramount Pictures, 1954. Robert Ryan, Jan Sterling, Brian Keith, Gene Barry. Screenwriters: Walter Doniger & Daniel Mainwaring (as Geoffrey Homes). Director: Jerry Hopper.

   Directed by Jerry Hopper, this mediocre remake of the box office hit Spawn of the North (1938) is about rustling. Just not cattle. Here, it’s salmon that’s been rustled by rival fishermen. Ryan stars as Matt Kelly, a rugged ruffian who, when released from jail for poaching, returns to his small fishing village in hopes of getting back into the salmon trade.

   Little does he know how much has changed since he left. Not only has the government changed the regulations regarding fishing, but his close friend Jim (Brian Keith) is now engaged to his love interest Nikki (Jan Sterling). Complicating matters further in this tiny outpost is the criminally minded Verne Williams (Gene Barry) who makes Kelly a tempting offer to get involved in the illicit salmon business.

   In terms of direction and narrative, it’s all very pedestrian from beginning to end. There are some good moments, but overall there is not a lot of energy here Even though with a cast as good as this one, there really should be. One last thing. If you’ve ever wanted to see Robert Ryan interact with a trained seal in a bathtub, then Alaska Seas might just be the motion picture you’re looking for.

   Verdict: great cast, including Timothy Carey in a supporting role, but a somewhat flat story that you’ve seen in westerns sundry times before done with much greater effect.

EDWARD D. HOCH “The Problem of the Covered Bridge.” Dr. Sam Hawthorne #1. First appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, December 1974. Collected in Diagnosis Impossible (Crippen & Landru, 1996).

   One of the late Mr. Hoch’s various series characters, and perhaps the most loved, is Dr. Sam Hawthorne, whose adventures take place over the years in a small town in upstate New York. Told chronologically, beginning in the year 1922, when Sam was still brand new on the job, the series gives his readers a long picturesque slice of the history of American life and culture as it could have happened — and should have!

   That’s above and beyond the stories themselves, of course, all of them, as far as I know, “impossible crimes” and locked room mysteries. I haven’t taken the time I need to be able to tell you how many stories in the series there are, and I apologize for that, but roughly speaking, there are perhaps 50 of them, possibly more. All of them have been collected, in order, by Crippen & Landru.

   The puzzle in this, the first of them, is an audacious one. A cart is pulled by a horse into a covered bridge but never comes out the other side. Tracks in the mud and snow on the opposite side, or rather, the lack of them, make for a truly puzzling mystery – a “wow” factor of ten out of ten, no doubt about it.

   The solution, and do I hate to say this, is too complicated for its own good. But then again, it really would have to be, wouldn’t it? Hoch tells his tale in his own unique simplistic (but never simple) style, giving extra dimensions to his characters that another writer might not have. Which is not to say that the clues to the story are not there. They are. Every single one.

CROSS-UP, aka TIGER BY THE TAIL. Eros Films, UK, 1954. Larry Parks, Constance Smith, Lisa Daniely, Cyril Chamberlai, Thora Hird. Screenplay by John Gilling and Willis Goldbeck, based on the novel Never Come Back, by John Mair. Directed by John Gilling.

   American reporter John Desmond (Larry Parks) meets attractive Anna Ray (Lia Daniely) soon after arriving in London and is instantly attracted to her, but no sooner than they are alone together than she argues with him, pulls a gun and tries to kill him, and in the ensuing struggle, he kills her.

   Desmond is rightfully concerned no one would believe him, and being a stranger in London, he thinks he might get away with just fading into the woodwork, but he soon discovers he didn’t go unobserved and he is being stalked not only by the police, but by a mysterious criminal organization that Ray worked for.

   Along with beautiful Jane Claymore (Constance Smith) Desmond is on the run and some of the sprightly dialogue has the snap of North by Northwest between them if nothing else comes up to that level. I don’t want to oversell it, but it is pretty good for a quota quickie, moves well, and Parks and Smith make an attractive film team.

   In fact the only real problem with Cross-Up is that until 1990 (a faithful made for television film) it was the only film version of John Mair’s early War novel Never Come Back, an innovative and entertaining thriller of the pre-War era that ended up being the only novel by a young literary writer who died shortly in an RAF accident.

   In Mair’s novel the hero is an anti-hero, if there ever was one, who seduces a young woman who becomes overly enamored of him leading him to murder her, only to discover she was tied up with a spy organization that he ends up infiltrating and destroying, recruited as a secret agent and now a hero or at least useful fellow despite of the fact he is a murderer or maybe because of it.

   Aside from the modern plot, the writing in the book is extraordinary making Mair’s loss all the more a tragedy.

   Cross-Up is an entertaining if minor variation on Mair’s novel with an attractive cast and certainly Gilling is a work horse director (Mother Reilly and the Vampire, The Pirates of Blood River) and screenwriter whose name has come up here on more than one film.

FREDERICK FORSYTH – The Day of the Jackal. Viking, hardcover, 1971. Bantam, paperback, 1972. Reprinted many times. Film: UK, 1973. TV series: Peacock, 2024- .

   As a Reuters correspondent, Frederick Forsyth reported from London, Paris, and East Berlin in the Sixties, and he brings to his fictional works the expected objectivity and thoroughness of a talented reporter. Against a background of real events and real people, he places both his fictional heroes and antiheroes: professionals in their fields who arc impeccable in carrying out their jobs and arc governed by unshakable commitments to their own internal standards.

   The heroes frequently combat established but morally corrupt government agencies, and their victories over them come about through preparation and planning. There is a great deal of motion in Forsyth’s work, and the scene shifts frequently between the heroes and the antiheroes, creating a tension that is sustained until the last page.

   The Day of the Jackal is Forsyth’s best-known and most meticulously drawn suspense tale. Seeking the best of professional killers to take over from their own bunglers, French dissidents intent on assassinating Charles de Gaulle hire the Jackal. Working alone, the Jackal makes painstaking preparations to obtain each essential piece of equipment from the appropriate craftsmen, whom he either gives a nodding respect, views with silent contempt, or occasionally, disposes of.

   In counterpoint to the Jackal’ activities are scenes in which the authorities work to uncover the plot, and when Commissaire Claude Lebel, “the best detective in France,” is brought in on the case, the contest becomes an even match.

   Forsyth’s skill is such that, despite the Jackal’s morally unacceptable line of work, we feel sympathy for the character. His integrity and total commitment to his internal standards are commendable — regardless of what those standards are.

   And the chess game between these ultimate professionals — which takes them back and forth across Europe and the English Channel — is a joy to behold. The game grows tenser and tenser, until its climax — and then Forsyth gives us one more superb twist.

     ———
   Reprinted with permission from 1001 Midnights, edited by Bill Pronzini & Marcia Muller and published by The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, 2007.   Copyright © 1986, 2007 by the Pronzini-Muller Family Trust.

THE GREEN HORNET “The Silent Gun.” ABC, 09 Sep 1966 (Season One, Episode One.) Van Williams (Britt Reid / The Green Hornet), Bruce Lee (Kato), Wende Wagner (Lenore Case), Lloyd Gough (Mike Axford), Walter Brooke (D.A. Frank Scanlon). Based on the long-running radio series created by George W. Trendle. Directed by Leslie H. Martinson.

   I remember waiting for a long time with a lot of anticipation for this series to begin, so I’m rather sure I was among those in the viewing audience with it finally came on the air. (It finally came to fruition by the tremendous success the Batman series had at the time.)

   I was disappointed then, and now. Before watching this first episode again after spotting it on YouTube earlier this month, I never turned it on again and did my best to forget it. (Without going into details, may I say I succeeded rather well at that, as I remembered none of the details.)

   For those of you younger than I, and perhaps totally unfamiliar with the show, here’s the opening bit of narration for the TV series:

   
   This first episode does all right in introducing the characters, but the story itself, is well, to put it bluntly, is pure dreck. It has to do with a new gun in town, one the works silently and without a flash. Two opposing gangs of mobsters in town want their hands on it, and it’s up to The Green Hornet and Kato to act as would-be go-betweens to foil the aspirations of each.

   And that’s it. They succeed, thanks to the smash-’em-up contributions of the Black Beauty (see the narration segment above), with nary a twist or interesting point to be made of any kind. I kid you not.

TED WHITE – The Spawn of the Death Machine. Paperback Library 63-680; paperback original; 1st printing, July 1968.  Jeff Jones cover art. Warner Books, paperback, April 1974.

   Sometime after Chaos, the computer-complex know as the Death Machine sends Tanner out into the world to report on the state of humanity. Tanner is superficially human, but he has non-human superpowers that at times isolate him from the humans he finds. Some are savage barbarians, others are pioneer frontiersman, but the group he and the girl Rifka finally find have developed empathetic powers and seem to be the future of the race.

   Tanner’s memories of the pre-Chaos past haunt him and contribute to his worries about his quasi-human condition. That he is human is proven by the birth of his son, but he must learn to live with his discovery that it was he who helped decide that destruction must precede rebirth for the human race.

   The violent story of an outsider, realistic in treatment of both violence and sex, equated with humanity. Very easy to read, but also lacking in depth, and no deep conclusions result.

   Nero Wolfe is a popular character, The Mayor of New Mercer, later brutally killed by Tanner, has the same physical characteristics and habits (page 93). And what becomes of the town after his death? Tanner passes through, destroys, and goes on.

Rating: ***

CHICAGO CONFIDENTIAL. United Artists, 1957. Brian Keith, Beverly Garland, Dick Foran, Douglas Kennedy, Paul Langton, Elisha Cook Jr. Based on the book by Jack Lait & Lee Mortimer. Director: Sidney Salkow.

   This one’s for Brian Keith fans. In Chicago Confidential, Keith portrays intrepid and noble minded District Attorney Jim Fremont who is tasked with both prosecuting union leader Artie Blane (Dick Foran) and later working to prove his innocence. Pivotal to the case are a forged tape recording, the testimony of a local drunk named Candymouth Duggan (Elisha Cook Jr.), and a perjuring witness.

   The movie relies on semi-documentary filmmaking (complete with a rather unnecessary voiceover by an unseen narrator) and police procedural tropes to create a suspense-filled motion picture. The themes: unions, racketeering, and the miscarriage of justice.

   Although he’s not the movie’s prime star by a long shot, Cook’s character does play a pivotal role in how the story unfolds. His portrayal of a down and out alcoholic in Chicago Confidential reminded me how talented a character actor he truly was. There’s a harrowing scene in which he is taken by mob thugs to an overpass and is thrown to his death. It’s memorable not only for its violence, but for the manner in which Cook carries himself throughout the grim proceedings.

   Another character actor of note in the movie is Jack Lambert who portrays one of the mob enforcers. He was in a lot of movies and TV shows, often playing a tough guy. He has memorable features and there’s a pretty good chance you’ve seen him in something you’ve watched.

   Final verdict: Overall, it’s not exceptional by any means, but it nevertheless works well enough for a 1950s crime film about union corruption. Recommended for those who find that sub-genre particularly compelling and, as I mentioned above, for Brian Keith fans. He’s good here.

ELLERY QUEEN’S MYSTERY MAGAZINE. September 1967. Overall rating: ***

ELLERY QUEEN “Wedding Anniversary,” Ellery Queen’s final return to Wrightsville is marred by murder  and revenge striking after death. (3)

FRANK GRUBER “Eagle in His Mouth.” Process server Harry Ives finds a dead with a rare penny in his mouth, a la Black Mask. (3)

PATRICK QUENTIN “Mrs. B’s Black Sheep.” Short novel. Previously published in The American Magazine, March 1950, as “Passport for Murder.” Mrs. Black’s European Tour, conducted for wealthy debutantes, is threatened by murder. The clues point to someone closely connected with her group, and she fears the worst. Easy to read. (4)

STEVE APRIL “The Greatest Snatch in History.” A plan to kill the President fails. Ha. (2)

      [Note: Steve April was another pen name for Len Zinberg, aka Ed Lacy.]

ROBERT L. FISH “The Adventure of the Missing Three Quarters. Schlock Homes somehow helps invent the miniskirt, Good puns, but I really don’t understand. (3)

ARTHUR PORGES “Murder of a Friend.” Selby of the OSS is given a dirty job. Elementary topology. (2)

LARRY MADDOCK “The Death Wish.” Psychological bunk leads to a job as a hired killer. (1)

JAMES LEASOR “The Seventy-Sixth Face.” First published in Vogue, November 1 1965, as “Doctor Love Strikes Again.” Jason Love helps catch an international jewel thief. Full of trivia. (1)

REV. NORMAN E. DOUGLAS “The Washing Machine.” First story. An impoverished minister turns to crime. (5)

JOHN PICK “They Said It Couldn’t Be Done.” First story. And safecracker Tony Lepula couldn’t. Good atmosphere. (4)

YOUNGMAN CARTER “Alias Mr. Manchester.” A criminal is busted by a policeman’s anonymous letters. {3)

SUSAN SEARS “A Tale from the Chaucer.” The Chaucer is a village coffeehouse. Its owner has to take on a free-lance detective job to solve a folk singer’s murder, (3)

FRANK SISK “The Shadow of His Absence.” Richard thinks his twin brother Robert has disappeared, but he has no twin brother. (1)

WILLIAM BANKIER “Traffic Violation.” Policeman turns down $20,000 to help his prisoner escape, but $20 to a delivery boy does the job. (5)

NEDRA TYRE “In the Fiction Alcove.” Murder in the library is solved by a page. (3)

RICHARD FORREST – A Child’s Garden of Death. Lyon & Bea Wentworth #1. Bobbs-Merrill, hardcover, 1975. Pocket, paperback, 1977. Dell, paperback, 1982.

   Take one children’s-book writer who is also a hot-airballooning enthusiast; add his fictional creations, the Wobblies, and his politician wife, plus his best friend from Korean War days, now police chief in their small Connecticut town. These staple ingredients of Richard Forrest’s series about Lyon Wentworth add up to an intriguing mix-even before the element of murder enters.

   In this first entry in the series — whose titles are variations on well-known children’s books — Lyon is called in by buddy Rocco Herbert to help solve an unusual type of killing: a thirty-year-old murder of a man, woman, and child whose bodies are uncovered by a bulldozer at a construction site. Rocco often relies on his friend’s “unusual kind of mind,” but this case is particularly painful to the writer. His own daughter was killed by a hit-and-run driver some years ago, and he and his wife have yet to come to terms with their loss.

   Lyon’s investigation — which he frequently discusses with his imaginary friends, the Wobblies — takes him back to World War II and into a reconstruction of the life of a Jewish family who fled Hitler’s Germany only to find horrors in the new world. And the resolution of the case brings a measure of peace to the Wentworths. An excellent and sensitive novel whose serious theme is leavened by a wry good humor.

   Other titles featuring Lyon Wentworth: The Wizard of Death (1977), Death Through the Looking Glass (1978), The Death in the Willows (1979), The Death at Yew Corner (1980), and Death Under the Lilacs (1985).

     ———
   Reprinted with permission from 1001 Midnights, edited by Bill Pronzini & Marcia Muller and published by The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, 2007.   Copyright © 1986, 2007 by the Pronzini-Muller Family Trust.
   

NOTE: The series has continued on to include the following titles:

7. Death On the Mississippi (1989)
8. The Pied Piper of Death (1997)
9. Death in the Secret Garden (2004)
10. Death At King Arthur’s Court (2005)