Mon 22 Apr 2019
Mystery Stories I’m Reading: JACK FINNEY “It Wouldn’t Be Fair.”
Posted by Steve under Stories I'm Reading[12] Comments
MARTIN H. GREENBERG, Editor – Deadly Doings. Ivy, paperback original; 1st printing, 1989.
#3. JACK FINNEY “It Wouldn’t Be Fair.” Short story. First published in Collier’s, 28 August 1948. Reprinted in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, November 1951. Added later (see comments): Also reprinted in The Comfortable Coffin, edited by Richard S. Prather (Gold Medal, 1960). Not known to be collected. Adapted for TV on the series Rebound (1952-53), date unknown.
This one’s a gem, one I’ve never heard of before. And unless you have a supply of old magazines of your own handy, this paperback anthology put together by Martin Greenberg is probably going to be the least expensive place you’re going to find to be able to read it.
In it a Homicide detective named Charley has a girl friend named Annie (played by Jeff Donnell in the TV version) who unfortunately thinks he’s a moron. Why? Because he solves his cases by good old-fashioned police work, not by finding clues and and making brilliant deductions from them, the way it’s done in books.
To settle their differences, Annie asks to be taken on Charley’s next case of murder. She is in her element now, making brilliant deductions on her own, all of which are hilariously wrong — except for one thing. When Charley and his Lieutenant nab the killer, by good old-fashioned police work, guess what? I bet you know.
A fine, fine forerunner of the Schlock Homes stories, one later set of tales this is prime example of, but without the puns. You can’t have everything!
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Previously in this Martin Greenberg anthology: P. D. JAMES “Murder, 1986.”
April 22nd, 2019 at 5:38 pm
I didn’t spend a lot of time looking, but I haven’t found a lot of information about the TV series REBOUND, not even the date for the episode adapted from this particular story. It seems to be another series that’s all but lost to the past.
April 22nd, 2019 at 8:15 pm
It is hard to find anything by Finney that isn’t good. He seems to have been at home in any genre he attempted, science fiction, the heist novel, short fiction…
April 22nd, 2019 at 9:18 pm
If he had a specialty, I think it may have been his nostalgic time travel stories. He wrote quite a few of them, both novels and short stories.
It’s possible, though, that he’s best known now as the author of THE BODY SNATCHERS.
April 23rd, 2019 at 7:34 am
TIME AND AGAIN is, of course, my favorite, though the sequel (FROM TIME TO TIME) is also worth reading.
April 23rd, 2019 at 11:02 am
Both excellent, Jeff, and I recommend them highly to anyone reading this.
I think The story “The Woodrow Wilson Dime” is actually a parallel worlds story, not time travel, but it’s one that’s stuck with me ever since I first read it, many many years ago.
April 23rd, 2019 at 8:56 am
Steve – Anyone who doesn’t have ready access to DEADLY DOINGS can read “It Wouldn’t Be Fair” in its original COLLIER’S incarnation here:
https://www.unz.com/print/Colliers-1948aug28-00020/
and here:
https://www.unz.com/print/Colliers-1948aug28-00051/ [scroll down to page 58].
April 23rd, 2019 at 10:08 am
Glad to be proven wrong once again. Thanks, Mike!
April 23rd, 2019 at 8:33 pm
ASSAULT ON A QUEEN and FIVE AGAINST THE HOUSE are both superior caper novels, though of course BODY SNATCHERS and TIME AND AGAIN are his best loved works.
HOUSE and QUEEN were both made into decent films.
April 24th, 2019 at 2:58 pm
REBOUND (COUNTERPOINT) -SYNDICATION – TV Film half-hour – Produced by Bing Crosby Productions – Sponsored by Packard cars. There were at least 26 episodes (2 seasons – 1952-53) of the suspense mystery theme anthology series. Produced and Directed by Bernard Girard. Dick Dorso (PERRY MASON) was also involved in the production.
The following information is from various issues of BROADCAST magazine.
The series was scheduled to start airing the first week of February, 1952. Among the reported 24 stations carrying the syndicated program were the five ABC Owned and Operated stations who scheduled it at Friday at 9pm (Eastern), this lead to the show being called an ABC show, despite ABC having nothing to do with the production of the series.
November 21,1952 DuMont agreed to air it on alternate weeks. This added DuMont to the list of 18 stations carrying REBOUND, the stations included KTTV (Hollywood), WABD (New York) and WGN (Chicago). And yes this is when it is considered a DuMont TV series despite DuMont having nothing to do with the production of the series.
REBOUND had three titles. The original title, according to BROADCASTING) was CRY OF THE CITY and it was replaced by REBOUND before the series aired (more about this later). United Television Programs had the rerun rights and aired it under the title COUNTERPOINT. The ads for COUNTERPOINT (REBOUND) claimed “a national award winner with tremendous adult appeal.†I don’t know what the award was or what it was for.
Over at IMDB you can find more details. The episode was called “It Wouldn’t Be Fair†the teleplay by Jackson Stanley, story by Jack Finney and directed by Harve Foster. The cast had Frank Ferguson as Lt. Ryan, Jeff Donnell as Annie and Todd Karns as Moss.
IMDB claim there were 32 episodes and “It Wouldn’t Be Fair†was one with no known airdate. IMDB also included an episode called “Cry of the City†without details. CRY OF THE CITY was the series original title and might not have existed as an episode or more likely it could have been the series pilot.
While UTP syndicated 26 episodes of reruns as COUNTERPOINT, more original REBOUND episodes might have been made. From BROADCASTING – the series was filmed in six episode bunches.
In the July 21, 1952 issue the sale of Bing Crosby Production to CBS TV-Film (CBS’s syndication company). REBOUND was included.
United Television Programs that had the distribution rights to REBOUND for the 26 episodes kept the right to sell the second run episodes of REBOUND and renamed the series COUNTERPOINT.
April 24th, 2019 at 8:38 pm
Great work, Michael. Thanks! There’s enough solid meat in this comment that I think it deserves its own post. And here it is:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=61024
May 1st, 2019 at 9:56 pm
This short story — It Wouldn’t Be Fair — is also available in the anthology The Comfortable Coffin, edited by Richard S. Prather. It’s the last story in that anthology. It’s readily available at openlibrary.org / internet archive. Has several other stories of interest as well. Wait a few days, though, as I currently have “checked” it out to read online.
May 1st, 2019 at 10:39 pm
Thanks, Marcia. That particular anthology consists solely of humorous crime stories. The one by Finney fits right in!