VINCENT FULLER – The Long Green Gaze. B. W. Huebsch, hardcover, 1925.

   According to Hubin’s Crime Fiction IV, the author of this book, one “Vincent Fuller,” is a pseudonym, and this is his only entry. And from the title alone, if you saw this book misfiled on a shelf in a used bookshop, spine out, I can’t see how you could tell this was a work of crime fiction, until and unless you somehow happened to open it up and see the subtitle inside: “A Cross Word Puzzle Mystery.”

   As such, this The Long Green Gaze very possibly makes the first mystery ever to have a crossword puzzle theme or background. (And if someone would like to send me a list of all crossword puzzle related mysteries, I’d be happy to post it.)

   But while the novel itself, a relative obscurity, may have something extra to make it worth seeking out, as a detective story, everything else aside, its obscurity is, by most other standards, well deserved.

   It begins at a Thanksgiving gathering of Aunt Emily’s various relatives, some of whom, like Ted Dunsheath, recently booted out of his latest university, are well-described. Others seem to flit in and out of the background as needed, although Janet Marsden, whom Ted is quite fond of, does make her presence known to Aunt Emily at the breakfast table. From page 21:

   Janet’s crime: She was not wearing a corset.

   The title of the book refers to a fabulous luminous emerald that glows in the dark. Aunt Emily owns it, but unfortunately she does not survive that very same breakfast, poisoned, but how, and by whom, completely unknown.

   No one could have known she would have eaten the unexpected orange, and she had nothing else to eat or drink, except for half a cup of coffee from the percolator, and the first cup was passed on to someone else.

   The mystery deepens when a second body is found, alone in a locked room, poisoned again with the same fast-acting toxin, but with nothing in the room to suggest where it may have come from.

   Which is certainly all to the good. Where do the crossword puzzles come in? After Emily’s death and the police have gone, one of the family takes the floor. From page 33:

   Which means that when someone finds a clue about someone else or starts to suspect someone of something guilty to hide, they formulate a message to be hidden in the words of a crossword puzzle, complete with clues, and when the puzzle — left in someone’s room or in a place easily found — is solved, a warning about someone is at length discerned.

   The puzzles, by the way, are included for the reader to solve on his or her own, with solutions in a sealed section that can be opened in the back of the book. And for a short while after the characters of the novel have solved the puzzle, their conversation goes something like this:

   Page 48:   “Burke … called Chalfonte into the deserted kitchen and insisted on an explanation of the object named in vertical 25 and horizontal 38.”

   Page 50:   “I’ll tell you in advance that I’m doing just that just to watch some of the people concerned, the individual named in vertical 9 particularly.”

   And on page 53, that same suspect is hustled off to jail, never named, not even on page 55, in which he is still referred to as “vertical 9.”

   A technique of story-telling more awkward (and challenging) than this is difficult to imagine, but without the artifice of the crossword puzzles, I’d have to admit that it’s also as fun to read as any other obscure mystery written in 1925, complete with the mysterious Hindu servant of the world-traveler Chalfonte mentioned above, and perhaps even more so.

PostScript:   The puzzles are tough, and I confess. I looked in the back of the book. Just what I tell all of my (math) students not to do.

[UPDATE] 03-12-13.   Not only is this mystery novel all but unknown, it’s also scarce, but for some reason, not pricey. There are two copies presently offered for sale on ABE, for example, one for $4.00, the other $20.00. Neither has a dust jacket, nor does mine.

SEARCH. NBC, 1972-73; Leslie Stevens Productions in association with Warner Brothers. Creator and Executive Producer: Leslie Stevens. Cast: Tony Franciosa as Nick Bianco, Burgess Meredith as V.C.R. Cameron.

   This is the third in a series of four posts examining the TV series SEARCH and its pilot TV Movie PROBE. For earlier posts:

         Probe [Pilot/TV Movie]:   https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=16030

         Search [The Hugh O’Brian episodes]:   https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=20990

   World Securities Corporation divided Probe up into units such as the Omega Division that existed to deal with organized crime. Its top agent was Nick Bianco, a hardboiled ex-cop who was quick with his fists. An expert on organized crime Bianco had served on the famous “Crime Commission.” After being framed for a crime he didn’t commit, he left the Commission and cleared his name, after which he joined World Securities Probe’s Omega Division.

   Tony Franciosa made a TV career out of playing one character and Nick Bianco was no different. Franciosa’s Bianco even used a notebook as his character Jeff Dillon did in NAME OF THE GAME.

   Bianco’s relationship with Probe Control and Cameron had its differences from Lockwood (Hugh O’Brian) and Grover (Doug McClure). Bianco was the most likely to abandon Probe Control while on the case and continue on his own.

   Women play a different role in the Bianco episodes. Bianco was always more interested in solving the crime than romance. He was fast with the ladies, but they had to wait until after the case was solved.

       EPISODE INDEX —

Produced by Robert H. Justman. Probe Control Cast (recurring) Ron Castro as Carlos, Ginny Golden as Keach, Byron Chung as Kuroda, Albert Popwell as Griffin, Amy Farrell as Murdock, Tony DeCosta as Ramos, and Cheryl Stoppelmoor (Cheryl Ladd) as Amy Love.

“One of Our Probes is Missing” (9/20/72) Written by Leslie Stevens Directed Paul Leacock Guest Cast: Stephanie Powers, Allen Garfield, and Milton Selzer *** A Probe agent disappears while investigating a counterfeiting case with $100 bills so perfect the US Mint can only tell them apart by their duplicate serial numbers.

   The episode was a good one if you can accept the TV simplistic plot.

“Live Men Tell Tales” (10/11/72) Written by Irving Pearlberg Directed by Marc Daniels Guest Cast: Louise Sorel, Leslie Charleson and Torrin Thataher *** An old friend of Bianco from the Crime Commission, now Probe agent is murdered by a mysterious villain out to take over the entire World of organized crime.

   This one is probably my favorite episode of the series. A wannabe Bond villain runs a worldwide organization complete with gadgets, agents, and an evil lair with a mad scientist. Add a witty charming femme fatale who has her hands full with the agent’s widow, a twist that is expected but sets the fun going, and the result is a clever escapist episode with the ladies, Louise Sorel as the femme fatale and Leslie Charleson as the middle class widow, stealing the show.

“Operation Iceman” (10/25/72) Written by S.S. Schweitzer Directed by Robert Friend Guest Cast: Edward Mulhare, James Gregory and Mary Frann *** Nick leads a team of Probe agents, that includes his mentor, who are assigned to stop organized crime’s top assassin, the Iceman from killing an American Ambassador.

   Slow moving, weak dialog, and insipid characters did not help this predictable mystery. Nick is not thrilled having to work with others but behaves as long as he is boss. Of course, Nick goes rogue and saves the Ambassador all by himself.

“Let Us Prey” (1/3/73) Written by Don Balluck Directed by Russ Mayberry Guest Cast: Diana Hyland and Albert Paulsen *** A multi-billionaire’s fiancee is missing. He demands Nick Bianco, her old boyfriend, be assigned the case.

   Richard Connell short story “The Most Dangerous Game” gets ripped off again for this poor excuse to ditch Probe Control. Bianco is trapped on an island with an insane rich man, a hired killer and Diana Hyland giving an embarrassing shrill performance.

   In week 14 there is a visually noticeable production change. Fifteen episodes had been filmed and produced by Robert H. Justman for showrunner Leslie Stevens (two would air at the end of the season). While the final eight episodes filmed were produced by replacement showrunner and current executive story consultant Anthony Spinner (MAN FROM UNCLE, DAN AUGUST).

Produced by Anthony Spinner. Probe Control Cast: Pamela James as Miss James and Tom Hallick as Harris (the character did not appear in “The Matteson Papers”).

“The 24 Carat Hit” (1/24/73) Written by Jack Turley Directed by Barry Shear Guest Cast: Dane Clark, William Smith and Nehemiah Persoff *** Probe agent Ed Bain search for missing gold leads him to an exiled mobster illegally back in the States. After the mobster’s thug kills Ed’s wife and kidnaps his daughter, a wounded Bain goes after them, refusing the help of old friend Nick Bianco and Probe Control.

   If you can stomach the over the top macho stupidity, and ignore the irony of Bianco telling Bain he can’t do it alone, the story is good in a Quinn Martin kind of way. Nice action, well directed. The action takes place mainly at night giving it that TV wannabe noir look.

“The Clayton Lewis Document” (2/14/73) Written by Norman Hudis Directed by William Wiard Guest Cast: Craig Stevens, Julie Adams and Rhonda Fleming *** Clayton Lewis is heading up an important World Disarmament conference and is being blackmailed to reveal America’s position. Lewis’s wife comes to Nick Bianco, an old friend from the Crime Commission days, for help.

   Probe Control played a small but helpful role. Typical Bianco refuses to listen when Cameron and the clients demand he stop. No surprises but the story’s pace keeps the action moving.

“The Mattson Papers” (2/28/73) Teleplay by S.S. Schwartzer and Don Balluck Story by Don Balluck Directed by Willaim Wiard Guest Cast: Cameron Mitchell, Tim O’Connor and Nancy Wilson *** US Senator hires Probe to find a missing witness who has information about organized crime in a Texas small town.

   Again your average TV plot with most of what made SEARCH different removed. Little humor, no style, just the same old TV cop show.

“Ends of the Earth” (3/21/73) Written by Robert C. Dennis Directed by Ralph Senensky Guest Cast: Sebastian Cabot, Jay Robinson and Diana Muldaur ***Bianco goes undercover as a killer in need of the services of Ends of the Earth travel agency. The travel agency offers a service similar to Witness Protection only for criminals.

   The plot is so delightfully twisted it brings back memories of 60s shows such as MAN FROM UNCLE and THE AVENGERS and doesn’t let us down.

   The ratings stayed much the same no matter whom the star of the week was. CBS’s CANNON won the time slot from the start, but both ABC’s JULIE ANDREWS SHOW and NBC’s SEARCH were sampled in the beginning by many.

   Week One had Hugh O’Brian in “The Murrow Disappearance” finishing 39th out of 65. CANNON finished 21st and JULIE ANDREWS finished 34th.

   Week Two had Tony Franciosa in “One of Our Probe’s Is Missing” finishing 31st out of 65. CANNON finished 11th and JULIE ANDREWS dropped to 61st.

   Week Three had Doug McClure in “Short Circuit” finishing 36th out of 65. CANNON finished 19th and JULIE ANDREWS finished 45th.

   The audience had seen enough. Week Four of the season had Hugh O’Brian in the episode “Moonrock” finishing 53rd out of 64. CANNON finished in 10th and JULIE ANDREWS in 57th.

   From then on the pattern was set. CANNON remained in the Top 20 while SEARCH stayed in the bottom 20.

   January 17, 1973 ABC replaced JULIE ANDREWS SHOW with OWEN MARSHALL, COUNSELOR AT LAW. A week later, the first Spinner episode appeared. It did not improve the ratings.

   Not surprisingly, Spinner reduced the science fiction aspects of SEARCH for more typical TV detective. While unlikely, the change might have worked, but not in the time slot opposite of the all ready popular CANNON. A few years later Anthony Spinner would be producing CANNON.

   One can understand the thought about Quinn Martin-izing the series. It was 1972 and QM Production was one of the most successful independent TV production companies doing TV detectives. The gadgets, computers, and science fiction were still unwelcomed by mainstream television viewers. But the other changes made less sense.

   It is odd that the studio or network made the last ditch effort to save the series. Why spend the money to redesign the set for the group you hope to reduce to a limited role? My guess is the change of Probe Control red décor to a blue one was blue offered a better match for the hard-boiled TV detective look they wanted.

   With production budget almost certainly dropping with the bad ratings, I can understand the reduction in Probe Control staff. There was no need for half a dozen techs working the computers when two would do, but why hire two new actors instead of using the original group? And why change actors playing Dr. Barnett from Ford Rainey to Keith Andes?

   The change from Leslie Stevens’ science fiction detective/spy to Anthony Spinner’s more typical TV detective was abrupt but affected ex-cop Nick Bianco in a positive way. However, the same can’t be said for the third Probe agent, young C.R. Grover played by Doug McClure, but more on that next time.

NEXT: SEARCH – The DOUG McCLURE Episodes.

Ratings from “Broadcasting” magazine: http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Broadcasting_Individual_Issues_Guide.htm

   Recommended reading:

TV Obscurities: http://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/search

Rap Sheet: http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/4009/06/search-me.html

Warner Bros. Press Releases: http://probecontrol.artshost.com/publicity.html

MAUREEN SARSFIELD – A Party for Lawty. Coward-McCann, US, hardcover, 1948. Nicholson, UK, 1948, as Dinner for None. Reprinted in the US as Murder at Beechlands, softcover, Rue Morgue Press, 2003.

   Driving back from a week of duck shooting, Inspector Lane Parry of Scotland Yard becomes stranded in a Sussex blizzard. Seeking shelter is a big mistake, as he ends up at the Beechlands Hotel, which isn’t, as he first concludes, a lunatic asylum. It does, however, run that institution a close second.

   A party was to be held for Lawrence “Lawty” Lawton, World War II hero and ladies’ man. Since someone has done him in at the hotel, the festivities don’t take place. Several people have motives, with jealousy and money being foremost among them. And why do so many people want to remove something from the hotel’s safe?

   Parry, who would dearly love to avoid an investigation among the peculiar inhabitants and employees of the hotel, finds himself operating alone against a determined murderer who strikes again. A frenetic investigation and not a fair-play type, I would conclude, but then I got lost amid all the excitement and may have missed the clues.

   Fine reading here.

Bibliographic Notes:   Maureen Sarsfield, the working byline of Maureen Pretyman (or vice-versa?), was the author of one other crime novel, that being Green December Fills the Graveyard (Pilot, UK, 1945), reprinted in the US as Murder at Shots Hall by Rue Morgue Press in 2003. As usual for Rue Morgue, there is a very informative article discussing all that is known about Maureen Sarsfield. (If one were to wish to read A Party for Lawty, in all likelihood it will have to be the Rue Morgue edition. Only one other copy was found just now on the Internet, and that one was in French.)

   Rereading portions of the Sir Henry Merrivale series recently made me realize again how humor in the mystery has deteriorated since the days of Carr-Dickson, Craig Rice, and Alan Green. Nowadays the closest we come to humor is the first-person narrator emulating a stand-up comedian with wisecracks. Spenser, Claire Malloy, and Kinky Friedman are examples.

   In the Merrivale series almost every book had a slapstick sequence that was the mystery equivalent of the Marx Brothers. Take the riot Sir Henry causes on the New York subways in A Graveyard to Let (1949).

   The humor in the series is not entirely visual — e.g., the delicious confusion between the words “kleptomania” and “nymphomania” in Fatal Descent. Sure, John Rhode is listed as co-author of that 1939 book, but does anyone really think Rhode could have written those lines, even if his life depended on it?

   In the same book, the unimaginative Inspector Hornbeam says regarding a corpse discovered in a double-locked “room” (a sealed elevator car within a sealed elevator shaft): “There’s a flaw somewhere. There’s got to be. Otherwise the thing’s impossible. And it’s impossible for a thing to be impossible.”

   Pure Carr.

JUBAL. Columbia, 1956. Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine, Rod Steiger, Valerie French, Felicia Farr, Basil Ruysdael, Noah Beery Jr., Charles Bronson, Jack Elam. Director: Delmer Daves.

   Segueing to Classical Tragedy, there is Jubal, from a novel by Paul Wellman, based loosely on Othello. I liked the way director Delmer (The Hanging Tree, Destination Tokyo, Dark Passage) Daves managed to view all the characters in this moody melodrama of passion and murder with a certain amount of sympathy, even Valerie French’s trampy temptress and Rod Steiger’s bitchy cowboy.

   Glenn Ford’s acting in this is uncannily similar to James Dean; he shifts shyly from people, smiles uncomfortably and tries to sound like he’s joking when be reveals his feelings, and even rubs his face in James Dean style. I’m probably the only moviegoer in the Free World who would get this impression, but I still think it’s a fine performance in a great western.

SEARCH. NBC, 1972-73; Leslie Stevens Productions in association with Warner Brothers. Creator and Executive Producer: Leslie Stevens. Cast: Hugh O’Brian as Hugh Lockwood, Burgess Meredith as V.C.R. Cameron.

   Little changed from the pilot TV Movie PROBE, which I reviewed here earlier on this blog. Inspired by the success of NAME OF THE GAME (a series Leslie Stevens produced and Tony Franciosa co-starred), SEARCH featured three agents. This post is about Hugh Lockwood. Future posts will examine the worlds of Nick Bianco (Tony Franciosa) and C.R. Grover (Doug McClure). Head of Probe Control V.C.R. Cameron (Burgess Meredith) was the only character to appear in all 23 episodes.

   Hugh O’Brian played Hugh Lockwood, Probe One, the top agent of World Securities Corporation. Lockwood was a TV James Bond, cool, witty, irresistible to all women, a former astronaut with a planetary size ego. Assisting Lockwood was Probe Control, a group of computer techs of various specialties monitoring the actions and needs of the field agent. This made Probe Control the ultimate legman.

   Probe Control was and remains my favorite part of SEARCH. The technology and the humans that ran it made this series different from any other TV detective show at the time. Leslie Stevens (OUTER LIMITS, GEMINI MAN, BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY) had created a good premise, the hero with technology as a sidekick.

   V.C.R. Cameron was in charge of Probe Control and answered to the World Securities Corporation Board of Directors lead by Dr. Barnett (played by Ford Rainey or Keith Andes). We learn more about V.C.R (or V.C.) in an episode with Doug McClure so I will take a deeper look at the character during the post about the Grover episodes.

   However, the Lockwood episodes offered Cameron’s sole contribution to comedy relief. Once Lockwood solved a case with the girl of the week he usually followed James Bond’s example and ran off to enjoy some quality time with her, while Cameron would frustratingly attempt to stop him.

   70s TV was run by the star. Hugh O’Brian and others objected to the important role Probe Control played in the pilot TV Movie. So the role of advance technology was reduced and the potential of the characters that made up Probe Control was basically wasted, but imagine this series done today in the era of large casts such as CSI and NCIS.

   The computer and the PI had been introduced before with CBS’ MANNIX and the audience rejected the machine. It was 1972. Roger Moore had not yet become James Bond, and there was still a fear that machines would replace man. So not surprisingly Lockwood began to drift away from gadget happy James Bond and closer to Mannix and the other TV detectives of the era.

   Lockwood got knocked out almost as often as he got the girl. Usually, Probe Control would helplessly watch as Lockwood was unconscious and in serious danger. Yet, some such as Hugh O’Brian thought Probe Control made the hero too powerful. The discussion about SEARCH begins around the 7:23 mark.

   Sadly, instead of increasing the power of the villains and giving the episodes the Bond villain it needed, it reduced the very part of the series that made it different, Probe Control.

         EPISODE INDEX:

Produced by Robert H. Justman. Probe Control Cast: (recurring) Ron Castro as Carlos, Ginny Golden as Keach, Byron Chung as Kuroda, Albert Popwell as Griffin, Amy Farrell as Murdock, Tony DeCosta as Ramos, and Cheryl Stoppelmoor (Cheryl Ladd) as Amy Love.

   One note about the series titles, they appeared on screen as:

         Search:

         Episode Title

“The Murrow Disappearance” (9/13/72) Written by Leslie Stevens Directed by Russ Mayberry Guest Cast: Capucine, Maurice Evans and David White Recurring Cast: Ford Rainey as Dr. Barnett, Angel Tompkins as Gloria Harding. *** Probe is hired to find a missing government agent who has access to top secrets. Lockwood begins his search at a private club outside Washington DC where the missing man was a member.

   I enjoyed the interaction between Lockwood and Probe Control. This episode was heavy with gadgets and batter between Lockwood and sidekick Probe Control.

   What I remember most from the series was the relationship between Gloria Harding and macho Lockwood. Yet despite how memorable the character of Gloria Harding was, this and “The Gold Machine” were the only series episodes Angel Tompkins appeared.

“Moonrock” (10/4/72) Written by Leslie Stevens Directed by William Wiard Guest Cast: Jo Ann Pflug, Ann Prentis, and George Pan Recurring Cast: Ford Rainey as Dr. Barnett *** While under Probe’s protection, a moon rock is stolen. Not just any moon rock but one of pure carbon (raw diamond).

   This episode with its over the top macguffin needed an equally over the top villain. Instead too much time was devoted to the chase and not enough time establishing the villain. The episode was worth watching just for the delightful stylish scenes where Lockwood charters a 747 with full crew so he and the gratuitous girl of the week can continue to chase the killer who now has the rock.

“The Bullet” (11/1/72) Written by Judy Burns Directed by William Wiard Guest Cast: Ina Balin, Malachi Throne and Alan Bergman *** Lockwood is sent in to help a scientist, who had invented a poison bullet, defect to our side.

   The story makes for an above average spy drama until it all falls apart in the last act. Once Lockwood is shot with a poison bullet the action turns stupid, highlighted by a near death Lockwood making it through four miles of an Eastern Europe city with the state police chasing him, so he can get to the unguarded section of “The Wall.” MISSION IMPOSSIBLE fans laughed at the naive simplicity.

“The Adonis Files” (11/15/72) Written by Jack Turley Directed by Joseph Pevney Guest Cast: Bill Bixby, Deanna Lund Matheson, and Victoria George *** Private secretary to a famous celebrity is kidnapped for $5 million. A secretive private foundation that hopes to make the celebrity an US Senator hires Probe to act as go-between.

   Average 70s action episode but with a better than average twist at the end.

“Flight To Nowhere” (11/22/72) Written by Brad Radnitz Directed by Paul Stanley Guest Cast: Linda Cristal, Anna Cameron, and Don Dubbins *** When a search for a missing cargo plane flown by an old friend of Lockwood fails to find the pilot, Lockwood demands Probe continue the search.

   I called this the MANNIX episode. When Cameron refuses to take the case, Lockwood loses it and screams at Cameron that he is becoming like the machines. Our hero races off on his own to find his friend. For no reason, someone tries to kill him. Probe joins in but used sparely. As a viewer who likes the characters at Probe Control more than Lockwood, I found little to like about this episode other than Anna Cameron, who played the girl of the week.

“The Gold Machine” (12/20/73) Written by Leslie Stevens Directed by Russ Mayberry Guest Cast: Marian McCargo, Kurt Kasznar, and Mark Lenard Recurring Cast: Angel Tompkins as Gloria Harding *** Lockwood needs to find a lost gold mine. Gloria has managed to be in the right place at the right time to be Lockwood’s girl of the week.

   The search for the gold mine is entertaining and more important than it sounds, but it was the relationship between Lockwood and Gloria that made this episode fun to watch. While Gloria is less than thrilled with the dangers of being around a field agent, she does enjoy the typical Lockwood’s romantic escape with the girl of the week after the case is solved.

“Suffer My Child” (3/8/73) Written by Norman Hudis. Directed by Russ Mayberry Guest Cast: Mel Ferrer, Dianne Hull, and Dabney Coleman *** A young daughter of one of Wall Street’s most powerful men is kidnapped.

   This episode is a good action mystery with plenty of suspects to supply a twist or three. Probe Control and the computers are more heavily involved than usual. Lockwood’s dislike for computers is expressed more here, even after the computer saved his life, that ungrateful human.

   After fifteen episodes were filmed, Leslie Stevens and Robert H. Justman (STAR TREK, ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN) were replaced. Executive story consultant Anthony Spinner (DAN AUGUST, CANNON) took over as showrunner and producer. The change was visually noticeable. Since O’Brian did only one episode in the Spinner’s period, I’ll wait to examine these changes in my next post that will look at the Tony Franciosa episodes.

   Produced by Anthony Spinner. Probe Control Cast: Tom Hallick as Harris and Pamela Jones as Miss James.

“Countdown To Panic” (2/7/73) Written by Judy Burns Directed by Jerry Jameson Guest Cast: Ed Nelson, Anne Francis, and Howard Duff. Recurring Cast: Keith Andes as Dr. Barnett *** A scientific experiment conducted by World Securities for the US Navy goes wrong. One of the victims with a fatal contagious virus escapes. Lockwood is assigned to find the man, an old friend from his days in the astronaut program.

   The episode itself was entertaining for 70s action drama with an overused plot, but humorless and more like an episode from the Quinn Martin factory than the escapism fun of the Stevens’ episodes.

NEXT: SEARCH – The TONY FRANCIOSA Episodes.

Recommended reading: TV Obscurities: http://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/search

The Rap Sheet: http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2009/06/search-me.html

Warner Bros. Press Releases: http://probecontrol.artshost.com/publicity.html

VAL McDERMID – The Grave Tattoo. St. Martin’s/Minotaur Books, hardcover, February 2007; reprint paperback, April 2008.

   I was fond of McDermid’s early work, but after I became disenchanted with the Tony Hill serial killer series, I’ve not been a Faithful Reader of her books. The Grave Tattoo is a stand-alone novel in which Jane Gresham, a Wordsworth scholar, finds clues to a lost manuscript by the Romantic poet that appears to be a poetic version of Fletcher Christian’s story, recounted by him to the poet.

   While Jane’s interest is that of the researcher who senses she’s on the trail of a career-making subject, the interest of others is distinctly mercenary, and they quickly show themselves to have few (if any scruples) in how they get the manuscript. A series of murders begins to narrow the possible sources for the recovery of the document, with Jane a prime suspect.

   This is a competent literary mystery that I found initially difficult to get into but that eventually picked up enough momentum to keep me reading. I thought the pages from Fletcher Christian’s diary were engaging and had more narrative drive than the rather ponderous main plot line. This is a book that requires a patient reader.

Note:   For Geoff Bradley’s recent comments on Val McDermid’s A Place of Execution (both book and TV adaptation), go here.

   From all accounts, Ernest Hemingway wrote To Have and Have Not (Scribner’s, 1937) in fits and starts, cobbling it together from two earlier short stories while mucking about in the Spanish Civil War. And frankly, it reads a bit sloppy and disjointed, with shifting time frames, clashing narrative modes, and here and there the terse, fascinating prose that made Hemingway a name. Reading it through, with its sudden jumps in time, location, narration and focus, one wonders if the legendary author was pointing the way for writers like Ken Kesey and Carlos Fuentes or just being lazy.

   The first part deals with Harry Morgan, a charter boat skipper operating around Key West and Cuba who gets stiffed by a Mr. Johnson and helped out by Eddie, an alcoholic buddy (an important character in future incarnations of the book, but this is his only appearance here) when he’s forced to take on an illegal load of Chinese immigrants — a job that ends in gunplay and murder. This is pretty good stuff, violent and fast-moving, with Hemingway writing in the style of W.R. Burnett, with maybe a touch of James Hadley Chase.

   Then we make a jump and it’s some time later, months or a year maybe, and Harry is now apparently smuggling full time and trying to make it home with a shot-up arm and a dying mate. This part is tough too, but Hemingway now spends time with a wealthy, officious politician who sees a chance to get some publicity by “capturing” Harry, who couldn’t put up much fight. Thus we get the first conflict between the “haves” and “have nots” — along with an infusion of social commentary into what had been just a tough crime novel.

   Which sets the scene for part three: Harry is up against it now; his boat’s been confiscated and he has to get it back to do a job for some dangerous customers — so dangerous that murder and double-cross are taken for granted, and the crooked lawyer who sets up the deal (a violent bank robbery in Key West followed by escape to Cuba) is the first to go. In a tough, suspenseful scene that anticipates Key Largo, Harry shoots it out with his passengers and then …

   And then Hemingway spends the last third of the book detailing the tribulations of a bunch of rich folks, with occasional contrasting scenes for Harry’s wife Marie. No kidding. What had been a tough crime novel on the order of Red Harvest is suddenly supposed to be Meaningful Social Drama. The idea, I suppose is to ennoble Harry Morgan and his people by showing us how effete and shallow their “betters” are, but it doesn’t come off.

   Maybe I like David Goodis so much because when he writes a crime novel with a low-class working stiff or drunken stumblebum as the hero, that guy, be he ne’er so vile, is simply The Hero and ipso facto a man who gets our respect; he don’t gotta be Christ on the Cross too. When Hemingway turns Harry Morgan into the martyred representative of the Working Class, he loses me.

   To Have and Have Not was filmed three times, and the first version (Warners, 1944) starred Humphrey Bogart, introduced Lauren Bacall, and was punctiliously faithful — to the title. Aside from that, it’s kind of jarring to see bits and pieces of Hemingway’s novel popping up here and there in what is essentially a Howard Hawks movie that seems to have little relationship to anything Papa wrote.

   The story (written by Jules Furthman and William Faulkner) is moved up to 1940 and south to Martinique, which was at that time (like Casablanca) technically French but heavily influenced by the Third Reich. Naturally then, the would-be illegal immigrants become Free French resistance fighters, the officious politician becomes nasty Vichy cops, and Harry and his wife have now just met and call each other “Steve” and “Slim.”

   In this version of the story, Mr. Johnson doesn’t get away with stiffing Harry (this is Bogart, after all) but gets inconveniently killed in a shoot-out (one of those scenes from the book that somehow make their way into the film). Eddie, the drunk in the opening of the story is here played by Walter Brennan, and he sticks around for the whole movie. He’s rather good, too. So is Hoagy Carmichael as a friendly pianist and Marcel Dalio (also from Casablanca) as a protective hotel owner — a character who would later reappear in another Hawks film, Rio Bravo.

   In fact, this film is much more Hawks than Hemingway, but it’s Howard Hawks at his best, which is saying quite a lot. Not much action, but what there is comes across nicely. The characters (including Lauren Bacall in her film debut) are skillfully developed, and the whole thing has that easy, improvised look that only comes from hard work and genius — and produces a classic.

   But I guess someone at Warners noticed that they’d bought this whole book and never filmed it, so in 1950 Director Michael Curtiz and writer Ranald McDougal came up with The Breaking Point, a noirish exercise with John Garfield as Harry Morgan, Phyllis Thaxter as his wife (now named Lucy!) and Patricia Neal as a gold-digger/femme fatale apparently added to throw a little glamour into the mix. Eddie is gone, replaced by Juano Hernandez as a dependable wing man, and the porcine Mr. Johnson is now Mr. Hannagan, played by Ralph Dumke.

   The action is moved to Southern California, but otherwise this stays a bit closer to Hemingway and even includes the bent lawyer from the book, incarnated here by Wallace Ford looking agreeably slimy. There’s a tense race track robbery (not in the book of course) and an even more tense shoot-out on the boat as Garfield tries to thwart his would-be killers.

   Unfortunately, the story spends a bit too much time with Phyllis Thaxter worrying about looking dowdy, Patricia Neal worrying about staying glamorous, and Garfield just worrying over bills and the odds against him. To Have and Have Not was a working class story, but The Breaking Point can’t decide whether to be a working class film or a caper movie in the mold of The Killers and this ultimately does it in.

   Nothing daunted, Seven Arts/United Artists picked up the story again in 1958 and produced The Gun Runners, directed by Don Siegel and starring Audie Murphy as an unlikely Harry Morgan — now named Sam Martin(!) Eddie is back, this time played for seedy pathos by Everett Sloane of all people, and Patricia Owens (who that same year was the fretful wife of The Fly) is Audie’s wife Lucy.

   The action is moved back to Key West and Cuba, and Mr. Johnson is now called Mr. Peterson, played with slippery relish by an actor named John Harding, who had a long career but seldom broke out of bit parts. Too bad, because he’s an all-too-brief delight here, cheerfully ruining a man out of sheer self-indulgence.

   There’s a Mr. Hanagan in this version too, and he’s Eddie Albert, surprisingly nasty as the eponymous dealer in firearms who uses Audie to double-cross some very nasty customers. Albert is everything a movie bad-guy should be: smiling, generous, easy to get along with, and never losing that look behind his eye that says you mean about as much to him as a bug on his windshield, and you should expect to live about as long.

   This is a pretty good movie. Siegel handles the action with his usual aplomb, Daniel Mainwaring’s script strays pretty far from Hemingway but moves things along neatly, and the playing is mostly well above average, particularly Patricia Owens, who manages to get across a very earthy lust for her husband. It’s nothing that’ll make you forget Bacall and Bogart, but it’s there and you can feel it.

   My only problem with the movie is Audie Murphy at the heart of it. Like many real-life heroes (Wayne Morris comes to mind) Murphy could never convey genuine toughness on the screen, and this is a part that calls for it.

   Too bad he has such a pivotal part in a film that would have been a lot better without him.

WILLARD RICH – Brain-Waves and Death. Charles Scribner’s Sons, hardcover, 1940.

   Don’t be misled by the title, which sounds like some-thing Phoenix or Arcadia would have published. According to Hubin, this is the only novel by Rich, a pseudonym, and that’s a pity, for it’s a good one.

   One of those not too bright blackmailers has not only let himself be known to his victims but is spending the weekend with some of them. He also volunteers to undergo a brain-wave test in the early days of electroencephalography. When the blackmailer’s brain is presumably fried, Inspector Noonan is called in from Boston to investigate. It’s a complicated case, but Noonan gets it all straightened out. Unfortunately, he then has to start all over again.

   Nothing much happens after the murder except for Noonan’s interrogations of the suspects, a well-assorted and interesting group of scientists, scientific pretenders, and a few hangers-on. Noonan’s personality and humor and the odd characters are more than sufficient, though, to keep a reader’s interest.

   Hubin says this novel is set in Boston, but it actually takes place in the country. Fair play is present — I think. My brain tends to become more numb than usual when timetables are involved. Still, this did not detract from my enjoyment of the novel, nor did the package of Chesterfields turning into Lucky Strikes.

Bibliographic Notes: Hubin’s most recent edition of Crime Fiction IV still says the novel takes place in Boston. Of the author, Al says: “[A] pseudonym of William Richards, (?-1940); Professor of Chemistry at Princeton.

   The book itself is scarce. While there are currently seven offered for sale on ABE, the least a copy will cost you is $650.00. Says one dealer of the book:

    “Brain-Waves and Death was published posthumously under the pseudonym “Willard Rich” a few weeks after its author, William T. Richards, took his own life. Richards worked for Alfred Lee Loomis and his novel was a thinly veiled account of a real-life laboratory located about 40 miles north of New York City nicknamed “Tuxedo Park.” This “secret palace of science” was founded and funded by Loomis, arguably one of the most significant and uncredited figures in the history of modern military science. Loomis, a world-class tinkerer in his own right, was a visionary who saw that technology would win the looming war-and indeed that an investment in “big science” would be the key to national strength in the future. Loomis went on to establish the MIT Rad Lab and later was instrumental in setting up the Manhattan Project. According to legend, Loomis had all copies of Richards’ roman-a- clef bought up and destroyed. Obviously he missed a few copies, but the book is uncommon , especially in jacket.”

ROY HUGGINS – Too Late for Tears. Pocket 602, 1st paperback printing, 1949. Hardcover: William Morrow, July 1947. Hardcover reprint: Detective Book Club, Oct 1947. Previously serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, April-May 1947. Movie version: United Artists, 1949; Roy Huggins, screenplay; with Lizabeth Scott, Dan Duryea, Don DeFore, Arthur Kennedy, Kristine Miller.

   The first couple of paragraphs reminded me immediately of Raymond Chandler:

   They are married, Alan and Jane Palmer, and they are soon quarreling, before fate steps in their way. Barreling down the hills with the headlights accidentally turned off, a car going the other way tosses a small bag into their car, changing both of their lives forever.

   It’s full of money. Jane thinks they should keep it. Alan, who works for a bank, is much more cautious, but he is convinced by Jane to wait a week and see if anything appears in the newspapers about stolen money. Once he has checked the bag in a locker at the train station, however, events have been put into place that can not be reversed.

   From page 16:

   From Chandler, then, to a slick combination of Cornell Woolrich and James M. Cain, with some variations on the theme by Roy Huggins himself. Other characters have roles to play. Alan’s sister Kathy has an apartment a few doors down; Danny Fuller, the small time hood for whom the money was intended, naturally makes a quick appearance; and the mysterious Don Blake, who claims to have been a wartime buddy of Alan, makes an uneasy alliance with Kathy.

   It doesn’t work completely, but hitting on 15 of 16 cylinders at high speed is a pretty good percentage. If there is such a thing as noir fiction, this is it, and it’s top notch.

PostScript:   The reason for the last statement, and I could be wrong, is that I take noir to be a film term, not a book-related one. I wish I could remember seeing the movie, but I can’t. If it follows the story-line of the book at all, and with the cast it has, I know it would be tough to forget if I had.

[UPDATE] 03-02-13. Well, I hadn’t seen the movie when I wrote this review, but I have since, and I’ve even posted my comments here on this blog, way back in 2009. I liked the movie as much as I did the book, as you can go read for yourself.