Site icon The Thrilling Detective Web Site

Duncan Maclain

kevinburtonsmith

Created by Baynard H. Kendrick
Pseudonyms include Richard Hayward
(1894-1977)

Blinded in World War I, wealthy, dashing CAPTAIN DUNCAN MACLAIN moves to New York and sets up a successful detective agency, aided by his partner, Spud Savage (is that a great name or what?) and his secretary (and Spud’s wife) Rena. Rounding out the staff are Duncan’s two specially-trained German Shepherds, Schnuke and Driest. When he’s not solving crimes, Duncan whiles away the time reading (in Braille) and doing giant jigsaw puzzles in his swank Manhattan penthouse on 72nd and Riverside Drive. Later on in the series, Duncan found time to marry the lovely Miss Sybella Ford, owner of a decorating shop.

Don’t be fooled by the gimmick, though — these books are pretty damn decent, and author Kendrick was no hack. The Maclain books are exciting, well-written adventures with clever plotting (even if, granted, there are a few pulpy gee-whizzes! sprinkled here and there). In fact, Kendricks worked hard to make Maclain a credible detective, and claimed he’d created him in reaction to what he saw as the excesses of Ernest Bramah’s Max Carrados.

By the way, it IS a good gimmick; one that really grabbed readers’ attention. At least good enough to inspire a handful of B-films in the forties, including a couple starring the decidedly stout Edward Arnold as the blind detective.

They weren’t great, although Eyes in the Night has a few unintentionally hilarious moments of scenery chewing, as Arnold pretends to be drunk. There was also a TV appearance with Robert Middleton as Maclain (that I can’t find any info on), and in the seventies, Longstreet, a television series that featured a blind insurance investigator based upon “characters created by Baynard Kendrick.” That one I definitely remember, and rather fondly.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Baynard Hardwick Kendrick was known as one of the more successful American mystery writers, enjoying a long and enduring career, with many of his works being adapted for film, television and radio. Born in 1894 to a well-to-do Philadelphia family, he devoted himself to business until World War I came along, and Kendrick headed north (just as Raymond Chandler did) to enlist in the Canadian Army. He was, in fact, the first American to enlist in the Canadian Army, signing up only one hour after World War I was declared. He served honorably and upon his return became interested in the blind. That, and all war experiences were to figure prominently in his crime fiction. His short stories appeared in such pulps as Black Mask, Detective Fiction Weekly and Dime Detective beginning in the thirties. His first series revolved around Florida deputy sheriff and sometime private investigator Miles Standish Rice, and he took a stab at creating another series eye, ship’s detective Cliff Chandler. He also wrote several thrillers under the pen name of Richard Hayward, but by far his most successful creation was Captain Duncan Maclain. During World War II, Kendrick served as an instructor for blinded veterans, which inspired the non-fiction bestseller Lights Out (1945), about the rehabilitation of a U.S. Army sergeant who had been blinded in combat. Lights Out was subsequently turned into the 1951 Universal movie Bright Victory. When the Blinded Veterans Association was organized, Kendrick served as an advisor, and was made an Honorary Chairman of its Board of Directors. In his later years he wrote for CBS television.

He was also one of the co-founders, along with Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, Helen McCloy, Brett Halliday and others, of the The Mystery Writers of America, was member number one of the organization, served as its first president and was named a Grand Master in 1967.

NOVELS

SHORT STORIES

COLLECTIONS

FILMS

RADIO

TELEVISION

Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith. A special thanks to Brian Cuddy for the TV lead, and 

 

Exit mobile version