By Stephen Reid "I refuse to don this ridiculous costume.." Albert sucked in his belly and swelled up like a rooster. "A saint I ain't, Mac. I am a highly regarded thespian." "You're a highly regarded has-been, is what you are, Albert. Now sit down and try those boots on." I had to pick the … Continue reading “A Hard-Boiled Christmas”
Category: This Just In
“Mac” MacCauley
Created by Stephen Reid (1950-2018) "After fifteen years as a private investigator -- the last ten as a practising drunk --I had lost my license twice and my self-respect more times than I could count. The chances of me ever regaining either were between zero and entropy." That's how long-past-his-prime P.I. "MAC" MacCAULEY sums up … Continue reading “Mac” MacCauley
Bill Lennox
Created by W.T. Ballard (Willis Todhunter Ballard)Pseudonyms include P. D. Ballard, Harrison Hunt, Neil MacNeil, John Shepherd(1903-80) “Just a friendly town... When the knife falls, everyone helps you down into the gutter.”-- Lennox ponders Hollywwood in "A Little Different" Here's another iconic private eye who's officially not a private eye, yet does pretty much everything … Continue reading Bill Lennox
Tony Rome
Created by Anthony Rome Pseudonym of Marvin H. Albert Other pseudonyms include Mike Barone, J.D. Christilain, Al Conroy, Albert Conroy, Ian MacAlister & Nick Quarry (1924-1996) The real Tony would have kicked Frankie off the boat. In the novels in which he first appeared, Marvin Albert's TONY ROME was a "hard-loving, hard-loving private detective (who … Continue reading Tony Rome
John Hunchman & David Purefoy (Dicktown)
Created by John Hodgman & David Rees Who says cartoons are for kids? In the clever and decidedly adult cartoon Dicktown (2000, FXX), maladjusted, socially awkward middle-aged private eye JOHN HUNCHMAN and his slacker sidekick DAVID PUREFOY (voiced by series creators and co-writers John Hodgman and David Rees) aren't going anywhere. They're still living in small North Carolina town … Continue reading John Hunchman & David Purefoy (Dicktown)
In the Tradition of Hammett, Chandler, Macdonald… and Snoopy
Good Grief Department In August 1983, Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz paid tribute to detective fiction and another great writer (and fellow Santa Barbara resident): Ross Macdonald, who had passed away a month earlier. It makes me wonder if they possibly knew each other, if maybe after a hard day at the desk the two … Continue reading In the Tradition of Hammett, Chandler, Macdonald… and Snoopy
My Scrapbook: Original Pressbook for Manhandled
My Scrapbook Original Pressbook for Manhandled (1949, Paramount Pictures) If you're not familiar with the 1949 film noir Manhandled, it's about time you checked it out. The 1949 film noir is no lost classic, despite a decent cast (Dorothy Lamour, Sterling Hayden, etc.), but Dan Duryea, as private detective Karl Benson, is an absolute joy to … Continue reading My Scrapbook: Original Pressbook for Manhandled
You Can’t Keep a Good Gal Down
An Interview with Gloria Fickling, the Real Honey West “Honey West here.” That’s how Gloria Fickling answered her phone when I reached her in her study in “beautiful” Laguna Beach Gloria, for those of you who don’t know, is Gloria Fickling, the female half of G.G. Fickling, the husband-and-wife team (her “sweet darling” husband, … Continue reading You Can’t Keep a Good Gal Down
Harry Fannin
Created by David Markson (1927-2010) HARRY FANNIN is a walking scar. He has some shrapnel in his left shoulder, an old knife wound in his right shoulder, his nose has been broken twice (that he can remember), and he has an assortment of .32 and .38 caliber bullet holes in other parts of his anatomy. … Continue reading Harry Fannin
Steve Michaels
Created by Ray Bradbury (1920-2012) Perhaps my favourite story (and the most recent) in Killer, Come Back to Me (2020), Hard Case Crime's spiffy 2020 collection of Ray Bradbury's crime and detective stories, was “Where Everything Ends.” Originally published in the 2010 omnibus collection of the author's Death Is a Lonely Business (1985), A Graveyard for … Continue reading Steve Michaels