Created by Norbert Davis (1909-49) “John Collins was playing the Beale Street Blues and playing it soft and sad because that was the way he felt. The notes dripped through the dimness of the room like molasses and provided an appropriate accompaniment to his thoughts. He had a hangover.” -- the intro to "Don’t You … Continue reading John Collins
Tag: Norbert Davis
“Just Plain” Jones
Created by Norbert Davis (1909-49) "My feet are killing me." -- "Just Plain" Jones An investigator for The Suburban Mortgage and Trust Company, "JUST PLAIN" JONES is an endearing character, as tough as any pulp eye, complete with brass knucks, and a .38 Police Positive, but plagued by sore feet. Jones only appeared in one … Continue reading “Just Plain” Jones
Doan & Carstairs
Created by Norbert Davis (1909-49) "He was short and a little on the plump side, and he had a chubby, pink face and a smile as innocent and appealing as a baby's. He looked like a very nice, pleasant sort of person, and on rare occasions he was." -- we meet Doan in The Mouse … Continue reading Doan & Carstairs
Mark Hull
Created by Norbert Davis Pseudonyms include Harrison Hunt, Cedric Titus (1909-1949) "She was one of the real mysteries of Hollywood. She was thin and flat-chested, with a complexion like yellow paste. Her black hair was lifeless and dull. Her features were assembled in regular enough order, but her face gave a queer blank effect, as … Continue reading Mark Hull
Gone Too Soon
They Coulda Been Contenders The hard-boiled highway's jammed with broken heroes who never got a chance. Here are three of the forgotten who could have been contenders... Robert Reeves (1912-45) Creator of private eye Cellini Smith and hard-boiled trucker and "highway detective" Bookie Barnes, this young New Yorker showed promise as a pulp writer, with … Continue reading Gone Too Soon
Ben Shaley
Created by Norbert Davis (1909-1949) "Shaley was bonily tall. He had a thin, tanned face with bitterly heavy lines in it. He looked calm; but he looked like he was being calm on purpose--as though he was consciously holding himself in. He had an air of hardboiled confidence." "Red Goose," one of Norbert Davis' very … Continue reading Ben Shaley
“Bail-Bond” Dodd
Created by Norbert Davis (1909-49) "Watch your step, my boy, down that way. It's one of our most exclusive neighbourhoods. Exclusively bad... in this neighbourhood, at this time of night, I wouldn't wait five minutes for the King of England. There's guys around here that would cut your throat for a dime, and I mean … Continue reading “Bail-Bond” Dodd
My Bookshelf: The Hard-Boiled Omnibus by Joseph T. “Cap” Shaw
My Bookshelf The Hard-Boiled Omnibus: Early Stories from Black Mask, edited by Joseph T. "Cap" Shaw Is there a more pivotal collection of stories from Black Mask than The Hard-Boiled Omnibus? Published by Simon and Schuster in 1946, this almost mythical hardcover featured fifteen stories selected by editor Joseph T. "Cap" Shaw (1874-1952), who had … Continue reading My Bookshelf: The Hard-Boiled Omnibus by Joseph T. “Cap” Shaw
Max Latin
Created by Norbert Davis (1909-49) Guiterrez came out of the kitchen in a cloud of steam and slapped the heavy metal swing door violently shut behind him. He was a tall man with a dark, bitterly disillusioned face. He was wearing a white jacket and a white apron, and he had a chef's hat crushed … Continue reading Max Latin
Suspense
"Radio's Outstanding Theatre of Thrills!" A fixture on the CBS Radio Network, SUSPENSE was the longest-running anthology series on American radio. It made its debut in June of 1942 and was on the air for the next two decades -- an incredible twenty year run. True crime, detective stories, thrillers, tales of mystery and suspense … Continue reading Suspense