Monongahela Books: American Noir

Aaker, Everett, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EARLY TELEVISION CRIME FIGHTERS: All Regular Cast Members in American Crime and Mystery Series, 1948-1959. NEW copy, hardcover, 7x10. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. Publishers, 2006 [1994]). 671 photographs, appendices, bibliography, index, 436 pp.
~~~ Any episode of a crime or mystery series involves some or all of the following: the perpetration of a crime; its investigation; the analytical process which involves the determination of the villain; the arrest and trial of the culprit; and the handing out of the appropriate punishment. Such series involving the exploits of a wide variety of courageous heroes and heroines were very popular during the 1950s, and they featured a host of actors and actresses, including famous television detectives (e.g., Raymond Burr), those famous in other genres (e.g., Boris Karloff, Charles Bronson), and over 250 other players with recurring roles. ~~~ This reference work lists every player who had a regular role in a crime or mystery series during the early era of television. All covered series offered live or filmed episodes of a crime or mystery nature, and all were shown on American television. All series had either regular stars or a recognizable host. Entries cover the player’s real name, family information and education; how the player originally broke into show business; the player’s career preceding the series; and his or her marriage, children, death date, and film and television credits. Appendices provide a catalog of American mystery series and a list of regular mystery series players whose roles began after December 31, 1959.

$75.00

Alaspa, Bryan W., CHICAGO CRIME STORIES: Rich Gone Wrong. NEW copy, trade PAPERBACK. (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Books, 2008). Four b&w photographs, 128 pages.
~~~
Discover the most notorious criminals and crimes in Chicago's history. Meet psychopath and criminal mastermind Silas Jayne, a stone-cold killer even the mob seemed to fear. Read about the "Trial of the Century," the case that made the names Leopold and Loeb famous, and legendary lawyer Clarence Darrow a household name. Explore the mind of the Tylenol Terrorist who paralyzed the country with fear. You've heard about Capone, Gacy, and Speck; now learn about the rest of Chicago's worst.

$15.00

Sperber, A.M. and Eric Lax, BOGART. Fine/Fine. (NY: Wm Morrow & Co, 1997). First Edition. Photographs, Notes, bibliography, filmography, Bogart's Broadway plays, index, 676 pages.
~~~ From Publishers Weekly: It's a double-bogey April with this second biography of Humphrey Bogart to appear this year, the 40th anniversary of the actor's death. Before her own death in 1994, biographer Sperber (Murrow) collected a "quarter ton of research" on the star, complied from 200 interviews with those who knew him (including John Huston, Katharine Hepburn and director Richard Brooks) and from her work in the Warner Bros. archives at USC. Her rough draft of the book was completed by Lax (Woody Allen). The result is a longer and much more detailed account of Bogart's life than can be found in the Meyers, gracefully written and somewhat savvier about the film business than Meyers's account. Thanks to Sperber's exhaustive research and Lax's own expertise in film history, the book gives a full and especially harrowing account of Bogart's political activities during the Hollywood red scare of the early fifties. Bogart was unusually brave to begin with, standing up to HUAC with several other stars (Danny Kaye, Gene Kelly), but then was bullied by his studio into backing down and recanting his earlier position. There are also full and entertaining accounts of the production histories of Bogart's major films. Still, both biographies are more or less equally insightful, presenting fundamentally the same portrait of the man himself: sensitive and often melancholy, with a bitter wit and a bit of a cruel streak, but courageous in his way, a hard-working and generous professional with an extraordinary screen presence. The reader's choice between these two fine biographies is liable to come down to just how much detail one wants to know about Humphrey Bogart. The Sperber/Lax includes a listing of Bogart's Broadway performances, an exhaustive filmography and 40 b&w photos.
~~~ Originally published at $27.50, now OUT OF PRINT.

$40.00

Nollen, Scott Allen, WARNER'S WISEGUYS: All 112 Films that Robinson, Cagney and Bogart Made for the Studio. NEW copy, hardcover, 7x10. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. Publishers, 2008). Photographs, appendix, notes, bibliography, index 372 pp.
~~~ As three of the most prominent actors of the early studio system, James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and Humphrey Bogart played an unparalleled role in the rise of the Warner Brothers Studio. These “Warners Wiseguys” are now virtually synonymous with the studio’s era of gritty gangster films. This study of their interwoven studio-contract careers highlights the similarities of their personalities and their struggles with harsh typecasting. It details and comments critically on each of their combined 112 Warners films. Complete with commentary from the author and other film buffs. An appendix provides a filmographic guide to the films discussed, including lists of primary actors, release dates, directorial credits, and running times for each film.

$55.00

Hare, William, EARLY FILM NOIR: Greed, Lust and Murder Hollywood Style. NEW copy, trade PAPERBACK, 7x10. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. Publishers, 2003). Photographs, bibliography, index, 221 pp.
~~~ The name is French and it has connections to German expressionist cinema, but film noir was inspired by the American Raymond Chandler, whose prose was marked by the gripping realism of seedy hotels, dimly lit bars, main streets, country clubs, mansions, cul-de-sac apartments, corporate boardrooms, and flop houses of America. ~~~ Chandler and the other writers and directors, including James M. Cain, Dashiell Hammett, Jane Greer, Ken Annakin, Rouben Mamoulian and Mike Mazurki, who were primarily responsible for the creation of the film noir genre and its common plots and themes are the main focus of this work. It correlates the rise of film noir with the new appetites of the American public after World War II and explains how it was developed by smaller studios and filmmakers as a result of the emphasis on quality within a deliberately restricted element of cities at night. The author also discusses how RKO capitalized on films such as Murder, My Sweet and Out of the Past -— two of film noir’s most famous titles -— and film noir’s connection to British noir and the great international triumph of Sir Carol Reed in The Third Man.

$39.95

Hare, William, DARK CITY: The Film Noir. NEW copy, trade PAPERBACK, 7x10. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. Publishers, 1997 [1984]). Photographs, index, 263 pp.
~~~ The most complete reference to the dark 40s and 50s stylistic dramas (twice the coverage of competition). The first section has a lengthy analytical essay as well as detailed plot descriptions and credits for 25 classics—such as The Maltese Falcon, Laura, and Detective Story. The second section is an annotated filmography including major credits and short descriptions of nearly 500 films. Also included are appendices listing every film noir by both director and chronological order, off-genre noirs, and other films bearing important relationships to the noir cycle.

$30.00

Stephens, Michael L., FILM NOIR: A Comprehensive Illustrated Reference to Movies, Terms and Persons. NEW copy, trade PAPERBACK, 7x10. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. Publishers, 2006 [1994]). Photographs, bibliography, index, 436 pp.
~~~ Film noir is a uniquely American genre that has stylistic links to the German expressionist cinema of the 1920s and thematic links to the hard-boiled crime fiction that emerged in the 1930s. Generally the milieu is urban and middle class, and the overall feel is one of repression and fatalism. Whether shot in black and white or color, the style reinforces the overall feel. ~~~ Films, directors, actors, producers, screenwriters, art directors, themes, plot devices and many other elements are contained in this encyclopedic reference work. Each movie entry includes full filmographic data (studio, running time, production and cast credits, and plot synopsis) along with an analysis of its place in the genre. Biographical entries focus on the person’s role in noir and provide a complete filmography of their film noir work. Terms are placed in the context of the genre and relevant examples from films are given.

$45.00

Schlossheimer, Michael, GUNMEN AND GANGSTERS: Profiles of Nine Actors Who Portrayed Memorabgle Screen Tough Guys. NEW copy, trade PAPERBACK, 7x10. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. Publishers, 2002). Photographs, flimographies, bibliography, index, 359 pp.
~~~ Gangsters such as Al Capone and Lucky Luciano were considered by many people to be the most exciting personalities of the 1920s and 1930s. The public was hungry for press coverage about these mysterious and dangerous men. Most reports about them were sketchy, as the reporters did not want to get on the bad side of the racket bosses. Hollywood’s response to the public’s fascination was to portray the lives of gangsters on the movie screen, using actors such as Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson. Perhaps surprisingly, these men received not-so-favorable reviews from the Academy Award voters, and as their popularity grew with the public, censorship dictated other actors be brought in to play the roles. ~~~ That’s what this book is about—the personal and professional lives of William Bendix, Charles Bickford, Ward Bond, Broderick Crawford, Brian Donlevy, Paul Douglas, William Gargan, Barton MacLane, and Lloyd Nolan, second-string actors who replaced the big names and did a memorable job. A filmography is supplied for each actor.

$35.00

Geherin, David, SCENE OF THE CRIME: The Importance of Place in Crime and Mystery Fiction. NEW copy, trade PAPERBACK, 7x10. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. Publishers, 2008). Bibliography, index, 216 pp.
~~~ Offering analysis of the fiction of 15 authors, this book focuses on the many ways that setting and place figure in modern crime and mystery novels. After an introductory chapter dealing with a general consideration of place in fiction, subsequent chapters consider the works of recent mystery writers for whom setting greatly contributes to overall literary style. ___ From best-selling U.S. authors Walter Mosley, Carl Hiaasen, and James Lee Burke to international favorites Georges Simenon and Paco Ignacio Taibo II, the author ranges widely among the most acclaimed writers of recent mystery fiction. Topics explored include the afro-centric urban Los Angeles environment in Walter Mosley’s Devil in a Blue Dress, the small-town exoticism of James Lee Burke’s southern Louisiana in The Neon Rain, and the gritty South African setting of James McClure’s The Steam Pig.

NOT YET AVAILABLE. Slated for late spring / early summer, 2008. Order now & book will be sent as soon as it is issued. Your card will not be charged until book is ready to ship.

$35.00

Panek, LeRoy Lad, READING EARLY HAMMETT: A Critical Study of the Fiction Prior to The Maltese Falcon. NEW copy, trade PAPERBACK, 7x10. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. Publishers, 2004). Chronology, bibliography, index, 219 pp.
~~~ Dashiell Hammett, like most successful writers, honed his skills in the trenches. Long before The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man made him a household name, Hammett developed his technique writing satirical magazine pieces, then moved on to churn out tales of sex, crime and adventure for pulp magazines. Characters like Sam Spade and Nick and Nora Charles made him famous, but Hammett perfected his style—and created the first hard-boiled detective fiction—writing stories and novels about an anonymous, middle-aged detective, known as the Continental Op. ~~~ This detailed examination of the early works of Dashiell Hammett takes a new look at one of the 20th century’s most influential crime writers and his creation of the hard-boiled detective story. Each chapter covers an element of Hammett’s early writing career—his magazine fiction; the Continental Op’s development as a character; the Continental Op novels; and the last Continental Op stories. A concluding chapter provides afterthoughts on Hammett’s career, style and place in the history of detective fiction. A chronology of works cited, a bibliography and an index supplement the text.

$35.00

Moore, Lewis D., CRACKING THE HARD-BOILED DETECTIVE: A Critical History from the 1920s to the Present. NEW copy, trade PAPERBACK, 7x10. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. Publishers, 2006). Bibliography, index, 306 pp.
~~~ The hard-boiled private detective is among the most recognizable characters in popular fiction since the 1920s—a tough product of a violent world, in which police forces are inadequate and people with money can choose private help when facing threatening circumstances. Though a relatively recent arrival, the hard-boiled detective has undergone steady development and assumed diverse forms. ~~~ This critical study analyzes the character of the hard-boiled detective, from literary antecedents through the early 21st century. It follows change in the novels through three main periods: the Early (roughly 1927–1955), during which the character was defined by such writers as Carroll John Daly, Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler; the Transitional, evident by 1964 in the works of John D. MacDonald and Michael Collins, and continuing to around 1977 via Joseph Hansen, Bill Pronzini and others; and the Modern, since the late 1970s, during which such writers as Loren D. Estleman, Liza Cody, Sara Paretsky, Sue Grafton and many others have expanded the genre and the detective character. Themes such as violence, love and sexuality, friendship, space and place, and work are examined throughout the text.

$35.00

Rippeloe, Rita Elizabeth, BOOZE AND THE PRIVATE EYE: Alcohol in the Hard-Boiled Novel. NEW copy, trade PAPERBACK, 7x10. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. Publishers, 2004). Bibliography, index, 215 pp.
~~~ The hard-bitten PI with a bottle of bourbon in his desk drawer—it’s an image as old as the genre of hard-boiled detective fiction itself. Alcohol has long been an important element of detective fiction, but it is no mere prop. Rather, the treatment of alcohol within the works informs and illustrates the detective’s moral code, and casts light upon the society’s attitudes towards drink. ~~~ This examination of the role of alcohol in hard-boiled detective fiction begins with the genre’s birth, in an era strongly influenced and affected by Prohibition, and follows both the genre’s development and its relation to our changing understanding of and attitudes towards alcohol and alcoholism. It discusses the works of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane, Robert B. Parker, Lawrence Block, Marcia Muller, Karen Kijewski and Sue Grafton. There are bibliographies of both the primary and critical texts, and an index of authors and works.

$35.00