Noir(ish) (9781101610053) (17 page)

A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS

As anyone who has written a novel, play, or other long work will tell you, its creation is a collaborative task. There are so many people to thank for their insights, suggestions, constructive criticisms, and patience in dealing with my effort to create this book. If I've left anyone out, I apologize to him or her, but the process of going from first word on the first page of the first draft to last word of what you're about to read, has taken three years, and I'm sometimes forgetful.

Thanks are due to Rial and Kathy Ellsworth and Ian North for reading the manuscript and offering considered and useful suggestions; my agent, Steven Hutson of WordWise Media for his tenacious pursuit of a publisher; my editor, Jessica Horvath, for her flexibility and her suggestions that have made this a better book; and, above all, to my wife, Roxanna: Some people are gifted with a spouse who believes in them, sometimes more than they believe in themselves. I am blessed with such a gift. Without her love, support, and tireless dedication to me and to the book, it wouldn't—couldn't—exist.

A Who and What of Noir(ish)

There are numerous allusions in the novel to noir fiction, film noir, and the people and films and books connected to it. A list is below.

C
HARACTERS

Robert Grahame
—A combination of Robert Mitchum and Gloria Grahame, both stars of various noirs of the era.

Lizabeth Duryea
—A combination of Lizabeth Scott and Dan Duryea, both stars of various noirs of the era.

Lauren Stanwyck
—A combination of Lauren Bacall and Barbara Stanwyck, both stars of various noirs of the era.

Gloria Mitchum
—A combination of Gloria Grahame and Robert Mitchum, both stars of various noirs of the era.

Dan Scott
—A combination of Dan Duryea and Lizabeth Scott, both stars of various noirs of the era.

Moe Sedway
—Not
a
Noir(ish)
invention but a real person who ran much of the early Vegas operation for the mob. He was close friends with Bugsy Siegel.

Humphrey Bacall
—A combination of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, both stars of various noirs of the era.

Fritz Lorre
—A combination of Fritz Lang and Peter Lorre, director of and supporting player in various noir films. Lang and Lorre's most famous collaboration was
M
, in which Lorre plays a child-murderer whose coat, on the back, is marked with the letter
M
. The film isn't noir, but stylistically it's a forerunner of the genre.

Sydney MacMurray
—A combination of Sydney Greenstreet and Fred MacMurray, both stars of various noirs of the era.

Greenstreet
—Robert's cat, named for Sydney Greenstreet, a star of various noirs of the era.

Elisha
—Named for Elisha Cook, a supporting player in various noirs of the era.

Ed Hopper, the counterman
—Named for painter Edward Hopper, whose
Nighthawks
incorporates many of the visual elements of the films' style.

Wilmer
—Named for the “gunsel” played by Elisha Cook in
The Maltese Falcon
.

Vivian O'Shaughnessy
—A combination of Vivian Sternwood and Brigid O'Shaughnessy, femmes fatale of the noir classics
The Big Sleep
and the 1941 version of
The Maltese Falcon
, respectively.

O
THER
N
AMED
C
HARACTERS

Agnes (one of Kathie and Madge's lovebirds)—Named for Agnes Moorehead. (See Madge Rapf.)

Jules Bezzerides, the numismatist—A combination of Jules Dassin and A. I. Bezzerides, the director and writer of
Thieves' Highway,
a noir classic.

Victor Bianco—A combination of Victor Mature and Nick Bianco, the character Mature plays in the noir classic
Kiss of Death
.

Tommy Biddle—A combination of Tommy Udo and Ray Biddle, the names of the two most famous noir characters played by Richard Widmark.

Phyllis and Walter Dietrichson—Named for Phyllis Dietrichson (played by Barbara Stanwyck), the femme fatale, and Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) her target, in
Double Indemnity
.

Johnny Dollar—The insurance investigator of the long-running radio series
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar
, who dealt frequently with noiresque dilemmas. The title role was originated by Dick Powell and played at one time or another by Charkes Russell, Edmond O'Brien, John Lund, Bob Bailey Bob Readick, and Mandel Kramer.

Mike Figlia—The bad guy, played by Lee J. Cobb, in
Thieves' Highway
.

Nick Garcos—The central character, played by Richard Conte, in
Thieves' Highway
.

Virginia Hill—Not a
Noir(ish)
invention. Girlfriend of Bugsy Siegel (and, perhaps, other Hollywood luminaries) at whose mansion Siegel was staying when he was killed. She left abruptly for Paris about ten days before the shooting.

Martha Ivers—The title character, played by Barbara Stanwyck, of the semi-noir
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
.

Jacques (the clerk at the Hotel Niagara)—Named for Jacques Tourneur, director of the noir classic
Out of the Past
.

Jane (one of Kathie and Madge's lovebirds)—Named for Jane Greer. (See Kathie Moffat.)

Fred Keyes and Bart Neff—Combinations of Barton Keyes (played by Edward G. Robinson), the chief insurance investigator; Walter Neff, Keyes's friend and coworker; and Fred MacMurray, who plays Neff in
Double Indemnity
.

Peter Lang—A combination of Fritz Lang and Peter Lorre, director of and supporting player in various noir films. (See also Fritz Lorre.)

Mark McPherson—The detective, played by Dana Andrews, in the noir classic
Laura
.

Kathie Moffat—The femme fatale, played by Jane Greer, of
Out of the Past
.

Rip Murdock and Johnny Drake—The best friends of the noir classic
Dead Reckoning
.

Jane Palmer—The leading lady/femme fatale, played by Lizabeth Scott, of
Too Late for Tears
(also known as
Killer Bait
).

Madge Rapf—Both the femme fatale
and the antithesis of the femme fatale, played by Agnes Moorehead, in
Dark Passage
.

Richard G. Robinson—A combination of Richard Widmark and Edward G. Robinson, both stars of various noirs of the era.

Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel—Not a
Noir(ish)
invention but a real person who was a prominent Vegas/West Coast mob figure. He was shot at nine times (either two or five shots hit him, depending on which report you believe) and died in the home of his absent girlfriend, Virginia Hill, on June 20, 1947. The murder has never been solved.

Dixon Steele—The character played by Humphrey Bogart in
In a Lonely Place
, considered by many a noir film.

Whit Sterling—The villain, played by Kirk Douglas, of
Out of the Past
.

Judy Taylor—The “girl” reporter, played by Marjorie Weaver, who helps Michael Shayne clear an innocent woman in
Just Off Broadway
.

Stoker Thompson—Robert Ryan's over-the-hill boxer in Robert Wise's
The Set-Up
, a film that looks like noir but lacks key elements of the genre.

Sophie Tucker—Not a
Noir(ish)
invention but a well-known singer of the era, known as the Last of the Red Hot Mamas.

Nicholas Udo—A combination of Nicholas Ray and Tommy Udo, the director of various noir films and the villain of the noir classic
Kiss of Death
.

Edward Widmark—A combination of Edward G. Robinson and Richard Widmark, both stars of various noirs of the era.

Samuel Wilder—The real name of Billy Wilder, the well-known director/co-screenwriter of
Double Indemnity
.

Ruth Wonderly—The femme fatale of the original 1931 film version of
The Maltese Falcon
.

O
THER
R
EFERENCES

The Bad and the Beautiful
,
The Big Sleep
,
Blonde Ice
,
Dark Passage
,
In a Lonely Place—
Among the genre's better-known movies.

The Black Bird—The common appellation for the Maltese Falcon.

The Black Dahlia—A famous Los Angeles murder case of 1947. Elizabeth Short was the victim. (There was also a Blue Dahlia murder case.)

Captain Archer of the Martian Interstellar Law Enforcement Section (MILES)—A reference to Miles Archer, Sam Spade's doomed partner, in
The Maltese Falcon
.

Cregar Street—Named for Laird Cregar, the actor who plays the Nazi collaborator in
This Gun for Hire
, a noir classic.

The Criss Cross—Named for the noir film
Criss Cross
.

Floyd Avenue and Thursby Street—Named for Floyd Thursby, Brigid O'Shaughnessy's never-seen antagonist in
The Maltese Falcon
.

Fuller-0812 (Widmark's phone number)—The last name and date of birth of Samuel Fuller, a renowned noir director.

The Greer Hotel—Named for Jane Greer, the femme fatale of
Out of the Past
.

gunsel—Sam Spade's derogatory term for Elisha Cook's character (Wilmer) in
The Maltese Falcon
.

Hellinger Building—Named for Mark Hellinger, a film producer (and writer) during the era who made
The Killers
and
The Naked City
.

The Lollipop Guild—The bad boys of Munchkinland in
The Wizard of Oz.

The Hotel Niagara—Named for the noir film
Niagara
.

Howard-0530 (Robinson's phone number)—The first name and date of birth of Howard Hawks, a renowned noir director.

KRAY (radio station call letters)—A reference to Nicholas Ray, a renowned noir director.

“Laura”—The theme song to the film of the same name, one of the genre's best-known movies.

Philip Marlowe—See Sam Spade.

The Pickup, located on South Street—A reference to
Pickup on South Street
, Samuel Fuller's most famous noir film.

Orrin Quest—The doomed big brother, sought for by the title character and Philip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler's
The Little Sister
.

Scarlet Street—A film noir classic, directed by Fritz Lang and starring Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, and Dan Duryea.

Michael “Mike” Shayne—A renowned fictional private eye, created by Brett Halliday.

Room 805 (Robert's office number)—The date of birth (August 5, 1905) of John Huston, arguably noir's greatest director.

Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe—Fictional private eyes (created by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, respectively) who were at the center of several noir classics, including
The Maltese Falcon
,
The Big Sleep
,
Lady in the Lake
, and
Murder, My Sweet
.

Philo Vance—A renowned fictional private eye, created by S. S. Van Dine.

Veronica Apartments, Lake-1114—The name and date of birth of Veronica Lake, star of
This Gun for Hire
, a noir classic.

M
ISCELLANEOUS
N
OTE

There were reported sightings of UFOs in the Puget Sound–Mount Rainier area of Washington on June 21 and June 24, 1947, respectively. Both predate by about two weeks the more famous crash at Roswell.

About the Author

Evan Guilford-Blake
writes plays, fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry for adults and children. He has authored about forty plays that have been produced internationally, twenty of which are published, and has won thirty-eight playwriting competitions, including, twice, the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival. (He is the only playwright to have done so.)

Evan has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and his work has appeared in numerous print and online journals, as well as in several anthologies
.
Among his dozen short fiction awards are
Soundings Review
's Founders' Award, Wayne State University's Judith Siegel Pearson Award, the D. G. Flamand competition (twice), and the Porter Fleming prize.