Sorry, Bill, I didn't mean to open a can of worms. I just
wanted to know
peoples' ideas of the bad casting of certain HB fiction. How
Tom Clancy got
in there is beyond me. Or Malcolm X or The Bridges of Madison
County (a
real noir classic, fer shur).
It seems to me, though, that discussion of Total Security
belongs on the
list. It (could have) fulfilled much of the definition of
hardboiled
fiction. It coulda been a contender, and despite his billing,
Belushi was
very much comic relief, and not, in my opinion, germane to
the real
potential of the show. The brooding, solitary head of the
agency, trying to
keep to the straight and narrow, while trying to come to
grips with his own
past, was, to me, the real deal. Okay, the show wasn't great.
It coulda
been. It got too cute at the end. Not all hardboiled fiction
originated in
printed form.
Of course, others may feel this list should only focus on the
printed word.
Exclusively. But if you're really going to restrict the list
to only the
printed word, and not other media such as radio, film, music,
television,
etc., be prepared for a drier, less lively list. The recent
discussion of
jazz certainly didn't blind me to the purpose of this list. I
found it
interesting and often provacative, as this list often is. For
these
purists, would fiction include short stories and comic
books?
A reading list is a great idea, but, like most folks, I
reckon, we rather
enjoy reading things at our own pace. Lists like these open
our eyes to new
books and stories, and allow us to discuss old favorites with
friends. But,
much as I loved The Maltese Falcon, The Drowning Pool, etc.,
I've reread
them several times, and I find it hard to justify re-reading
them right
now, especially with a huge TBR pile just lurking there,
threatening to
topple over. So, you wanna talk about The Maltese Falcon, go
ahead and
talk. Here's a topic that came up in a mystery fiction course
a few years
back. Were Spade and Archer lovers? Is that why Brigid gets
sent over? Or
is a gunsel sometimes just a gunsel? Discuss this among
yourselves...
Kevin Smith
Web Guy for The Thrilling Detective Web Site
For info, mailto:kvnsmith@total.net
"You wanna talk to me, go ahead and talk"
Bob Dylan, via Sam Spade
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