Two other noteworthy pieces of hardboiled humour/parody, both
by S.J.
Perelman, are "Somewhere a Roscoe...", not so much a parody,
as a humourous
salute to Dan Turner and Robert Leslie Bellem, and "Farewell,
My Lovely
Appetizer," a spoof of the hardboiled, PI genre, complete
with both red and
pink herring. They're both quite short pieces, and both are
quite a hoot.
You can probably find them in a collection of Perelman's
shorter works.
Also, thanks for the pointer on "Kiss Me, Dudley." I managed
to find a copy
in an Manhunt I picked up for a dime at a garage sale years
ago, and it is
indeed a treat. Spillane is definitively hoisted and roasted
in this one.
Which makes me wonder: how do you guys feel about Spillane
and Mike Hammer?
Except for a few mentions of the TV show (which I always
found rather lame,
despite some decent scripts), I don't remember any discussion
of the big
palooka. As someone who probably ranks as one of the major
forces in the
hardboiled genre, Spillane's absence on this list is sort of
glaring. I
wouldn't rank him as high as Hammett and Chandler, but as an
influence he's
got to be right up there with Macdonald.
What say youse?
But I digress...
Kevin Smith
Web Guy for The Thrilling Detective Web Site
For info, mailto:kvnsmith@total.net
"Everybody loves a loser,
They wanna see him pay his dues,
Everybody loves a loser,
But they don't wanna stand in his shoes."
-Murray McLauchlan
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