I didn't expect this thread would go so far as to
enter pure speculation, so I react late.
By coincidence, I was re-reading Chandler's letters
in the MacShane compilation during the last few
weeks, and by chance I came accross the letter(before
the thread appeared) wherein Chandler recalls his
British publisher, Hamish Hamilton, about the
question of the film maker for The Big Sleep.
Chandler comment is so firm about having himself
absolutely no idea about the fate of the chauffeur,
that I do not think it is necessary to look for
secondary explanations.
The way this character disappears is not essential to
the main plot... so, indeed, no other clue is
necessary.
The letter is dated : March 21st, 1949
abstract....
"They sent me a wire (there's a joke about this
too)asking me, and dammit I didn't know either. Of
course I got hooted at. "
The joke was about Jack Warner, head of the studios,
that complained about the waste of 75 cents, price of
the telegram to Chandler.
Case close?
E.Borgers
Hard-Boiled Mysteries
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6384
---Kevin Smith <kvnsmith@colba.net> wrote:
> (snipped)
>
> I seem to remember reading that he sweated
over
his first short
> story for two years...His pace improved, but he
was
never a prolific
> writer, and he tended to recycle a lot of his
short
story stuff for his
> novels, although of course he revised it as
well...
>
> Maybe he just didn't care who killed the
chauffer...Chandler's
> preoccupation was with style, anyway...
>
> Kevin Smith
>
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