It's been a long time since I read THE LITTLE SISTER, but I
never thought
of it as a "Hollywood novel," any more than I thought those
of Ross
Macdonald that ventured down the coast were "Hollywood." Not
in the sense
that THE DAY OF THE LOCUST or WHAT MAKES SAMMY RUN are
Hollywood novels. If
my memory serves me, it was the only time Marlowe really
ventured into
Hollywood.
I don't think "Hollywood novels" really work today, except
perhaps for
Jackie Collins. Not when people can see it on Entertainment
Tonight or the
E! Channel every day and read about it in People and other
magazines.
Nevertheless, a good story, great characters, and a mystery,
with Hollywood
as a background works. As long as the story, characters, and
mystery come
first, and there's a twist or a new angle on the crooked
producer, predatory
agent, struggling has-been, scheming starlet, and the like.
It all boils
down to power--who has it, who wants it, who's struggling to
hold onto it,
and what price will they pay.
Chandler did well as a screenwriter. His adaptation of James
M. Cain's
DOUBLE INDEMNITY
is a landmark film. Too bad he didn't live long enough to
plug Robert Altman
and Elliott Gould for butchering THE LONG GOODBYE.
Jerry Buck
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