On Wed, 16 May dc wrote about the movie The Fallen
Sparrow:
> Dorothy B. Hughes and The Fallen Sparrow. I just saw
the movie, and was
> disappointed. John Garfield seems to be sleepwalking
through the role, even
> when he's doing some "are those footsteps?!! I hear
footsteps!!!" number.
Yes, understand the film is not very good. But the film
moment dc is focusing on here is, as I remember, a point when
the novel can become interesting. As the protagonist
investigates the death of his friend, his prison tortures at
the hands of one mysterious person with a limp or shuffle in
his walk ("Wobblefoot") flash into his mind, creating a
psychic paralysis, especially as he becomes aware that he was
allowed to escape and that his old tormenter is shadowing
him.
There is also a "double" theme, familiar to hard-boiled
fiction: the investigator tends to become like the criminal.
How far is too far? (In this war time novel, the fascist or
Ayrian power type becomes the Other that one might
emulate.)
In comparison to her earler work, Hughes starts to modify her
treatment of class. Upperclass types, who had practically
filled out the whole cast (except for the police, of course)
of earlier work, here are less central, more critically
treated as almost "soft" fascists, or at least open to power
ideologies. (One is reminded of Tom Buchanan in The Great
Gatsby.) Kit, the protagonist, has "fallen" from any sense of
entitlement, as a result of his experiences in Spain, and
finds common cause with lower class Italian immigrants. This
attentiveness to class/ethnic differences, with some
romanticizing of lower class characters, marks Ride the Pink
Horse, where the villain is a corrupt politician moving in
upperclass circles.
I thought she did an effective job with the NYCityscape in
The Fallen Sparrow, too.
Out for about a week. Hope the dialogue on Hughes continues.
I'll catch up.
Bill Hagen
billha@ionet.net
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 16 May 2001 EDT