Re: RARA-AVIS: The Resurgence of the Spy Story

From: Rene Ribic ( rribic@optusnet.com.au)
Date: 12 Jun 2002


.
>
> Question: If espionage is suddenly back in favor, why
> is Donald Hamilton having such a hard time selling the
> latest (and most likely last) Matt Helm novel?
>
> JIM DOHERTY
>
Wasn't it in this forum that someone mentioned that the Matt Helm books were being republished & that some US TV (Cable?) station was making a series based on them? IIRC, the producers were quoted as citing THE SOPRANOS as a stylistic reference point. To me this sounds very promising, the black humour & realism (for want of a better word) would certainly make for a better approach than the insufferably camp movie versions starring Dean Martin. It was a bit of a shock to me to discover that 1 or 2 of these films were directed by someone (name escapes me at the moment) who has directed some classic films noir. A film noir approach would have worked better than a camp approach but an approach that manages to keep Hamilton's dry & ironic tone would be even better, IMO.

Rene

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