"First you dream, then you die." --Woolrich.
I MARRIED A DEAD MAN tells the story of a poor and lonely
pregnant girl who, through a case of mistaken identity, is
taken in by a wealthy family and treated with kindness and
respect. Her fear of being discovered as an imposter is an
obsession that dominates her life. Although his earlier work
is influenced by Fitzgerald, I MARRIED A DEAD MAN is
overwhelming morbid and morose, and is similar in mood to
Edgar Allan Poe's Gothic story, "Fall of the House of
Usher."
I was surprised to see Woolrich's biographer Francis Nevin
state that,
"purely on its merits as prose, it's dreadful." Although I
wasn't enamored with the plot, the characters, or the
heavy-handed melodrama, I still found his prose to be
hauntingly lyrical.
An essay in FILM NOIR READER titled "Cornell Woolrich, The
Phantom Lady and the Masochistic Aesthetic" develops the idea
that Woolrich represents a feminine-masochistic
interpretation of noir, in contrast to the Hammett, Chandler,
and Cain masculine-sadistic view. The principle difference is
that the masculine-sadistic view portrays the protagonist
struggling to control a dangerous situation, whereas the
feminine-sadistic view portrays the protagonist as either
unwilling or incapable of attempting to correct
matters.
Cornell Woolrich was born in 1903. His parents
divorced in 1915 and he lived with his mother in New York
until he entered Columbia University. He completed three
years of journalism before dropping out to write fiction
full-time, publishing COVER CHARGE in 1926 and CHILDREN OF
THE RITZ in 1927, society-type romances that show the
influence of F. Scott Fitzgerald. In 1928 he moved to
Hollywood and began a successful career in script writing. He
married but it was soon annulled when his wife discovered his
diary, complete with details of his many homosexual
encounters. He was crushed by the experience and moved back
to New York City, closed himself off from the world, and
lived the next 25 years in a suffocating love-hate
relationship with his domineering mother. Even though he was
a prominent and financially successful author, they lived all
this time in the sleazy Hotel Marseilles in a Harlem
slum.
In this depressing and stifling environment, Woolrich began
writing for the pulp magazines in 1934, turning out stories
for Black Mask, Detective Fiction Weekly, and Dime Detective.
With THE BRIDE WORE BLACK,published in 1940, he began a
string of 11 novels written in the Forties, gaining him a
reputation as one of the most prominent writers of suspense,
including PHANTOM LADY in 1942, NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES in
1945, and I MARRIED A DEAD MAN in 1948. An incredible number
of movies were also based on his works during this time.
Black Angel, The Chase, and Deadline at Dawn all came out in
1946. His WALTZ INTO DARNESS was just recently made into a
movie called Original Sin, starring Banderas and Jolie. In
1948 he was awarded an Edgar for lifetime achievement by the
Mystery Writers of America. In 1951 he penned the cult
classic MARIHUANA under the pseudonym William Irish.
After the Forties Woolrich's output slowed. In 1957 his
mother died, and in 1961 he took a trip to Canada, marking
the first time in 30 years that he had left New York City.
His mother's passing did little for his social life and,
living the life of an alcoholic recluse, both his physical
and mental health declined. A neglected wound on his leg
forced an amputation in early 1968 and he died later that
year. Francis Nevins wrote a comprehensive biography of
Woolrich in 1988, titled FIRST YOU DREAM, THEN YOU DIE: THE
BIOGRAPHY OF CORNELL WOOLRICH.
miker
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