> Bill Crider wrote:
> I'm not a particular fan of Woolrich, but I thought
that I
> MARRIED A DEAD MAN was the weakest of the books of
his that
> I've read.
>
> ***********************
> As you could probably tell from what I wrote, I
didn't much
> care for him either, but I've got a copy of
RENDEVOUS IN
> BLACK, and I've read where somebody recommended it
here on
> rara-avis, so I might give it a try some time in the
future.
>
> miker
Woolrich was a very uneven writer, given to the kind of
purple prose that most fans of hardboiled prefer to avoid
(which is why we read hardboiled in the first place) and is
definitely an "acquired taste", in my opinion. I suspect,
miker, that some of his short stories might be a better bet
to sample Woolrich's style. I haven't read DEAD MAN but in
novels, the consensus seems to be his "Black" series of
novels is his best (which includes RENDEZVOUS) & I
personally enjoyed, from memory, PHANTOM LADY, THE BRIDE WORE
BLACK & WALTZ INTO DARKNESS, although I did read them
many years ago. I really liked some of his short stories, one
in particular was a WWII-spy story riff on "Madame Butterfly"
whose title I've forgotten but I thought it showed Woolrich
at his corniest and best. Woolrich also was the author who
had the most films noirs made from his books & stories,
including NO MAN OF HER OWN, starring Barbara Stanwyck
& based on I MARRIED A DEAD MAN (and remade in recent
years as an innocuous comedy). Whatever the book is like, the
film is nice little noir, from memory. Other Woolrich
adaptations: PHANTOM LADY, REAR WINDOW, THE WINDOW, THE
LEOPARD MAN. Nearly 20 films were made during the noir period
from his stuff. In sum, I guess Woolrich is a minority taste,
these days although not during his heyday, but an enormously
influential, especially in film noir, author. I think he's
worth persevering with a little more, if just for the reason
of his historical importance although IMO there is some stuff
worth reading there just for the fun of it.
Rene
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