I just got back from seeing A Fistfull of Dollars again (on a
full size screen!). Near the end, the Man with No Name is
badly beaten. He wears the results through the end of the
film.
This got me thinking about the tough guys in the hardboiled
genre. We are all aware of, even joke about the cliche of the
PI who is knocked out, but gets right back up to screw the
closest buxom blonde. When did this change? When did
hardboiled tough guys start showing the effects of violence
on them? Were there precedents in the pulps?
Actually, has it changed that much? Sure, writers have gotten
very good at showing the effects of violence on the victims,
clients, etc,, but I still can't think of that many tough guy
(or gal) heroes who really show the physical impact of
violence on them (for more than a moment) and even fewer who
address the mental impact. A rare, and very effective,
exception is when Lansdale's Hap and Leonard take that
terrible beating in that small town. It was still echoing
several books later.
Mark
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