She does a great job in trying to make the word "genealogy"
work. It could never be as easy as "Abraham begat Isaac; and
Isaac begat Jacob." As a sidenote, it seems to me that there
should be some mention of Edgar Wallace, somewhere, as a
pre-hardboiled influence, since he plays such a part in the
concept of the thriller prior to the hardboiled era. Also, I
would prefer to say, "Rise of the Paperback Original."
Paperbacks from 1939-1949 were just a repackaging of other
existing media (mostly hardcover, with some pulp and a little
slick fiction tossed in). Of course, there is Spillane whose
paperback reprints did do much to change the status quo, but
that would put the year as 1948, not 1939. Also, are Goodis
and Williford's heroes really psychotic? I am very curious
about her definition of hardboiled and noir (but aren't we
all, always, endlessly). That said, her genealogy is better
than anything I could create. I liked it and applaud her for
attempting it.
As for the syllabus, is anyone else uncomfortable with the
use of films in a literature course or at lease in the choice
of these particular films in a discussion of the shaping of
the hardboiled genre?
George the Librarian
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