"Ultimately, according to those who knew Spillane well,
even Spillane eventually admitted that Meeker's was the best
depiction of his character."
Based on what Spillane told me about Meeker, the above
statement is a stretch. Of course, Mickey talked to a lot of
other people much more extensively than me and said a lot of
different things about his work: I stake no claim to have
cornered the market on Spillane's utterances during the last
years of his life.
I discussed KISS ME DEADLY with Mickey once and he allowed
that Meeker might have been, ".a fine actor, but it wasn't my
character, because the movie wasn't my book."
Mickey had pretty sour-not bitter- he was never that
way-recollections about what Hollywood did with his writing
during the 1950's (and how people other than himself made the
money) and specifically disliked what Bezzerides did with
KMD. For the record, I thought Buzz did a helluva job.
After acknowledging his points, I persisted saying something
like, "Well wasn't KMD a terrific film on its own
merits?
He looked me in the eye and said, "It wasn't my book".
Alan
www.alanrode.com
_____
From:
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com [mailto:
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of jimdohertyjr
Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 8:39 PM To:
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com Subject: RARA-AVIS: Re:
Chandler's The Lady in the Lake
William,
Re your comments below:
> Are you amazed that Spillane fans *might* like
the
> film version of "Kiss Me, Deadly" or Philip K
Dick
> fans *might* like "Bladerunner"?
Despite Robert Aldrich's assertion that he intended KISS ME
DEADLY to be an "anti-Spillane" film, it was faithul to
Spillane's vision in more respects than it was unfaithful.
Meeker's version of Hammer, though something of a brute
rather than a driven avenger, nevertheless brought out
Hammer's determination, his skill at combat, his loyalty to
friends, and his affection for Velda. Hammer may have been
depicted in less flattering terms than Spillane intended, but
he wasn't ransformed into an inconsequential nebbish like
Gould's Marlowe was. Ultimately, according to those who knew
Spillane well, even Spillane eventually admitted that
Meeker's was the best depiction of his character.
So, no, it doesn't amaze me that Spillane fans might like
Aldrich's version of KISS ME DEADLY, but I don't think the
two cases are comparable.
I've never read DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP, so I
can't speak to how Dick fans may respond to BLADE
RUNNER.
> My take is this:
> "Chinatown" is a great film because it wasn't
a
> derivative costume drama or a faux noir. It
ain't
> neo-noir. It's a period piece that loses all
the
> predictable tropes of hard-boiled and finds its
own
> expression. Altman for once got it right in "The
Long
> Goodbye." His rambling reinvention of the PI
(with
> only the car as an anachronistic hint) replaced
what
> could easily have become parody. And it works for
me.
> I started the film expecting to hate it. Most
Altman
> films don't have much of a shelf life. But "The
Long
> Goodbye" cut itself off from the clutter of the
novel
> and got to the heart. That is a rare
adaptation.
I'm not sure what CHINATOWN has to do with this discussion,
but no doubt that's because I never actually read what you
write.
As for Altman, he really DID intend to make an anti-Chandler
picture and succeeded far better than Aldrich did in making
an anti-Spillane picture. And it's precisely because he
succeeded so well that I so thoroughly dislike the
film.
JIM DOHERTY
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