John wrote:
And is it the Thin Man films which which created the idea of
the crime being solved by calling all the involved parties
together? Or did someone else create that idea?
I believe it was the Charlie Chan movies that might have
initially popularized that device beginning in 1931, but as
THE THIN MAN debuted in 1934, it is hard to say.
Alan
Alan K. Rode
www.alanrode.com
_____
From:
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com [mailto:
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of m23to53 Sent:
Saturday, November 17, 2007 2:11 AM To:
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com Subject: RARA-AVIS: The Thin
Man and Paul Temple
Recently I have been either watching the Thin Man films or
listening to the BBC recorings of the Paul Temple thrillers.
In mixing them, I have realised that there there are some
distinct similarities between them. And I am wondering if the
basic premise of Paul Temple was from Francis Durbridge
watching the Thin man Films. Both series feature couples of
independent means who are well known in society, who people
'fawn' over. Both series feature murders which they become
involved in almost accidently, with most of the other
characters being red herrings or involved in the crime in
some way - even as another victim of the killer. In neither
series is there often (in Paul Temple never)no happy ending
for anyone - except the police who get their killer. In both
series, the police seem to become assistants to Nick or Paul
in their investigation - not the other way round. In Paul
Temple, this is perhaps more emphasised as Paul seems at
times to take over investigations and getting the police to
do what he wants them to do - even phoning the Police
Commissioner up in the middle of the night to ask him to
check a name in police files! In both series, the solving of
the crime(s) is done at a gathering of the involved
characters, called together by Nick or Paul. In most stories
the villain when uncovered, always seems to produce a weapon
and try to escape from the room - at least temporarily. Thus
ignoring the differences between America and Britain, and the
fact that The Thin Man is humorous while Paul Temple is the
complete opposite, I do wonder if Durbridge used the premise
of the Thin Man for Paul Temple, perhaps even got the idea
from the films. So my question is, is Paul Temple a British
Thin Man (as in the films)?
And is it the Thin Man films which which created the idea of
the crime being solved by calling all the involved parties
together? Or did someone else create that idea?
regards John
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