I second David¹s recommendation of Mary Holland, having
recently read FALLEN ANGEL in a great paperback reissue,
re-titled BLONDE BAGGAGE, with a blonde crammed into a
suitcase on the cover. Mary Holland did write another novel :
THE DARLING OF PARIS, winningly described on the Avon Monthly
Novel cover as
ŒA voluptuous American torch singer in the city of wanton
desires¹. I produced the BFI (British Film Institute) DVD of
FALLEN ANGEL as well as three other noirs with a literary
background: CRY OF THE CITY, KISS OF DEATH and NIGHT AND THE
CITY. Lee Server has written essays for the latter three DVDs
and, for NIGHT AND THE CITY, Paul Duncan has contributed both
a short essay on Gerald Kersh as well as a forensically
detailed commentary both on the production of the film and
its differences with the source novel.
I¹m surprised that no one has yet mentioned Elisabeth Sanxay
Holding whose novel THE BLANK WALL was adapted for Max
Ophuls¹ film noir THE RECKLESS MOMENT, and again for THE DEEP
END (2001). Chandler persuaded Paramount to buy her THE
INNOCENT MRS DUFF , but the project foundered. Later he
described Holding as Œone of my favorites¹ when declining an
invitation to nominate the ten best living detective-story
writers on the basis that it would exclude many of his
admired authors. Holding is worth tracking down as the best
of her books are rivals to Highsmith¹s in psychological
complexity and they are - if you insist - noir.
Nigel
On 1/2/08 17:37, "david david" <
davividavid@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I'd like to recommend Marty (a.k.a Mary)
Holland's
> Fallen Angel, a nice Cain-esque West Coast
roadhouse
> thriller from the forties, made into an entertaining
B
> noir by Otto Preminger. Holland also wrote the
story
> The File on Thelma Jordan, upon which the
Barbara
> Stanwyck noir was based, that one directed by
Robert
> Siodmak. Her other published novel "Her
Private
> Passions" is also good-a creepy gothic
noir.
>
> Holland was a good writer, and James M. Cain liked
her
> work. Unfortunately, practically nothing is
known
> about her, which makes her even more
interesting.
>
> david kolodenko
>
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