It has been months in the making: Sergio Angelini, the Noir Master and host of the noir-centered podcast Tipping My Fedora, reached back seventy years and compiled a list of thirty-six films made in 1955. Our task was to watch (or, in some cases, re-watch) these films and come together in Noirvember to draft a list of the … Continue reading “IT’S A HARD WORLD FOR LITTLE THINGS . . . ” The 1955 Film Noir Draft
The Golden Age of Detection
BOOK CLUB IS FRENCH-IFIED: The Affair at Little Wokeham
The spirits of R. Austin Freeman and Baroness Orczy and E. C. Bentley may eternally wonder why the year 1920 is used to mark the start of the Golden Age of Detection, since they had been publishing detective stories since 1907, 1908, and 1913, respectively. But these writers have faded into obscurity, while 1920 marked … Continue reading BOOK CLUB IS FRENCH-IFIED: The Affair at Little Wokeham
PLAYING THE GAME, PART I: You’re the Detective: The Creeping Hand Murder, a Solve-It-Yourself Mystery
Having just read about The Murder Game, I was eager to play it. Nowadays, I’ll admit that I tend to read mysteries more passively, allowing the twists and turns of a puzzle to wash over me and hoping against hope that, come the denouement, I will be surprised. But John Curran’s new book reawakened the eleven-year-old armchair … Continue reading PLAYING THE GAME, PART I: You’re the Detective: The Creeping Hand Murder, a Solve-It-Yourself Mystery
LUCID, LUDIC AND WELL-CLUED: The Murder Game, by John Curran
Recently, I shared photos with you as evidence of my wall to wall to wall to wall assortment of mystery books. Interspersed amongst the novels and plays and story collections are books about mystery fiction. There are the historical, like Martin Edwards’ The Golden Age of Murder i(2015), the critical, like Julian Symons’ Mortal Consequences (in Britain Bloody Murder, 1973) and the playful, like Dilys … Continue reading LUCID, LUDIC AND WELL-CLUED: The Murder Game, by John Curran
NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 9
As we turn to nine more films this month on our 36-film-list that will form the basis of my Noirvember ’55 Top 13 Films Noirs Draft, my own personal list of favorites is starting to take shape. I only get to select four or five titles on the final draft, but if Sergio or Nick play one … Continue reading NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 9
SATURDAY REVIEW: The Thursday Murder Club
What is the world coming to? It used to be that if one announced a new film based on a hugely popular novel and starring Oscar, Tony and Olivier winner Helen Mirren, Oscar and Grammy winner Sir Ben Kingsley, Tony and Olivier winner Sir Jonathan Pryce, and 72-year-old-but-he’s-still-got-it former Bondsman Pierce Brosnan, you would reach … Continue reading SATURDAY REVIEW: The Thursday Murder Club
NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 5
You know the drill! The full list is here. We’re drafting the Top Thirteen 1955 Films Noirs in November. Today’s trio is a decidedly mixed bag: each has elements that work for me – and elements that don’t. I’ll rank the trio at the end, but I wonder if any of them will earn a high enough place on … Continue reading NOIRVEMBER ’55, PART 5
POOH AND PIGLET ON THE CASE: The Red House Mystery
Like most classic mystery fans, I have long been aware that in 1922, three years before he created that immortalis ursi Winnie-the-Pooh, A. A. Milne wrote a single crime novel called The Red House Mystery. The book was a great success! Even Raymond Chandler, Public Enemy #1 when it comes to country house mysteries and locked room puzzles, … Continue reading POOH AND PIGLET ON THE CASE: The Red House Mystery
“I’ve got (another) little list . . . ” Ten Favorite Mysteries of the 1940’s
My Book Club has come up with a wonderful idea to spice up our monthly meetings. We’ve determined that it isn’t necessary to read a classic mystery each time (especially since we have a spotty track record when it comes to finding titles we can all enjoy); what matters is that we have a grand time talking about classic … Continue reading “I’ve got (another) little list . . . ” Ten Favorite Mysteries of the 1940’s
NOIRVEMBER MADNESS: THE HITCHCOCK TOP THIRTY (Brad vs. Screen Drafts)
Good morning, and Happy Thanksgiving! Today I’m grateful for my family, for the possibility that my mashed potatoes will turn out even fluffier than last year’s (first, you need to dry them out on a warm burner after they’re boiled, and then you mustn’t over-mash them or they get too starchy), and I’m grateful to everyone and … Continue reading NOIRVEMBER MADNESS: THE HITCHCOCK TOP THIRTY (Brad vs. Screen Drafts)
Ah Sweet Mystery! 