Max Allan Collins's Blog, page 3

Fruitcake at the Last Picture House, Plus Nate Heller

We had a terrific Quad Cities premiere for our film Death By Fruitcake, starring Paula Sands, Alisabeth Von Presley and Rob Merritt. It was a packed house at Davenport’s stellar The Last Picture House, the theater that’s the brainchild of our bigtime local filmmakers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (who brought you A Quiet Place, Heretic and more).

We had a number of cast and crew members on hand, including Paula and Rob, and I led (with producer/d.p./editor) Chad Bishop a Q and A after. I took a spill off the riser onto my back but (with help) got onto my feet to helm the Q and A. Definitely a “show-must-go-on” moment, because I am still (it’s Sunday as I write this) recuperating from my own impromptu stunt-man feat.

Despite this, it was a wonderful evening, thanks to Last Picture House manager Jameson Ritter. Our two Muscatine screenings late last year were marred by sound problems (far too soft, something we weren’t able to rectify on site), but we were nicely loud and pretty impressive on the big screen. For a little movie designed to find a home (or homes) on a streaming service(s), this kind of theatrical exhibition was a rare treat for us (and, I think, the audience).

We promoted the event with an appearance on Quad Cities Live, the afternoon show that followed Paula Sands Live on her retirement from broadcasting. It was fun seeing Paula return to the site of her huge regional success. And what a Vivian Borne she makes! Alisabeth Von Presley, our equally impressive Brandy Borne, couldn’t make it to the event (she was choreographer on a high school production in Cedar Rapids that evening). But what a thrill for Barb and me to see our Barbara Allan/Antiques characters come to such wonderful comic life.

L to R: Kyle Keil (host), Morgan Ottier (host), M.A.C., Paula Sands

Whither Death by Fruitcake? We are talking to various distributors now. I fully expect us to be streaming for this year’s holiday season. Getting on physical media is a trickier proposition as that market has just about vanished except for blockbuster films and the boutique labels, which specialize in horror and cult items, where we don’t fit. That doesn’t mean I won’t try.

If you want to help us in our filmmaking efforts, take a look at Blue Christmas on Tubi right now. Don’t wait for an invitation from Santa.

photos courtesy of The Last Picture House
L to r: Rob Merritt, M.A.C., Tommy Ratkiewicz-Stierwalt
Tommy Ratkiewicz-Stierwalt and Paula Sands
Q and A post-QC premiere at the Last Picture House. L to R: Tracy Peltzer-Timm, Chris Causey, Tommy Ratkiewicz-Stierwalt, Cassidy Ptacek, Rob Merritt, M.A.C., Paula Sands, Chad Bishop
L to R: Paula Sands, Chris Causey, Rob Merritt, Barbara Collins, M.A.C., Chad Bishop
L to r: Tommy Ratkiewicz-Stierwalt, Rob Merritt, Tracy Peltzer-Timm, M.A.C., Lucy Collins, Nathan Collins, Abby Collins, Sam Collins

This link will take you to Paula Sands and me appearing on Quad Cities Live, the show that took the place of her Paula Sands Live, from which she retired after decades of Emmy-winning broadcasting. For longtime fans of my work, you should recall Paula’s wonderful appearance, spoofing herself and her show, in Mommy’s Day (1997).

* * *

Here’s an unexpected but welcome review of my 1983 novel, True Detective, which introduced Nathan Heller and my format of weaving a detective story in with actual events/crimes.

It’s interesting to me that a review of a novel I wrote in 1981 and was published in 1983 would appear in 2024 (!).

Two things should be noted, however: the reviewer uses True Detective to recommend the entire series; and it’s appearing just as True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak is getting some nice notice, which may have sparked this review.

True Noir is, as those of you who drop by here regularly know, a ten-episode audio drama with a full cast, sound effects, and score. I consider it the best adaptation of my work done to date (but then why wouldn’t I, having written all ten episodes myself). The cast is incredibly stellar, and our Nathan Heller – Michael Rosenbaum – just effing nails it. The score by Alexander Bornstein is mesmerizingly terrific, and the whole thing has been expertly directed and edited by Robert Meyer Burnett.

You may know Rob from his several YouTube shows (Robservations, Let’s Get Physical Media, regular guest on The John Campea Show), but he is much more than that – an accomplished film director (Free Enterprise), documentarian (Star Trek; The Next Generation), editor (Femme Fatales) and producer (Tango Shalom, aka Forbidden Tango).

All ten episodes of True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak are available at truenoir.co, $29.95 for the complete audio drama – four-and-a-half-hours worth. If you are a member of the Nathan Heller Fan Club (well, there isn’t one, but you know what I mean), you will lose your non-membership in good standing if you haven’t ordered yet.

And I would welcome comments/reviews here from those of you who have enjoyed it thus far.

We will be available on other platforms eventually, but for now it’s truenoir.co. And there’s stuff to look at there, including links to episodes of my History Behind the Mystery video series (directed by my longtime collaborator, Phil Dingeldein) that looks at the real events depicted in each episode.

M.A.C.

Fruitcake and the Bobby Darin Musical

For those of you within traveling distance, this is a reminder that Death By Fruitcake will have its Quad Cities premiere at the Last Picture House in Davenport, Iowa, this coming Friday, May 9, at 7 p.m. Stars Paula Sands, a superstar broadcaster in this part of the world, and Rob Merritt, one of the most popular Iowa-based actors, will be on hand. So will I and Barb and producer/d.p./editor Chad Bishop.

As I’ve mentioned here previously, the Last Picture House is a terrific boutique venue (two screens) with a bar out front and classic framed movie posters hanging everywhere. It’s the brainchild of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the Quad Cities filmmakers who have achieved fantastic success with A Quiet Place, 65 and The Heretic, among others.

We are in discussion with several possible distributors and hope to have Death By Fruitcake (based on the “Barbara Allan” Trash ‘n’ Treasures/Antiques novels) on a streaming service for holiday season. (Our Blue Christmas is on Tubi right now.)

* * *

Something has been on my mind, nagging at me, which means I should probably risk boring you by discussing it here.

As anyone who knows me at all well – from those who went to school with me to audience members of my two rock bands to co-workers and readers of my work – know of the three obsessions that have followed me through much of my life. First came Dick Tracy, which I somehow managed to become the second writer of. Finally came Mickey Spillane, who I incredibly got to know personally and became his collaborator, both during and after his lifetime.

In between came Bobby Darin.

Music – popular music, chiefly rock ‘n’ roll and show tunes – was always a major part of my life. My father, for the first ten years of his professional life, was a high school music teacher of surprising renown and the director of a male chorus that won national honors. Our living room was often filled with students and local citizens rehearsing for my father’s various productions. As I’ve said here before, he directed the first high school performances of Oklahoma and Carousel (at least according to family legend and the Des Moines Register).

I saw Elvis debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. The first 45 record I owned, at probably nine or ten, was “Don’t Be Cruel.” Pat Boone led me to Little Richard. Throughout my adolescence and teen years, I spent my allowance on crime fiction paperbacks (Spillane, Hammett, Chandler, McBain) and 45 and LP records – soundtracks, Broadway shows, rock ‘n’ roll. I saw the Beatles in their first appearance (all of their appearances, actually) on Ed Sullivan. On Ed Sullivan I later saw Vanilla Fudge doing “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” and have never been quite the same since.

Anyway, Bobby Darin.

As a pre-adolescent, I had liked “Splish Splash” and “Dream Lover” on the radio, but can’t say Darin hooked me any more than other pop/rock performers. This is likely because I hadn’t caught him on a TV show in live performance. Not until I saw him do “Mack the Knife” on Ed Sullivan. And that really changed my life.

This convergence of crime fiction and pop music sent me flying from the house on my Schwinn bike to go the record shop and buy the “Mack” 45.

I became a devoted collector of Darin’s records, tracking down his early, unsuccessful Decca singles (which didn’t sound much like him, frankly). For Christmas, shortly after my enthusiasm for Darin began, my parents gave me his album That’s All, which remains his definitive album, with both “Mack the Knife” and “Beyond the Sea” on it. He would have been 23 years old.

What appealed about Darin to a kid in Iowa? Robert Walden Cassato (Barb and I named our chief-of-police character, Tony Cassato, in the Antiques books after him) had been a sickly but cocky Bronx kid. All I had in common with him was music and a certain cockiness grown out of insecurity. Only years later did I learn Darin had been born with the same heart valve issue I had, and that he’d overheard a doctor telling his mother (well, she was his grandmother, really, but never mind) that he’d be lucky to make it to eighteen.

That explains a lot about him. It’s why he told Life magazine he wanted to be a legend by 25. It’s why he jumped from rock ‘n’ roll to big-band swing with stops along the way to the end of his 37 years of living at country-rock, r & b, traditional folk, folk-rock, British Invasion rock, and Dylanesque protest music.

He died on the operating table having the same operation I survived.

So I feel a closeness with this great artist – this single performer who mastered every form of popular music he touched to where if he were the only 20th Century recording artist whose work remained, you’d still have a good picture of what popular music in that century had been. Did I mention he was a first-rate actor, who was Academy Award-nominated, and who co-starred in some terrific movies, including Hell Is For Heroes and Pressure Point? And some Doris Day/Rock Hudson type fluff with his then-wife Sandra Dee?

When he died, little was written about him in the press. The much more minor Jim Croce died around the same time and was lionized. As Kurt Vonnegut said, so it goes. But every now and then something pops up in the culture to give Darin at least a mini-renaissance. A song of his will wind up on TV or in a movie – “Splish Splash” on Sesame Street, “Mack the Knife” appropriated by McDonald’s, “If I Were a Carpenter” (among others) on The Sopranos, “Work Song” on Severance.

The now-cancelled Kevin Spacey’s bio pic, Beyond the Sea, underrated but doomed because of the disparity between lead actor and age of the subject, nonetheless sparked renewed Darin interest. Spacey also did concerts in tribute to Darin – I saw one and it was very good. But anything Spacey touched seems tarnished now. People can’t separate art from artist, but that’s another discussion.

Anyway, Darin’s immense talent and his catalogue of songs (many of which he wrote himself) have kept him popping up in the public eye. Now there’s a Broadway show, Just in Time, with the gifted Jonathan Groff playing Darin.

Travel is less appealing to me, these days (I think that’s true for a lot of people, particularly older ones); but when I heard about this production, I immediately started looking in to making an NYC trip to see what promised to be a terrific production.

From what I’ve seen in excerpts on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and on YouTube, it looks to be very entertaining. The Circle in the Square theater has been transformed into a nightclub – the kind of venue that Darin owned as few performers every have (or ever will). The seating is bistro tables. Man, did I want to see that show.

I’ve changed my mind, at least somewhat. As skilled and talented a performer as Groff clearly is, he is – again, based on excerpts from the show – a performer with nothing much in common with Darin but talent and a big ego. And the show – I stress I’ve only been able to see the Colbert performance and perhaps half a dozen YouTube videos – appears to unintentionally patronize its subject.

When Groff appeared on Colbert, he entered through the audience — something Darin himself did from time to time, particularly on Dick Clark’s nighttime show – and began by saying that he wondered what Bobby Darin might say about the young artist playing him appearing in the same Ed Sullivan theater where Darin had performed “Beyond the Sea.” Then he delivers a punchline, imagining Darin saying, “Who’s the gay guy?”

That sums up what I find off-putting about Groff’s undeniably energetic performance: it’s about Groff, not Darin. That flip (but calculated) remark is so at odds with Darin, who was a progressive who wept in the rain at RFK’s graveside and did not have a prejudiced bone in his body, that I knew Just in Time would be about Groff, not BD.

To a large degree, that’s okay. But I’m uneasy when Groff goes into the audience, singing “Dream Lover” to a man and changing the lyric to, “Someday, I don’t know how, I hope he’ll hear my plea.” He is playing Jonathan Groff, not Bobby Darin.

When I heard people saying Groff is channeling Darin, I can only say, “Really, though? Is he?” I don’t expect him to channel Darin, and I don’t even think trying to do that is appropriate. It’s not meant to be an impression, after all. But there’s nothing in Groff’s approach that is reminiscent of Darin. At all. Darin managed to combine the brashness and swing of Sinatra with the casualness of Crosby or Dino. He exuded energy even as he seemed to toss off one song after another. Few artists have ever combined intensity with nonchalance in such a winning way.

The dancing, from Groff and the three back-up dancers, is aggressive and, yes, impressive…but robotic. All calisthenic, calculated, no grace. Bobby had respect for the show business legends that preceded him – he could soft-shoe with George Burns, he could pay tribute to George M. Cohen, he could trade quips with Bob Hope. And he could then go on the Midnight Special and sit at the piano and tear through a medley including “Splish Splash” that would impress Jerry Lee Lewis.

Again – I have only seem excerpts. Maybe Groff does all this. But I am troubled by a video clip of Groff doing “My First Real Love,” the ballad Darin wrote for one of the several loves of his life, Connie Francis, as performed by fellow Just in Time cast member, Gracie Lawrence. Both are very good, but the performance is an over-the-top spoof – not just of the song, but of ‘50s rock in general. The band is solid. But they know jack shit about rock ‘n’ roll of the era they’re dabbling in, and patronizing.

Look, both Gracie Lawrence and Jonathan Groff just got Tony nominations. They no doubt deserve them. But when I said to Barb, “I don’t think we’re going to try to make it to New York for the Darin thing.” She said, “Good call. It would make you furious.”

Here’s Groff and Lawrence, and you may love it. I don’t, quite.

Here’s Bobby and Connie Francis.

And here is the real thing.

M.A.C.

Death by Fruitcake – A Quad Cities Premiere Showing!

For those of you within driving distance, I wanted to let you know about several showings of our film, Death By Fruitcake, based upon the Antiques mystery series by “Barbara Allan” (my wife Barb and I). I directed and wrote (with Barb looking over my shoulder).

On May 9 we will have a Quad Cities premiere in Davenport, Iowa, at the Last Picture House with Paula Sands (Vivian Borne) and Rob Merritt (Chief Tony Cassato) in attendance and participating in a Q and A session after the screening. I will be there as well, as will co-producers Chad T. Bishop and Barbara Collins. So will other cast and crew members.

Here is how/where you can get tickets.

The Last Picture House is a terrific boutique theater masterminded by the Quiet Place team, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. This part of the world is very lucky to have this venue to enjoy film (including, from time to time, mine). And the generosity of these successful hometown filmmakers is much appreciated. (In my opinion, Heretic is their best yet.)

M.A.C., Bryan Woods, Scott Beck and Phil Dingeldein

Last November, we had two hometown screenings at the Palms Theater in Muscatine. These were very well-attended, but we had some audio problems that should not be an issue at the Last Picture House event. That said, Iowa’s Fridley movie chain has been most supportive, not just of our efforts but Iowa filmmakers in general. They are in particular supportive of the Iowa Motion Picture Association’s awards (I am a three-time past president of that association).

Producer Chad Bishop and I have selected clips for the five categories we’ve been nominated in for the Iowa Motion Picture Awards — Best Actress (Paula Sands), Best Actor (Rob Merritt), Best Supporting Actress (Alisabeth Von Presley), Best Direction (M.A.C.) and best Live Action Feature (Death by Fruitcake, of course).

These nominations each represent a shot at an award (there are two levels, Excellence and Achievement). The clips Chad and I selected will be shown with the other nominees at the Iowa Motion Picture Awards on Saturday May 31 at the Palms in Waukee (near Des Moines).

Also, as nominees, we’ve been selected by the IMPA to have Death by Fruitcake screened twice at the Fleur Theater in Des Moines — Friday 23 at 4:30 pm, and again on Wednesday 28 at 8 pm. Barb and I will be there for the Wed. 8 pm screening, and I’ll intro it and have a Q and A after — a few other cast and crew members will likely participate in the Q and A. Tickets are available here (for both performances).

In the meantime, we’re talking with several distributors in hopes of getting our film on one or more streaming service for the holiday season. This means the Davenport and Des Moines screenings may be the last opportunity to see Death By Fruitcake in a theatrical setting.

If you’d like to get a very early start on seasonal entertainment, our previous picture, Blue Christmas, is available now on Tubi, right here (free!)

Here’s a teaser trailer for Death By Fruitcake that our producer/editor/director of photography Chad Bishop put together.

And in case you missed it, the full-length trailer (and photos and more) can be seen at our IMDB page.

* * *

A gentle reminder that the complete True Noir: The Assassination of Mayor Cermak is available at Truenoir.co. Rob Burnett and Mike Bawden (and their Imagination Connoisseurs) have done right by Heller (and they started with my script for the ten-episode audio play).

M.A.C.

A McGinnis Cover! A Dream Come True…Plus True Noir!

Robert E. McGinnis died recently at 99, and that was still way too damn soon.

Bob McGinnis I spoke to only once, though he paid me a great, generous kindness, which I have talked about here previously but will touch on again, below.

McGinnis was the prime illustrator of mystery/crime paperback covers of the 20th into the 21st Century, and also a major contributor to movie-poster art. There are other contenders to that throne – James Avati, Robert Maguire, Barye Phillips and half a dozen others – but McGinnis was the king. As J. Kingston Pierce said at Crime Reads a few years ago, “McGinnis has turned out well over 1,000 covers, including many for books by John D. MacDonald, Carter Brown, Edward S. Aarons, Erle Stanley Gardner, Brett Halliday, Ed McBain, and Max Allan Collins….(H)e’s also illustrated dozens of movie posters…from the James Bond films to Dean Martin’s Matt Helm flicks.”

I do not take lightly being on a list of noir mystery writers that includes the luminaries on the J. Kingston Pierce list. Nor do I exaggerate when I say I had hoped, as an adolescent wanting to be a mystery writer, that one day I might be lucky enough to have a book of mine with a McGinnis cover.

McGinnis only did a few covers for Mickey Spillane novels. Mickey had just about every top illustrator in the game adorn his books from time to time – Avati, Phillips, Lu Kimmel, James Meese among them. During the heyday of the paperback original, McGinnis was noted for his stunning covers for the Brett Halliday “Mike Shayne” reprints at Dell. Several foreign markets used Shayne covers for various Spillane titles.

Meanwhile, at the movies, McGinnis was doing one stunning poster after another for the James Bond series, particularly the early Sean Connery entries, which were the best of the Bond bunch (McGinnis did other Bond movies, too, including most of Roger Moore’s). But Bond wasn’t McGinnis’ only movie poster work – among other famous films, he did the poster art for Barbarella, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (in addition to many others).

I will repeat myself – I spoke of this not long ago here – but after Charles Ardai published the first two Nolan novels (Bait Money and Blood Money under one cover as Two for the Money), I said I preferred writing new novels for Hard Case Crime. Charles said the advances would have to be the same as the reprint rate, and I said, fine – just put a McGinnis cover on my novel. That was half-joking, because Two for the Money had a weak cover among the usually stellar covers of HCC novels. But Charles called my bluff and got McGinnis to do the cover for The Last Quarry, which initiated the return of that character to a whole new series of novels, a short film, a feature film and a TV series (one season, but that counts).

As I’ve also mentioned here previously, when I called Bob McGinnis (Charles put me in touch) to tell him how thrilled I was with the cover for The Last Quarry – that after a career filled with mostly serviceable covers at best, having a McGinnis cover was a dream come true. He repaid that compliment by gifting me the original art, which hangs on my office wall, just up to my right as I write this.

When the aforementioned Quarry TV show sparked renewed interest in the character, Charles wanted to get the five early novels out as a group; but Hard Case Crime is noted for its strong pulp-flavored covers, which you might reduce to “guns and girls,” a certain cheeky politically incorrectness attached to their retro cover art. Only Charles didn’t have time to assign five artists to get five cover paintings, done all at once, and cover paintings were key. And he preferred to have the same artist do all five for some continuity.

I suggested to Charles that he call Bob McGinnis and see if any paintings might be available – perhaps things he had done for other publishers years ago, the rights to which might have come back to him. Charles did this, and discovered that McGinnis had five appropriate unused paintings in his inventory, all with the flavor of the old Mike Shayne covers. These apparently were the only such unsold paintings that still existed.

Charles snapped them up, and those Quarry novels all sport McGinnis covers as well as an inset image of Quarry plucked from Bob’s cover to The Last Quarry. In addition, three more of my novels (one of them a Spillane collaboration, The Consummata) have been blessed with McGinnis covers. I may have a record for mystery writers of my generation – ten Robert McGinnis covers on Max Allan Collins novels.

Astonishing.

One of the peculiarities of my association with Hard Case Crime is that Charles (and the folks at Titan, the parent company) will say “yes” to just a general idea of the book I have in mind to write. This means cover art gets assigned before the book is written. This happened twice with McGinnis covers – Quarry’s Choice and Quarry’s Climax – which had artwork come in before I’d written a page, and allowed me to write the women and the scenes McGinnis had imagined into the novels themselves.

That was an old pulp tradition that both Charles and I relished – a writer being handed a piece of art and asked to write a story around it. In his later years, McGinnis had a tendency to offer up slender, leggy beauties and that led to me including some women in my novels that varied from my standard blonde, Coke-bottle-waist bombshells (blame my beautiful blonde wife for that). The result was I had to work a little harder and be more creative, both good things.

I was blessed with one last McGinnis cover, when he painted a rather magnificent one for the Mike Hammer graphic novel The Night I Died, based on material written by Spillane and expanded and re-imagined by me. Mike Hammer: The Night I Died not only has two, count ‘em, two long-limbed McGinnis beauties, but a very credible rendition of Hammer himself, who has rarely appeared on book covers. (This graphic novel was also serialized in four issues, also with lovely covers but none by McGinnis).

What can I say about this incredible artist and genuinely nice man, who has entertained me for years and who provided some truly memorable covers to eleven works of mine?

How about – thank you.

* * *

Barb and I listened to the complete True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak this past weekend. It’s four and a half hours long, so we divided it into two evenings.

Okay, I’m biased. But I think it’s terrific, thanks to director Robert Meyer Burnett, composer Alexander Bornstein, a stellar cast led by a fine Nate Heller in Michael Rosenbaum, casting director/producer Christine Sheaks, producer Mike Bawden, co-producer Phil Dingeldein, and a raft of talented professionals skilled in audio production.

If you are even a casual fan of my work – and in particular if, like me, Nate Heller seems to you to be my signature character (no offense, Quarry) – you will want to hear this production. The toughest critic I know – Barbara Collins – said, “I thought it would be good. But it blew me away. Wow!”

I mentioned Alexander Bornstein above, and he has provided True Noir with a full, memorable score. So memorable is it that not only will there be a soundtrack album, but it will be a 2-CD set. Our Blu-ray of the production, which will include the ten episodes of The History Behind the Mystery and a lot more, will likely include the soundtrack CD’s.

This is not a talking book or a radio show – it’s a movie for the ears and the mind.

Go to truenoir.co and hear for yourself.

M.A.C.

Not Writing the Screenplay & Re-Reading the Proofs

All ten episodes of True Noir: The Assassination of Mayor Cermak should be available by a week from now (if not sooner) in various formats, including 5.1 stereo.

Director Robert Meyer Burnett has done a masterful job directing an incredible cast; he was also the editor and supervised the elaborate mix of sound effects and music.

A Blu-ray of the production will follow, including all ten episodes of my “History Behind the Mystery,” in which I talk about the real history behind each episode and a lot more. There’s also a lengthy interview Rob did with me before the production began (I had literally finished the Blue Christmas shoot the night before!). It will include a version of the entire production assembled into one “listen.”

This is no standard audio production. The budget was half a million dollars. If you support it, a second one will go into production and we’ll be on our way to a Nate Heller movie and possibly TV series. With the talented group that has come together for this unique production, great things are in the offing.

* * *

I’m going to discuss something that requires me to be a little circumspect – not generally my best quality. It has to do with a movie script (not written by me) for a production relating to one of my properties.

Despite the fact that I have written and directed seven features, written three more produced features (I’m in the WGA), and scripted an episode of the Quarry TV series on Cinemax, a show based on my own book series), I have rarely been invited to a have a crack at the script by the Hollywood folks who have optioned/bought my material. The reasons for this are many and varied. For one thing, most of my self-produced movies have been indies, some with micro-budgets.

Real Time: Siege at Lucas Street Market, Eliot Ness: an Untouchable Life and Blue Christmas were each at around a $10,000 budget with a lot of professional talent volunteering their participation in let’s-put-on-a-show fashion. In a world where twenty million is considered a low-budget, this makes the reluctance to use me on the screenplay at least understandable. My suggestion, for example, that I’d like to have a pass at Road to Perdition myself was met with shocked (and perhaps amused) surprise. That was the most naive thing the producers had ever heard.

Though few filmgoers even know the name of a screenwriter, much less have a favorite one, a big-time feature is essentially required to have a screenwriter who’s already had at least one major production made. (How those writers got their first assignment is a mystery none of my detective characters could solve.) This comes in part from the need to have a list of talent in all major slots (including screenwriter) that look good in a package. Money has to be raised. Studio execs need convincing. I get that. What I don’t get is why “We can get the person who created Road to Perdition to write the movie version” was such a laughable proposition.

It’s true that a good novelist, even somebody who’s written a critically acclaimed bestseller, isn’t necessarily an accomplished screenwriter. In fact some novelists downright stink at scripting. This largely comes from the two different skill sets of a novelist and screenwriter. Novelists write the interior of a story and screenwriters the exterior. So it’s not entirely a mystery why a producer might avoid using the source creator to write the script.

In my case, however, I have a track record of screenwriting that includes primetime movies on HBO and Lifetime, and a Cinemax series. My little regional movies have all won awards and their share of good reviews (and some bad ones – that comes with it).

This is not to say, “Boo hoo.” You can’t have a fifty-plus year writing career and come away thinking life is fair, even if you’re Stephen King. I often say to Barb, when I’ve written a book or had one optioned for the movies or television, “Well, I’ve got another ticket in the lottery.” Luck does seem to play as major a role as hard work and talent. I get that.

Why is this on my mind?

Well, I recently sat down with a script based on one of my properties, a script written by a guy who probably got half a million bucks at least to do so (my option was barely five figures). And I’m told the producers really like the script. As a courtesy more than anything, I was shown the script and encouraged to offer my notes.

The script had merit. But it also had a lot wrong with it. It did all kinds of things that even a smalltime screenwriter like me would know are wrong. Beginner shit. For example, using two lines of dialogue when one carries it. For example, following the action climax with fifteen minutes of tying up loose ends in dialogue. That kind of thing. What strikes me as remedial stuff.

After nineteen pages of handwritten notes, I typed them up as thirteen double-spaced pages. And then I had to sit and think about it. As a practical matter, since I make a big payday if the movie gets made, I should not bother. Let Hollywood be Hollywood. In a very real way, the last person they want to hear from is the source writer. I am trying to help, trying to make sure my property has been turned into a script that is not only relatively faithful to my work, but has a shot at pleasing audiences and being a success. But the result of my well-intended criticism might be (a) that I am viewed as just a troublemaker, or (b) (and this is worse) that the producers will realize the script needs work and the project slides into Development Hell.

Understand something: I could fix this script in a day. Maybe an afternoon. But I have as much chance of being granted that opportunity as I would to become the lead actor in the picture. And the smart thing to do would be not to send in my notes, but just say to them, “Wow, what a terrific script.”

This kind of frustration, this kind of reality, has accompanied me throughout my long career…and probably through most of the careers of the vast majority of your favorite fiction writers. It is why, despite a love for movies and moviemaking at least equal to my love for reading and writing books, I did not go West, Young Man (well I was young once). I chose books over movies because I could get a book written and published, and getting a movie made is really, really tough. Tough to get producers to give you a shot, tough to get a story told the way you want it. Tough not to get your heart broken.

After my run writing the Dick Tracy comic strip came to an end after fifteen fortunate years, I allowed myself to get pulled into indie moviemaking. And I loved it. About a dozen years of my career were devoted to that, and after a twenty-plus year break, I’ve returned to it in my waning days just to have the experience again – to bask in the collaborative nature of filmmaking. As a writer, I’ve often sought out collaborators – great people like Terry Beatty, Matthew Clemens, Dave Thomas and of course Barbara Collins – because synergy only happens when more than one factor comes into play. Fiction writing is a lonely trade whereas movie-making is lively affair, in my fortunate case always involving some pretty wonderful artisans.

I have no regrets being mostly a writer of books, short stories and comics. And no regrets, either, despite some bumps, about writing and sometimes directing movies in the world of indies.

But when I read something based on my work that I was not chosen to adapt myself, something that seems sub-par, I am nonetheless frustrated.

* * *

Recently I did a slight revision on my afterword to the forthcoming Return of the Maltese Falcon. Where normally an advance look at the first chapter might have been used as a promotional teaser, something had to substitute, because the public-domain nature of the original novel won’t kick in until my sequel is published next year. So advance promo couldn’t use any of my novel itself – we’d be in violation of the original copyright.

My editor at Hard Case Crime, Charles Ardai, is something of a wonder. Normally when you turn a manuscript in, it takes an editor months or at least weeks to get you the line-edited manuscript to go over. Charles gets back to you the next day, or if he takes two or three days, he apologizes for the delay. Then he has the book typeset in another day (he does this himself) and provides galley proofs, and to say this is unusual is an understatement.

It’s very cool to have the process go this quickly. Writers like the feeling when a book has “gone to bed.”

But when I worked on transforming the afterword of the Falcon novel into a promotional piece, I found a few tweaks I wanted to make. I did so, then asked Charles if I could read the galley proofs of the entire novel again. I had made corrections previously, so this seemed an exercise in fussiness. But I really want this novel to represent me at the top of my game. And following in the footsteps of a genius writer as precise as Dashiell Hammett is a sort of suicide note.

Charles allowed me to go through the book again, and I went into the process figuring I’d find a few pages – one or two or three – spotting a typo here, an ungainly repetition of words there, or just sentences that could use a minor tweak.

I had thirty pages of pages with corrections by the end of the process.

What did I learn? I didn’t exactly learn anything I didn’t already know, but it confirmed my belief that a writer needs to do the galley proofs several months at least after turning the book in. You need distance, and a quick turnaround doesn’t give you that.

Routinely, in going over galley proofs, I run into an instance or two where I have no idea what I was trying to say, no idea what I meant with something or other. When I was caught up in the state of writing, those things were crystal clear to me. A few months later, whaaaa???

So my new policy with Hard Case Crime is to do the galley proofs as quickly as my editor would like…and if time allows, have another hard look at them.

M.A.C.

True Noir – It’s a Wrap!…With More to Come

Post-production on True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak has wrapped. The last episodes (9 and 10) will drop very soon. I have heard both and my (admittedly biased opinion) is that they are superb.

If you’ve been waiting to be able to buy the entire audio adaptation of True Detective, the time will be here very, very soon. There has never been a better, more faithful rendition of my work – perhaps not surprising, since I wrote the adaptation myself; but the level of craft and artistry here is stellar.

Take a look at the acting talent involved with True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak. If some of the names don’t ring a bell, the faces likely will.

There’s ordering info at truenoir.co as well.

True Noir was made possible by Mike Bawden, whose enthusiasm for genre storytelling and whose belief in director Robert Meyer Burnett and me has been unfailing. This production exists because of him.

The direction of the actors in the audio studio by Rob Burnett was deft to say the least. I attended most of the recording sessions via Zoom and Rob was generous with allowing my input (as a director myself, I tend to stay out of the way of a director doing my material, but Rob was great about including me in every step of the process). In addition, he meticulously edited the entire series and supervised the audio mix, including sound effects and the use of the outstanding score by Alexander Bornstein. Yes, I wrote it, but True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak represents Rob’s hard work and talent. In many respects, it’s his baby.

I will forever be grateful to Rob (and Mike) for the gift of this production, which – at nearly five hours – is essentially a great Nathan Heller movie…for the ears.

There have been delays. We hadn’t anticipated the Los Angeles fires or that the audio studio we were using would shut down. And, frankly, never having done this before – few if any have attempted something like this, on this scale – we had not anticipated just how long it would take. We won’t make that mistake again.

Among a team any one of whom might be termed an MVP, Co-producer Christine Sheaks assembled the incredible cast, which brings us to Michael Rosenbaum.

You may know Michael from his role as Lex Luthor on the long-running TV series Smallville or his role in the Guardians of the Galaxy films, among many others. He is also the host of Inside of You, an incredibly popular (and justifiably so) YouTube series, on which he interviews other actors of note with skill and disarming ease.

Michael understands Nate Heller, bringing humor and humanity but also, when necessary, the appropriate toughness to his portrayal. I feel blessed to have him playing my signature character.

I must also mention my longtime friend and collaborator Phil Dingeldein, who has also been part of the creative mix, specifically producing and directing the ten-part History Behind the Mystery video series, in which I discuss the actual history behind each episode.

Which brings us to the eventual physical media component of True Noir: The Assassination of Mayor Cermak. As I mentioned here before, a Blu-ray is in the works, which may rate a “Huh?” considering that we’re talking about an audio production. But the sophistication of this audio presentation justifies that (featuring both 2-channel, stereo audio mix and 5.1 surround sound), though the Blu-ray will also include visual components, like the entire History of Mystery series and a lengthy interview with me by director Rob Burnett. A CD of the Alexander Bornstein score is almost certainly going to happen, too.

In the meantime, we are seriously discussing going forward with a second series of True Noir, probably True Crime. I would again script it myself with Rob Burnett directing/editing and Mike Bawden and the whole producing team coming back.

And, I hope, with Michael Rosenbaum as Nathan Heller.

Robert Meyer Burnett toasts the completion of True Noir.* * *

Here is a nice write-up on Law and Order, the 1932 Walter Huston movie that is the first Wyatt Earp flick…and it’s based on a W.R. Burnett novel! Features me and my knowledgeable buddy Heath Holland (of YouTube’s Cereal at Midnight) doing the commentary.

Pre-order it here.

I discuss my six favorite private eye novels, written for The Week magazine. I actually stretch the boundaries by talking about two books that are more strictly crime novels.

M.A.C.

A Quarry Discussion Plus a Book Giveaway!

It’s book giveaway time, with the new trade paperback edition from Hard Case Crime of The Last Quarry on offer to the first ten of you who ask for it.

As usual, if you’re interested, you write me directly at macphilms@hotmail.com. If you receive a copy, you agree to write a review at Amazon and/or Barnes & Noble, and/or your own (or someone else’s) blog. If you hate the book, you’re relieved of this obligation. Mixed reviews are fine, and only mildly resented. USA only, due to postal restrictions. Be sure to include your snail-mail address.

This trade paperback includes two of the four Quarry short stories as in-the-back-of-the-book bonuses: “Guest Services” and “Quarry’s Luck.” The other two short stories, “A Matter of Principal” and the fourth (the name of which escapes me – it appeared in The Strand) [“Quarry’s Gamble”, The Strand #52 — Nate] were swallowed up in the novels for use in The Last Quarry and Quarry’s Climax respectively.

The cover of this new book is particularly handsome. It’s by the great Robert McGinnis, one of the premiere paperback cover artists of the golden age of noir paperback originals and the guy who did some of the most iconic James Bond movie posters. I’ve told the story frequently, but I’ll go into it briefly here for you newer comers.

When Charles Ardai started up Hard Case Crime, I was one of the authors he approached (most of the others were dead, so it was their estates Charles approached). He did a reprint (in one volume) of the first two Nolan novels (Bait Money and Blood Money) called Two for the Money. He came back for more reprints and I said I’d rather do an original, even if it was just for reprint-level money. I believe he at first wanted a new Nolan, but I preferred doing a Quarry, the character having always been one of my favorites, and the series one I thought should have lasted and received more recognition.

The final negotiating point between Charles and me was my saying essentially, “I’ll do the novel if you get me a McGinnis cover.” And I’ll be damned if he didn’t.

At this point I’d written one more Quarry novel (Primary Target, aka Quarry’s Vote) in the wake of the initial Nate Heller success, and a nifty little Quarry short film that was burning up the festival circuit. I used that film in an anthology of my other short films as well as the Spillane documentary; this was called Shades of Noir, and the original paperback of The Last Quarry was sort of the movie tie-in to that boxed set of DVD’s.

Quarry was inspired by three things – well, two people and one thing. The thing was the Parker series by Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake) that I loved then and love now; and Nolan was my direct take on Parker, humanizing him with a young sidekick. But I always thought there was a cop-out nature to that series, and my own – Parker was a thief and when he was forced to kill somebody, that somebody was another bad guy. Same was pretty much true of Nolan. It occurred to me nobody had really done this kind of novel – a “crook book” where the heroic protagonist (okay, anti-heroic) was a hitman. I wanted the reader to have to deal with the point of view character being, unapologetically, a hired killer.

I did not have a series in mind but did leave the door open for a follow-up novel or two. (Nolan had not been conceived as a series either, and even died in the original draft of Bait Money.)

The two people impacting the creation of Quarry were Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in the European Theater in World War Two, and later a movie star, mostly in westerns. I’d read enough about him to know he had been traumatized – had PTSD, though nobody was calling it that yet – which I found interesting. A normal kid who became a cold-blooded killer (of the enemy, but that counts).

The other inspiration was Jon McRae, a high school pal of mine who went on to several very bloody tours in Vietnam. Unlike some friends of mine, he came home recognizably his eccentric self, but he was nonetheless clearly traumatized by what were then still ongoing experiences. To give you the idea, he was the machine gunner in the tail of a rescue ‘copter.

Stir my Mickey Spillane obsession into the mix, and my admiration for “Richard Stark,” and you have Quarry. I was approached by Berkley Books to do three more novels about him and snapped up the chance. The subsequent three novels were increasingly violent and black humor-tinged. I was, frankly, worried about the direction they were taking – not the four books I’d done, but what the fifth book might be, and any future ones. I feared I’d gone down a road of having to top myself with some terrible thing Quarry did toward the end of a given novel – the basic idea having been to lure the reader into accepting Quarry as a narrator and even identifying with him, then getting slammed with something awful he does, and making readers question their own ease in going along with Quarry, to accept him as a “hero.”

That became no problem when Berkley Books asked for no further Quarry entries.

Over the years, however, I had more mail about Quarry than any other character of mine (pre-Heller). That, and my feeling that Quarry was an original creation, served poorly by the original publisher, made the series an itch that called out for scratching.

So when Charles gave me the opportunity to write The Last Quarry, an opportunity to answer whatever-happened-to-Quarry and wrap up the series, I grabbed it. When the book became a surprise success, both in terms of sales and reviews, this old war horse didn’t have to hear the bell ring twice. I was off and running with The First Quarry and my series of novels about the missing years in the character’s life between already written books.

Series have a way of knowing when they are either over or evolving, and Quarry is no exception. Almost from the start, the concept of Quarry evolved into him using the list of his dead Broker (murdered by Quarry) to approach targeted victims and taking out assassins…a kind of prolonged metaphorical self-suicide…which eclipsed the hitman aspect. Some of the flashback books depict Quarry in his hitman years, but the initial novel (The Broker aka Quarry) is essentially his last job before his transition to the “list” approach.

Killing Quarry emerged from somewhere in my subconscious to conclude the “list” cycle. The next book, Quarry’s Blood, in part returned to hitman days and then mostly was about Quarry at a much older age – essentially mine, maybe a couple of years younger – and I found that interesting enough to pick that up again in the more recent Quarry’s Return.

Now I will soon be embarking on Quarry’s Reunion, which will almost certainly be another of the Quarry-in-old-age novels. I had promised a while back that any further novels would revert to the “list” days, most likely; but if you’re expecting consistency from me, it’s only to be found in my ability to write readable books.

I realize much of what I’ve just shared is already known to some of you – maybe many of you – but it seemed like returning to the evolution of this series was appropriate with a Last Quarry book giveaway.

Here’s another story you may have already heard from me. I was so thrilled with McGinnis cover to The Last Quarry that I coaxed the artist’s phone number out of Hard Case Crime editor Charles Ardai. I called Bob McGinnis and told him what a career high it was for me to have a cover by him on a novel of mine. I was undoubtedly effusive and he took my fannish enthusiasm with grace. Then he asked me if I’d like the original art of the cover. That threw me, because I was next expecting him to offer it to me at a price I could not afford.

But I could afford it, all right. All he wanted was my address to send me the art.

It hangs near my desk now, an incredible reminder of how lucky I’ve been to have this career of mine, getting everything I ever wanted out of it (except getting rich). I have four other original covers from Quarry novels on my walls, by various artists, and all of those I did find a way to buy. One I particularly like, The Wrong Quarry painted by Tyler Jacobson, hangs near my desk, as well. Not all the covers (and I like them all) for Quarry novels have depicted him. But the ones that do that also match the image in my mind’s eye are the McGinnis and Jacobson ones.

When I’m asked who my favorite is among the heroes (and heroines) of my various book and comics series, it always comes down to Quarry and Nate Heller. Don’t ask me to choose between them, because they are both me.

* * *

Here is a particularly good YouTube video about the film version of Road to Perdition, provided to me by Terry Beatty himself.

* * *

Here is info and pre-ordering for Law and Order, the 1932 Wyatt Earp movie starring Walter Huston and Harry Carey derived from the hard-to-find 1930 W.R. Burnett novel. This has the commentary by me and the great Heath Holland of Cereal at Midnight, a recording I mentioned last week that I was about to do.

It’s a terrific movie. Don’t miss it.

* * *

I also teased last week about working on a screenplay. I can’t (or anyway won’t) give any details, but I’ve just completed my first Nathan Heller feature film screenplay, which will tie in with True Noir, the ten-episode audio adaptation of True Detective written by me and directed by Robert Meyer Burnett. The producers include Mike Bawden, Phil Dingeldein and Christine Sheaks.

This screenplay is not an adaptation of True Detective, however – it’s from another published work in the series. It’s a speculative effort but one that I think has a good shot at paying off. The only previous Heller screenplay I wrote was the pilot episode for FX of a Stolen Away mini-series that never happened (I did, however, get paid).

Speaking of True Noir, the last two episodes will be dropping soon. Then you can order it all at once. The almost five-hour production, starring Michael Rosenbaum as Nate Heller, will eventually be available on Blu-ray. A Blu-ray of an audio? Yes! This production with its incredible cast (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32507868/) will be on a disc that will also have all ten episodes of my History Behind the Mystery series (one per episode of the audio production) and a lengthy interview with me by Rob Burnett. A book of my ten scripts will also be available around the same time.

If this audio production is successful, our next productions of True Noir movies-for-the-mind will be the other two books in the Frank Nitti Trilogy, True Crime and The Million-Dollar Wound.

You can help make that happen, if you haven’t already, by going to truenoir.co and buying the entire ten-episode series for a modest $29.95.

Eventually there will be a soundtrack CD available of the excellent Alexander Bornstein score.

* * *

You may have already seen this nice little article about Ms. Tree, but it’s worth another look, anyway, particularly in the wake of the recent publication of the sixth and final volume of the archival series from Titan, Ms. Tree: Fallen Tree.

* * *

The Quarry movie, The Last Lullaby, is available on YouTube now. Tom Sizemore is “Price” (aka Quarry). I wrote the first drafts of the script and did a final punch-up, but another writer wrote a draft, too…so it’s not pure Quarry, but it’s pretty good.

M.A.C.

The Noir Musical, A Fairy Godfather With a Cigar and More

My last several Update/blogs have been to promote this and that of mine. Plus, I was deep in the writing of a screenplay and couldn’t come up for much air. You deserve better.

On my plate this week, among other things, is doing a commentary track with Heath Holland of Cereal at Midnight for the 1932 western, Law and Order, from a W.R. Burnett novel about Wyatt Earp. I’m also doing a podcast with my old buddy Matthew Clemens, and have several business calls on Zoom.

So there will likely be some follow-up on some or all of that here next week. What now, then? Well, the questions I continue to be asked most often are (a) what have you read lately, and (b) what have you seen?

As for what I’ve read, the two most current books are:

Barnaby Volume 5 () from Fantagraphics, the final volume of the complete daily strips of this classic, too little-known comic strip, which (with Dick Tracy, Li’l Abner and Terry and The Pirates) is among my top favorites. Written and drawn (sometimes with Jack Morley’s help on art) by the great children’s book author, Crockett Johnson (Harold and the Purple Crayon), Barnaby is a deceptively simple strip of the ‘40s and early ‘50s that details the whimsical adventures of a five-year-old boy (Barnaby) and his Fairy Godfather (Mr. O’Malley). O’Malley is just as short as the child Barnaby and is a pleasantly pompous little pixie who looks like a middle-aged man with a fedora and, of course, pink wings.

Barbaby’s parents are distressed by their little boy’s insistence that his Fairy Godfather is real. A lot of the gentle humor comes from the reality of Barnaby’s opinion on this matter being true. Mr. O’Malley frequently almost meets one or both parents, and that becomes the chief running gag of the strip. The other is Mr. O’Malley’s cheerful incompetence, his magic wand (a cigar) frequently accomplishing nothing at all.

O’Malley’s friends and associates are fellow pixies and supernatural types, like Gus the Ghost, who wears glasses and is easily spooked; Atlas the Mental Giant (also no taller than Barnaby), McSnoyd the Invisible Leprechaun (who speaks in a Brooklyn accent); Barnbaby’s talking dog Gorgon (who never speaks around Barnaby’s parents); and many more. Johnson’s “clear line cartooning” is the most deceptively simple aspect of all: oddly elegant, beautifully understated, and unmistakably Crockett.

In this final volume, Barnaby turns six and must say farewell to Mr. O’Malley. It’s a sad moment, bittersweet but just another day in the life of a Fairy Godfather, who is definitely not imaginary and as real as anybody in the comic strip canon.

Round in Circles: The Story of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel () by Barry Kester takes an in-depth look at one of the greatest musicals ever written, and in my view (and that of many) the finest work by Rodgers (music) and Hammerstein (book and lyrics). From the 1901 play Liliom by Ferenc Molnar, fairly faithful but with a much less dark conclusion, Carousel focuses on the sudden romance between a carnival barker and a young mill worker lass; the latter’s friends in a New England fishing community provide a backdrop and counterpoint.

It’s most overtly noir musical I can think of, with its emphasis on crime and its tortured central lovers. Modern audiences – or at least those mounting this great work of art for those audiences – have problems with the thematic content of the play. Billy Bigelow is a roustabout roughneck who has, at least on one occasion, “hit” (probably slapped) his gentle wife, who puts up with her husband’s jobless state and foul temper. In modern terms, this is viewed as an abusive relationship, and Round in Circles explores that subject thoroughly and well. Author Kester makes the point that the year the play was produced (1945) was toward the end of the Second World War, when men were starting to return from combat in a traumatized state and sometimes had difficulty into getting back into a peacetime grove. Some brought violence home with them. This is probably why audiences of the day had little if any problem with the overstated “wife-beating” aspect of the narrative.

Today, people are liable to read in contemporary values and beliefs, and somehow ignore the tragic aspects of the story, growing from flaws in both characters, the volatile Billy and the passive Julie. But Oscar Hammerstein knew what he needed to do with this tragedy. In both Liliom and Carousel, the roughneck gets a chance to redeem himself by getting another day – a single day – back on earth. Liliom is the story of man who blows his chance to redeem himself; Carousel is about a man who does, ultimately, in the nick of time redeem himself.

The film version is often dismissed, but it has rewards; and the play itself appears to be a major influence on It’s A Wonderful Life with its angelic conceits.

Additionally, the play has some of the most beautiful words and music ever written for the musical stage – from “The Carousel Waltz” to “If I Loved You” and finally “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” few scores rival it.

Carousel has a particular resonance for me. My father, in the early 1950s, when he was a high school music teacher, mounted the first high school production of Carousel. I was very young but I was spellbound – my father had a working carousel on stage for the opening of the show! Amazing. What a showman my pop was – imagine getting a wonderful performance in a play this difficult from a bunch of high school kids in the early fifties. And as I witnessed my dad’s hometown triumph, those beautiful songs crept into my brain and made a permanent home there.

If you are interested in musical theater at all, Carousel is the ultimate noir musical, and Barry Kester’s Round in Circles does it justice.

Here’s what Barb and I (and sometimes Nate) have been watching (some of these remarks will be brief):

Black Bag – a solid, well-acted espionage tale in the John Le Carre vein, starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by David Koepp. This we saw at a theater.

Zero Day – a good but not great six-part mini-series starring Robert De Niro as a former president recruited from retirement to head up a commission into a devastating cyber- attack. Netflix.

Reacher Season 3 – a meat-and-potatoes series with a fine central performance by Alan Ritchson. The weakest of the three seasons so far, and at times painfully predictable and occasionally plot-hole-riddled, it’s nonetheless a fun watch. Amazon Prime.

Paradise – somewhat overrated but with a brilliant seventh (of eight) episodes. I just wish every character wouldn’t have a monologue about their back story delivered to some other character. I am interested to see where they go next, because the series seems to have painted itself into a corner. Hulu.

Adolescence – a four-episode limited British series that is one of the best things I’ve seen in years. Be forewarned: it’s harrowing, not so much for on-screen violence (which is limited) but for emotional impact. A young teen is accused of murder and we follow from the procedural end through the impact on the parents. Remarkable in approach, every episode is shot in a single unbroken take; how this was accomplished required a degree of difficulty I can barely imagine. The third episode, the least flashy in filmmaking terms, is a masterpiece thanks to the performances of Erin Doherty as psychologist Briony Ariston and Owen Cooper as young accused murderer Jamie meeting at a youth detention facility to prepare a pre-trial report on his mental health. Netflix.

The Thief of Bagdad – This 1924 film starring Douglas Fairbanks is one of the greatest fantasy films of all time. Barb loves silent movies and this one is terrific, with a wonderful orchestral score. The effects are mind-boggling. Eureka! Home Video.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One – We decided to revist this before Part Two (no longer labelled that way) comes out. Underrated on its release, with an A-1 “bad guy” that seems more current now than when the film came out, this entry in the long-running series is a succession of over-the-top (in a good way) action sequences, often hilarious in their shameless excess. Paramount Home Video.

The Golden Buddha – From the boxed set Super Spies and Secret Lies, this is an Asian James Bond-era knock-off with eye-popping art direction and an amusing storyline anticipating Austin Powers. My son Nate and I watch one or two Asian movies every week, seldom artistic masterpieces but great fun. Eureka! Home video.

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie – We went with the (nearly) entire family to this one at the local theater, and it’s a blast – traditional animation that seemed more Ren & Stimpy than Warner Bros, but I was fine with that. Word is this was dumped by Warner’s (as was a Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote movie) and that’s a disgrace. Very funny.

Okay that’s what I’ve been reading and watching. It’s an eclectic bunch of stuff, but that’s how we roll around here. I don’t read as much fiction as I once did – particularly not mysteries – but I take in a lot of physical media and streaming shows/movies. It’s how I relax and put fuel in the boiler.

There’s a lot to dislike on TV and on the movie screen these days, but plenty’s still out there to enjoy.

* * *

This very nice, smart review popped up this week at Do Some Damage – it’s detailed and (to me) gratifying. I happen to think the two Krista Larsen books are top-notch Collins, but I got a lot of heat from some reviewers (mostly in the UK) and, frankly, from my Thomas & Mercer editor. The big complaint was too much clothing description, something that goes unremarked upon in this extended lovely review. I had hoped to do at least a third Krista novel, but Thomas & Mercer wasn’t interested. It is, admittedly, the only book of mine there that hasn’t “earned out” yet; but in my defense they’ve given that title zero support.

If you haven’t read Girl Most Likely, check out this review.

This is a very good article on Road to Perdition as a comic book movie that is also a masterpiece. Oddly, neither I nor Richard Piers Rayner are mentioned. But it’s nice,
just the same.

* * *

We have been getting complaints from a handful of you fine folks that the link to this page from Facebook listings doesn’t always work. We (that is, son Nate) are (is) looking into it.

For those of you who can get here, we will have a book giveaway next week.

In the meantime, True Noir: The Assassination of Mayor Cermak is winding down – the last couple of the ten episodes will drop any moment now. Director Robert Meyer Burnett continues to do a great job.

If you order now, at least the first eight of ten episodes are available. Episode eight is, as Rob would say, “a banger.”

And this just in!

M.A.C.

An Irish-American Legend: Mickey Spillane

I am in the midst of a project (the nature of which I’ll share here soon), so this will be a short update, at least on the news side.

It’s St. Patrick’s Day 2025 as I write this, and how better to celebrate that (sort of) holiday than to share with you this nice article on Mickey Spillane from Casa Carlini. I rate a single mention – not exactly accurate – but that doesn’t take away from what a nice piece this is…even I do wish there’d been mention of the current Baby, It’s Murder, the final Hammer novel of the fifteen books I’ve fashioned from partial manuscripts and synopses entrusted to me by Mickey himself in his final days.

Hard-Boiled and Unforgettable:
The Legacy of Mickey Spillane

Mickey Spillane, the literary titan of hard-boiled crime fiction, left an indelible mark on the world of detective stories. His name is synonymous with gritty narratives, tough-as-nails protagonists, and a writing style that punches you in the gut. But Spillane’s legacy is more than just a collection of thrilling tales—it’s a testament to the enduring appeal of raw, unfiltered storytelling. In this deep dive, we’ll explore the man behind the typewriter, the cultural impact of his work, and why his stories continue to captivate readers decades later.

The Man Behind the Mike Hammer Mysteries

Mickey Spillane, born Frank Morrison Spillane in 1918, was a man who lived as boldly as the characters he created. Before he became a literary sensation, Spillane dabbled in various careers, including as a circus performer and a fighter pilot trainee during World War II. But it was his foray into writing that cemented his place in history.

Spillane’s breakout character, Mike Hammer, debuted in I, the Jury (1947), a novel that set the tone for his signature style. Hammer wasn’t your typical detective—he was a vengeful, no-nonsense antihero who operated by his own moral code. Spillane’s writing was fast-paced, visceral, and unapologetically violent, a stark contrast to the more polished detective fiction of the time.

The Hard-Boiled Revolution

Spillane didn’t just write crime novels; he revolutionized the genre. His work was a departure from the cerebral whodunits of Agatha Christie or the suave sophistication of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe. Instead, Spillane’s stories were raw, emotional, and often controversial. He didn’t shy away from depicting the darker side of human nature, and his protagonists were flawed, complex, and deeply relatable.

The term “hard-boiled” perfectly encapsulates Spillane’s approach. His stories were tough, gritty, and unflinching, much like the detectives who populated them. Mike Hammer wasn’t just solving crimes—he was navigating a world of corruption, betrayal, and moral ambiguity. This realism resonated with readers, making Spillane one of the best-selling authors of the 20th century.

Controversy and Criticism: Love Him or Hate Him

Spillane’s work wasn’t without its detractors. Critics often dismissed his novels as overly violent, misogynistic, or sensationalistic. Some accused him of prioritizing shock value over literary merit. But Spillane didn’t care. He famously quipped, “I don’t have fans. I have customers.” His focus was on entertaining his readers, not winning over the literary elite.

Despite the criticism, Spillane’s influence on the crime fiction genre is undeniable. His work paved the way for later authors like Elmore Leonard, James Ellroy, and even modern-day thriller writers. He proved that crime fiction could be both commercially successful and culturally significant.

Mike Hammer: The Antihero We Can’t Forget

At the heart of Spillane’s success was Mike Hammer, the quintessential hard-boiled detective. Hammer was a man of contradictions—brutal yet compassionate, cynical yet idealistic. He wasn’t afraid to bend the rules (or break them) to achieve justice, and his relentless pursuit of the truth made him a compelling character.

Hammer’s popularity extended beyond the pages of Spillane’s novels. He became a cultural icon, appearing in films, television shows, and comic strips. Actors like Darren McGavin and Stacy Keach brought Hammer to life on screen, each adding their own interpretation to the character. Even today, Mike Hammer remains a symbol of the hard-boiled detective archetype.

Spillane’s Writing Style: Punchy, Provocative, and Unforgettable

One of the hallmarks of Spillane’s writing was his ability to grab readers from the very first sentence. His openings were often explosive, setting the tone for the rest of the story. For example, the first line of I, the Jury is iconic: “I shook hands with the man whose brother I’d killed.” It’s a masterclass in hooking the reader and establishing the stakes.

Spillane’s prose was lean and mean, with no room for unnecessary flourishes. He had a knack for dialogue that crackled with tension and descriptions that painted vivid pictures with just a few words. This economy of language made his stories fast-paced and immersive, keeping readers on the edge of their seats.

The Cultural Impact of Mickey Spillane

Spillane’s influence extends far beyond the world of literature. His work helped shape the cultural landscape of mid-20th century America, reflecting the anxieties and complexities of the post-war era. The themes of his novels—corruption, justice, and the struggle between good and evil—resonated with a society grappling with rapid change.

Moreover, Spillane’s success demonstrated the power of genre fiction. At a time when literary snobbery often dismissed popular fiction as inferior, Spillane proved that genre writing could be both commercially viable and artistically significant. His legacy paved the way for future generations of genre authors to be taken seriously.

Spillane’s Later Years and Enduring Legacy

Even in his later years, Spillane remained a prolific writer. He continued to produce novels, short stories, and even comic books, proving that his creative spark never dimmed. In the 1990s, he collaborated with Max Allan Collins to complete several unfinished manuscripts, ensuring that his work would continue to reach new audiences.

NOTE FROM M.A.C.: Mickey and I did projects during his later years, from the Mike Danger comic book to numerous co-edited anthologies. The unfinished manuscripts were addressed after his passing, and represent posthumous works with considerable Spillane content.

Spillane passed away in 2006, but his legacy lives on. His novels are still widely read, and his influence can be seen in everything from modern crime fiction to film and television. The hard-boiled detective archetype he helped popularize remains a staple of popular culture, a testament to the enduring power of his storytelling.

Why Mickey Spillane Still Matters Today
In an age of complex antiheroes and morally ambiguous narratives, Mickey Spillane’s work feels more relevant than ever. His stories remind us that the line between right and wrong isn’t always clear, and that justice often comes at a cost. Mike Hammer may not be a traditional hero, but his unwavering commitment to his own code of ethics makes him a compelling figure.

Spillane’s writing also serves as a reminder of the power of storytelling. In a world saturated with content, his novels stand out for their raw emotion, gripping plots, and unforgettable characters. They remind us why we fell in live with crime fiction in the first place.

A Hard-Boiled Legend
Mickey Spillane was more than just a writer—he was a cultural force. His work redefined the crime fiction genre, introduced us to one of literature’s most iconic detectives, and proved that storytelling doesn’t need to be polished to be powerful. Whether you love him or hate him, there’s no denying the impact of Mickey Spillane.

So, the next time you pick up a gritty crime novel or watch a noir film, take a moment to appreciate the man who helped make it all possible. Mickey Spillane may have been hard-boiled, but his legacy is anything but forgettable.

* * *

J. Kingston Pierce at the indispensable Rap Sheet recommends Baby, It’s Murder as one of the most interesting of recent mystery novels. He also provides a link to Borg’s splendid review of the book, if you missed it.

A very good look at Road to Perdition (primarily the film version) is here.

* * *

Director Robert Meyer Burnett’s eighth episode of True Noir: The Assassination of Mayor Cermak has just dropped, and it’s a banger, as Rob himself might say. Probably the most impressive episode in terms of sound design if nothing else. And we’re in the home stretch now! Two episodes to go….

M.A.C.

New Nathan Heller and Mike Hammer…and Blue Xmas on Tubi!

There’s a new Nathan Heller book you may not have heard about. The title in fact is Nathan Heller, and it’s an 85-page novel-by-novel account of me interviewing Mr. Heller. Anyone interested in the Heller novels will want to read this, and will surely get a kick out of it.

It’s available in three forms – a paperback at $8.95 (such a deal!) and signed/numbered at $50 and signed/lettered at $100. Nathan Heller is the latest in a series of profiles of mystery fiction detectives selected by Otto Penzler and published by Mysterious Press. Among the others in this series are Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, Michael Connelly’s Hieronymous Bosch, Jeff Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme and Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse, among many other celebrated authors and sleuths in this unique series.

The format varies among these profiles, but I chose to interview Nate Heller, the conceit being these are excerpts of interviews with him I recorded over the years to help me ghost-write his memoirs.

I’m grateful to Otto Penzler for giving Nate Heller and me a place on this impressive list. Otto is a key figure in the mystery trade – he’s an editor, publisher and a pioneer in the mystery book store field. He edited and published the first three Mike Hammer novels by me working from Mickey’s material-in-progress (The Goliath Bone, The Big Bang and Kiss Her Goodbye), as well as the Spillane/Collins Mike Hammer short story collection, A Long Time Dead.

You can get Nathan Heller by Max Allan Collins right here.

* * *
Hardcover:
E-Book:
Digital Audiobook:
Audio MP3 CD:
Audio CD:

And as far as Mike Hammer is concerned, the final novel in the series was just published by Titan Books. Baby, It’s Murder can be ordered from the usual suspects, and the audio book read by the great Stefan Rudnicki is available at Audible and other venues for audio books.

Stefan, who also reads the Quarry novels (and does a bang-up job of it) took over after Stacy Keach stepped down after a long run.

For those of you who prefer a physical media version of Baby, It’s Murder, and not an audio download, there’s always the book itself using the audio book option at Amazon.

Speaking of Baby, It’s Murder – the concluding Mike Hammer novel – Borg has reviewed it very generously here.

And in case you missed it, here’s the splendid Kirkus review of Baby, It’s Murder.

* * *

By the time you read this, the eighth episode of True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak should have dropped. We are closing in on the finish. Director Rob Burnett has edited chapters nine and ten, with only the final mix ahead.

Rob has done an incredible job on this project, serving as director, editor, and producer. We are discussing other projects in the True Noir series including more of our fully immersive adaptations of the Heller novels, with True Crime and The Million-Dollar Wound the likely candidates. We are discussing a Nate Heller movie, as well. Early days on that, but I’ll be scripting it very soon, which is the first step.

* * *

Many thanks to all of you who left birthday wishes either here at F.O.M.A.C. or at the various Facebook sites where I post my weekly update/blog. I tried to answer or at least “like” all of those kind wishes, but frankly the number was too great. I ran out of steam before all of you did.

But my thanks are no less sincere. I seem to have lost only one reader (at least one who was vocal) after I posted a mildly political meme last time. I have no intention of getting political here, but sometimes enough is just enough.

Still, I want to keep this a politics-free zone. Early on I got vocal on Facebook and lost some friends or at least damaged some friendships. Social media has not improved our lives, and certainly has damaged our civility.

* * *

With my buddy Heath Holland of Cereal at Midnight I’ve done a show about some of my favorite comedy movies. It’s right here.

Finally, if you never got around to watching Blue Christmas last year, or buying the DVD or Blu-ray, it’s free on Tubi starting today, March 10. Check it out here.

M.A.C.