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Dr. Socrates
Another superb story by the author of Little Caesar... a swift drama in which the public enemies are home-town boys... Colliers Magazine ...
A new copy of a exceedingly rare book title, Dr. Socrates, written by W.R. Burnett and published in this instance by O'Bryan House Publishers, LLC. The story of young Dr. Cardwell who, after being forced at gun point to treat the wounded members of gang of bank robbers, finds himself caught between the threats of gang leader Red Bastian and the suspicion of Federal Agents investigating the wave of bank robberies. Portions of the story suggested by the saga of Public Enemy John Dillinger. This is the first book appearance of this hard boiled novel by Burnett, originally serialized in Colliers Magazine in the spring of 1935. The novel which served as the basis for the 1935 film Dr. Socrates starring Paul Muni and Ann Dvorak and later the 1939 Humphrey Bogart film King of the Underworld. W.R. Burnett is the author of Little Caesar, High Sierra and The Asphalt Jungle. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for best screenplay for Wake Island (1942) and The Great Escape (1963). In 1980 Burnett received the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Book measures 5.5 by 8.5 inches, softcover, 139 pages. Includes a brief after word by the publisher entitled Dr. Socrates and Hollywood.
A new copy of a exceedingly rare book title, Dr. Socrates, written by W.R. Burnett and published in this instance by O'Bryan House Publishers, LLC. The story of young Dr. Cardwell who, after being forced at gun point to treat the wounded members of gang of bank robbers, finds himself caught between the threats of gang leader Red Bastian and the suspicion of Federal Agents investigating the wave of bank robberies. Portions of the story suggested by the saga of Public Enemy John Dillinger. This is the first book appearance of this hard boiled novel by Burnett, originally serialized in Colliers Magazine in the spring of 1935. The novel which served as the basis for the 1935 film Dr. Socrates starring Paul Muni and Ann Dvorak and later the 1939 Humphrey Bogart film King of the Underworld. W.R. Burnett is the author of Little Caesar, High Sierra and The Asphalt Jungle. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for best screenplay for Wake Island (1942) and The Great Escape (1963). In 1980 Burnett received the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Book measures 5.5 by 8.5 inches, softcover, 139 pages. Includes a brief after word by the publisher entitled Dr. Socrates and Hollywood.
135 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1935
8 people want to read
About the author
W.R. Burnett
61 books44 followersWilliam Riley "W. R." Burnett was an American novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for the crime novel Little Caesar, the film adaptation of which is considered the first of the classic American gangster movies. Burnett was born in Springfield, Ohio. He left his civil service job there to move to Chicago when he was 28, by which time he had written over 100 short stories and five novels, all unpublished.
Burnett kept busy, producing a novel or more a year and turning most into screenplays (some as many as three times). Thematically Burnett was similar to Dashiell Hammett and James M. Cain but his contrasting of the corruption and corrosion of the city with the better life his characters yearned for, represented by the paradise of the pastoral, was fresh and original. He portrayed characters who, for one reason or another, fell into a life of crime. Once sucked into this life they were unable to climb out. They typically get one last shot at salvation but the oppressive system closes in and denies redemption.
Burnett's characters exist in a world of twilight morality — virtue can come from gangsters and criminals, malice from guardians and protectors. Above all his characters are human and this could be their undoing.
Burnett worked with many of the greats in acting and directing, including Raoul Walsh, John Huston, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Nicholas Ray, Douglas Sirk, Michael Cimino, John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, Paul Muni, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Steve McQueen and Clint Eastwood.
He received an Oscar nomination for his script for "Wake Island" (1942) and a Writers Guild nomination for his script for "The Great Escape". In addition to his film work he also wrote scripts for television and radio.
On his death in 1982, in Santa Monica, California,Burnett was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
Burnett kept busy, producing a novel or more a year and turning most into screenplays (some as many as three times). Thematically Burnett was similar to Dashiell Hammett and James M. Cain but his contrasting of the corruption and corrosion of the city with the better life his characters yearned for, represented by the paradise of the pastoral, was fresh and original. He portrayed characters who, for one reason or another, fell into a life of crime. Once sucked into this life they were unable to climb out. They typically get one last shot at salvation but the oppressive system closes in and denies redemption.
Burnett's characters exist in a world of twilight morality — virtue can come from gangsters and criminals, malice from guardians and protectors. Above all his characters are human and this could be their undoing.
Burnett worked with many of the greats in acting and directing, including Raoul Walsh, John Huston, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Nicholas Ray, Douglas Sirk, Michael Cimino, John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, Paul Muni, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Steve McQueen and Clint Eastwood.
He received an Oscar nomination for his script for "Wake Island" (1942) and a Writers Guild nomination for his script for "The Great Escape". In addition to his film work he also wrote scripts for television and radio.
On his death in 1982, in Santa Monica, California,Burnett was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 19, 2024
This novella originally appeared originally in Collier's magazine in 1935.
Written soon after Dillinger's demise and in the midst of the Depression, so was then topical, but this is not a hardboiled violence fest: appeared in a slick magazine + it is evident that Burnett, at least through his characters, had more than a little sympathy for the desperados.
Mostly a resurrection story as the protagonist, a doctor, is emotionally down and out but due to circumstances rises in his own self-esteem and that of the townspeople through his interaction with a gang terrorizing a small town in the Midwest.
The doctor is mourning a lost love, broke as all the townspeople go to the other doctor, but he is given some money by grateful criminals for patching them up and by two prominent citizens who hate the other doctor. They turn to him and by chance he "heals" the daughter of one who had been to all the docs in the Midwest—her case appears hopeless—but by simply listening to her and providing some positive affirmation of her own view of her plight, she gets well. He ends up with her as a love interest possibility and he also has another—a hitchhiker who has been picked up by the bandits and escaped, but is still desired by the gang leader, so the doctor is moved to act when he would actually prefer to ignore it all.
Most of the violence is "off stage" and the doctor ends up defeating the gang through guile rather than violence. There is a definite anti-violence vibe throughout and this novella is an amalgam of romance, satire and psychological study, of both the protagonist and society. Four different people, including the protagonist are identified as suffering from nervous disorders or one sort or the other, which I thought a rather high number, but the point is that the pressures of society, local and national, are the culprits and there seem to be few cures, least of all from the medical profession.
Well done, generally a good read, but fundamentally didactic in tone, as the characters are more emblematic than nuanced. The 1935 movie actually does a better job with characterization than this novella. Having Paul Muni must have helped. I suspect that those acting beside him in his movies were moved to do more than just mail in a performance.
Written soon after Dillinger's demise and in the midst of the Depression, so was then topical, but this is not a hardboiled violence fest: appeared in a slick magazine + it is evident that Burnett, at least through his characters, had more than a little sympathy for the desperados.
Mostly a resurrection story as the protagonist, a doctor, is emotionally down and out but due to circumstances rises in his own self-esteem and that of the townspeople through his interaction with a gang terrorizing a small town in the Midwest.
The doctor is mourning a lost love, broke as all the townspeople go to the other doctor, but he is given some money by grateful criminals for patching them up and by two prominent citizens who hate the other doctor. They turn to him and by chance he "heals" the daughter of one who had been to all the docs in the Midwest—her case appears hopeless—but by simply listening to her and providing some positive affirmation of her own view of her plight, she gets well. He ends up with her as a love interest possibility and he also has another—a hitchhiker who has been picked up by the bandits and escaped, but is still desired by the gang leader, so the doctor is moved to act when he would actually prefer to ignore it all.
Most of the violence is "off stage" and the doctor ends up defeating the gang through guile rather than violence. There is a definite anti-violence vibe throughout and this novella is an amalgam of romance, satire and psychological study, of both the protagonist and society. Four different people, including the protagonist are identified as suffering from nervous disorders or one sort or the other, which I thought a rather high number, but the point is that the pressures of society, local and national, are the culprits and there seem to be few cures, least of all from the medical profession.
Well done, generally a good read, but fundamentally didactic in tone, as the characters are more emblematic than nuanced. The 1935 movie actually does a better job with characterization than this novella. Having Paul Muni must have helped. I suspect that those acting beside him in his movies were moved to do more than just mail in a performance.
Displaying 1 of 1 review