Famous Movie Detectives

by Michael R. Pitts

Pitts looks at the celluloid careers of more than three dozen sleuths, including Arsene Lupin, Hercule Poirot, Mike Hammer, Miss Jane Marple, Perry Mason, Philip Marlowe, The Shadow, Sherlock Holmes, and The Whistler, and a number of screen gumshoes with brief movie careers and TV detectives. Each chapter highlights a different detective, covering the character's films, the performers who played him or her, the character's image in other media (stage, radio, television, recordings, etc.), plus a detailed filmography and a bibliography of the fictional works about each detective. With additions and corrections to the base volume and scores of photographs.

1 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 1979

About the author

MICHAEL R. PITTS has written or co-authored numerous books on entertainment, including Kate Smith: A Bio-Bibliography; Western Movies; Hollywood and American History; Famous Movie Detectives; Famous Movie Detectives II; Famous Movie Detectives III; Hollywood on Record; The Bible on Film; Charles Bronson; Poverty Row Studios 1929-1940; The Rise of the Crooners; Radio Soundtracks; Horror Film Stars ; the CD-ROM Television and Film: An Annotated Bibliography of Research Materials; Columbia Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films; Allied Artists Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, and RKO Radio Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films.
With Mr. Parish he has written several entries in The Great . . . Pictures series. In addition he has contributed to many other published books and his magazine articles have been published in the U.S. and abroad. He wrote columns on record collecting for Classic Images and The Big Reel. With degrees in history and journalism he also has a certificate in American Genealogy and has compiled more than thirty volumes of local history and genealogy.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very knowledgable collection of those b/w one hour thrillers made in the cinema years.
An enjoyable read with a nice collection of lists of movies to see. I have always been fan of the likes of the SHadow, the Falcon, The Saint, Charlie Chan and such. This book gives you a lot of information on the various movies within the series.

[Rich Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pioneering reference work, featuring about thirty big screen detectives from various ends of the genre. A fun read and great for finding those little tidbits of trivia!