In Manors and Alleys: A Casebook on the American Detective Film

by Jon Tuska

Tuska, known for his work on the western film and film noir, is also an expert on the American detective film. . . . His approach is historical, focusing on popular detectives from Poe's Dupin and Doyle's Sherlock Holmes to Chandler's Philip Marlowe in his various incarnations on the screen. Tuska does not neglect the authors who created the detectives, the actors who played them on the screen, the scriptwriters who adapted the stories and novels, or the directors who brought them to the screen. A detailed, fact-filled study, enriched with excerpts from interviews. Choice This unique volume traces the growth and development of the most popular detectives from the lives of their creators to their transformation into screen detectives. Included are Sherlock Holmes, Philo Vance, Charlie Chan, Mr. Moto, Nero Wolfe, Perry Mason, Sam Spade, Nick and Nora Charles, and Philip Marlowe, as well as the female detectives and the more current avenger figures. Tuska discusses the reasons behind the persistent popularity of detectives in fiction and film, and the comprehensive historical perspective of this work helps the reader to understand why the image of the detective has changed from the embodiement of reason and the Enlightenment to the somewhat darker figure of executioner in a corrupt society.

483 pages, Hardcover

First published January 13, 1988