Repeat Performance

by William O'Farrell

{ 15.34 x 23.59 cms} Leather Binding on Spine and Corners with Golden Leaf Printing on round Spine (extra customization on request like complete leather, Golden Screen printing in Front, Color Leather, Colored book etc.) Reprinted in 2020 with the help of original edition published long back [1942]. This book is printed in black & white, sewing binding for longer life, printed on high quality Paper, re-sized as per Current standards, professionally processed without changing its contents. As these are old books, we processed each page manually and make them readable but in some cases some pages which are blur or missing or black spots. If it is multi volume set, then it is only single volume, if you wish to order a specific or all the volumes you may contact us. We expect that you will understand our compulsion in these books. We found this book important for the readers who want to know more about our old treasure so we brought it back to the shelves. Hope you will like it and give your comments and suggestions. - English, Pages 309. EXTRA 10 DAYS APART FROM THE NORMAL SHIPPING PERIOD WILL BE REQUIRED FOR LEATHER BOUND BOOKS. COMPLETE LEATHER WILL COST YOU EXTRA US$ 25 APART FROM THE LEATHER BOUND BOOKS. {FOLIO EDITION IS ALSO AVAILABLE.} Complete Repeat performance 1942 William O'Farrell

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Noir, Fiction

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1942

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is not often a 1940’s crime paperback circles around the meaning of life, but O’Farrell’s 1942 “Repeat Performance” does just that. It begins with the prototypical protagonist down-on-his-luck, drunk, without friends or hopes, and on the run from the police for murder. He races back and forth across Manhattan from subway to station from bar to bar and it all seems completely and totally hopeless for Barney who is little more than a cornered rat guilty of the most abominable offenses.

What makes “Repeat Performance” so interesting and unusual is that O’Farrell does not merely chronicle the destruction of another sad sack loser. Rather, he explores themes of “what if” that are drawn perhaps from science fiction stories of time travel. He poses the question to the reader whether life is predestined by fate or whether it is changeable. What happens when a man at the end of his rope gets a final opportunity to start over again and change the pattern of events that led to brutality, destruction, and abject defeat. Can he change the result or is it the case that no matter what he does the end will be the same. Are we trapped in an endless train of time from which there is no escape or do we have free will? Are we but shadows of Prometheus bound to a rock and destined to have his liver eaten by an eagle each day but to grow back and be eaten again the next day?

O’Farrell sets his story on Broadway in 1942 and captures the free-spirited bohemian lifestyle, but also shows how that lifestyle is filled with jealousy and spitefulness and lustful affairs that tear the characters apart. O’Farrell as a former actor was quite familiar with these characters. Unforgettable among them of course is “William and Mary,” a character with two selves, one William, one Mary, and not necessarily the firmest grip on reality.

For that matter, the main character, Barney, rarely seems to have quite a good grasp of reality. You wonder at times if he did time travel or whether his twisted mind has broken completely and he has mixed reality and fantasy. O’Farrell really nails it when it comes to describing the loss of reality.

Although marketed now by Stark House Press as a crime novel, Repeat Performance is hard to box into any one genre as it also has elements of science fiction and was once marketed as Broadway-set soap opera. It has, first and foremost, a terrific read no matter what genre.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recently, my best friend recommended the 1947 film based on this book. A few years ago, the film was rediscovered / restored, having before that time been neglected (if not completely lost). It's actually a nifty little film; noir with the unusual addition of the supernatural.

In it, a woman who has murdered her husband is - in Twilight Zone fashion - given the opportunity to get the previous year of her life back, to maybe do things differently - for a different outcome.

I might have preferred it if the film had been slightly better but, as is, it's effective-enough and I might want to watch it again.

I was curious about the original novel for two reasons. The story is set in the theatre world; I wondered if the book went into more detail about that than the film does. As well, the film has a main character (played by the talented Richard Basehart) who clearly seems to be a whitewashed gay man.

So I read the book (recently itself reprinted by the small mystery press Black Gat).

Ugh. It's awful. It's a prime example of how a film version can be better. The film streamlines the plot in a clever way. It even refashions the supernatural element more convincingly.

In the book, the depiction of the theatre world (by someone who, early on, was in that world) is captured in a rather clumsy manner (certainly the farthest cry from 'All About Eve'!). The bulk of the book is largely taken up with quite possibly the dullest love triangle (technically a quadrangle) imaginable. That aspect is interminably repetitive; like watching a dog chase its tail for days.

True, the 'maybe gay' film character here is truly gay (known for some precious reason as 'William and Mary' and referred to that way) but he usually comes off like a gay person as written by a very straight person. There's one eye-opening bit where the character briefly describes being thrown out of an apartment-sitting arrangement when the owner walks in on a bunch of "pansies" who are caught in the middle of conducting a Black Mass (!).

More often than not, the dialogue is abysmal. It's a short-ish novel, with short chapters, which nevertheless feels endless.

This is one of those rare occasions when I surprised myself by finishing a book I would normally abandon before the midway-point. But I confess it felt like 'a bad accident on the side of the road': I just couldn't stop 'watching' the badness of it all.

[Dave Eisenstark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book. The gimmick doesn't matter much, which is a good thing, though it is in the back of your mind while you're reading it. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie. I like O'Farrell's writing style and his characters really ring true. Backstage Broadway in the 1940s.

[Michael Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's difficult to categorize this one. It's crime and noir and melodrama and fantasy. In May of 1942, an actor murders his mistress and wishes he could live the last year (1941) all over again to change many things in his life that were awry and led him to the murder. Somehow, he gets his wish, discovering that it is now May of 1941. Can he change his fate? The fantasy element is not heavy-handed, leaving this mostly a noir tale of passion and destiny. Interesting characters and a nice backstage theatrical setting. The movie, made in 1947, has the same basic gimmick but different characters.

[Samantha Glasser]

This book became an excellent film noir in 1947.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eddie Muller showed the 1947 film version of this New Year's Eve weekend (appropriate, as the movie is mostly based around a NYE party), and mentioned how different the novel is from the film. For starters, the lead/narrator is switched to a female, who is not quite as "questionable" about her lifestyle and morals as the male narrator is here in the novel.
This is a an odd melange of fantasy (we go back in time to relive the past - and the narrator is aware of all of what "really" happened while reliving the time period) and mystery (well, there kind of are some murders in here). But also a theater novel, with a nice presentation of NYC stage and stage life in the early '40's, as well as the Greenwich Village scene (complete with "pansies"). As Muller mentions, the character "William and Mary" is named that because he/she is a crossdresser - quite a thing to include in a novel in 1941 (but he only appears as dress-wearing Mary once in the book)!
The book fits very much into Noir category because of the strong presentation of Fate. It is what it is.
This was O'Farrell's first novel. He did not write another one for about 6 years, and then had about 8 years where he published quite a bit. He wrote short stories and worked in Hollywood as well. Luckily this is available as a pb and an ebook (how I read it), because none of his other work has been republished.
A good and interesting read with the mix-up of genres and focus. Not your typical mystery, and I am not sure it actually is a mystery in the first place!

[Viktor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific tale about a man who goes back into time from 1942 to 1941 to see if he can change what happened.

It was clearly written before 12/7/41 as Pearl Harbor never gets a mention. Not a bother though, but it did amuse me to find an elephant in the room.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Barney has made some serious mistakes. By some miracle, he goes back a year. Will he repeat the murder?

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently saw the movie on Turner Classic Movies and vaguely remembered the title. I thought I had read it before but the story wasn’t familiar. Indeed I found the book in my collection of “dime novels” purchased from my old high school library when I was a senior for 10 cents a piece. I spent two dollars that day and came home with the beginnings of a book collection that I’m now in the process of purging. The librarian was purging books from the school’s collection to make room for newer books. This was 1973 and the copyright is from 1942. This is a 1947 edition published by Triangle Books, New York. So it was old then. I think it’s rebound, the spine is firmly taped over with the author and title handwritten in gold ink on the spine. It wasn’t a bad job because the binding remains intact except for four loose pages near the end. It says it was published by arrangement with Houghton Mifflin Company so the book itself is a mystery. Was this a book club version? A paperback someone liked so much they had it bound?

I had read this back when I brought it home but only vaguely remembered it. The movie plot didn’t feel familiar but then I read the book 52 years ago so I decided to reread it before donating it. The book is very different from the movie. For one thing, the protagonist is a woman in the film but is male in the book. It’s set in New York in the 1940’s which in itself is interesting. Like the film, you get a real sense of that time and culture. However the film rearranged the plot of the book. It begins with the murder and goes back in time to describe the events leading up to it. The actress is guilty, but in some magical twist, goes back in time to relive it and change the outcome.

The book begins with the actor on the run for his life but you don’t know why. He recounts the events leading up to the murder in which he is a struggling actor with a promising career on stage and moving into films, married to a woman who seems to have lost interest in him. In the book, he is running from something and you don’t know what. You just know it must be bad. The murder doesn’t take place until you’ve learned the events leading up to it such as his recent success in a Broadway show. You meet his friends, actors, producers, and hanger’s on. You just know it all goes horribly wrong. There is a murder but the surprise is the victim. It is a shock. And it is devastating because his life could have turned out so much differently. The book is a tragedy. The movie is about redemption.

I’m actually not sure which version I prefer. The film cast was not well known to me with the interesting exception of Natalie Schaefer who I knew for her role in Gilligan’s Island (leading me to underestimate her abilities as a dramatic actress). The other actor I knew from television was Richard Basehart who plays a poet, William and Mary, who, in the book, is an openly gay character. In the movie he is William Williams. I don’t remember if Basehart played him that way but I’m sure, given the time, it would have to be subtle and Basehart was definitely capable of that.

I’d recommend that you do both, read the book, watch the movie. It shows up periodically on TCM, but I also found it on YouTube. The book is available in paperback and also in a leather-bound collector’s edition which is more rare. Interestingly, for my hard bound version with a cardboard cover, someone glued a description of the movie on the front piece of this book. So someone valued this book enough to repair it and connect it to a movie that was recently released at the time of its publication. It was stamped as coming from a college library.

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Repeat Performance is one of the best books I've read of it's kind (psychological crime drama). It's a real page turner, suspenseful, insightful, and entertaining. There's an element of fantasy (or is it?) as the protagonist finds himself a year in the past. Does he have a chance to change the outcome of his prior choices? He hopes and tries. Great for fans of noir, time-loop stories, and psychological thrillers.

Here are a couple of my favorite quotations, no significant spoilers:

PAGE 74
‘What’s it all about?’ '
‘What’s what all about?’
‘Everything,’ he said. ‘Look here. I’m supposed to be a poet and, as such, to have an insight into things which lesser mortals-are blind to. I’m supposed to have an understanding of large, nebulous, and knotty problems like Life and Love spelled with capital letters. Well, I ain’t got it.’
‘That’s tough.’
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘it is. And what makes it tougher is the fact that, every once in a while, Somebody or Something drops the veil, and, just for a fraction of a second, things get clear. I’m able to see what it all means. Then, before I'm able to take it in, up goes the veil again and I’m just as much in the dark as ever.’
‘Sort of a celestial strip-tease,’ I suggested.
‘Exactly,’ he agreed. ‘And that’s what I’m driving at. In a burlesque show, a strip-tease act, there are people working backstage. They know how and why the show works; they see the things the audience never sees. They’re on the inside.’ He paused for a moment, thinking.

PAGE 206
‘Don’t worry.’ He put his arm over my shoulder. ‘Cultivate an objective viewpoint and take things as they come. You’ll be all right.’
‘Look here,’ I said. ‘You’re the one who’s in the hospital, not me. I’m visiting you, remember?’
‘Yes.’ He walked with me to the door. ‘But don’t let it upset you. These little discrepancies are always popping up. Goodbye, Barney.’
The nurse unlocked the door and let me out. William
stood inside the ward and smiled at me until it closed. The key turned in the lock, and he was on one side and I was on the other. The wrong side, it seemed to me, in both cases. This isn’t just a discrepancy, I thought, this is criminal negligence. I’d better get out of this place before they change their minds.

[Jonathan Solomon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a phase watching noir films and came across the film "Repeat Performance". It was hard to track this film down so I tried to find the book. This book was very hard to find so was thrilled when I was able to read a copy.

At first I was a bit confused, but it was then explained that for the film, the main character was changed from a man to a woman.

I really enjoyed this book! It starts off with a pretty grim situation, with hardly a happy ending in sight for anyone. The author then uses a narrative method to have Varney return back in time by one and he is given the opportunity to repeat the year but with hindsight.

Lots of interesting characters and the theatre scene of New York is also described with detail.

For me, I found the book fascinating as to why Barney was fighting so hard to save his marriage with Sheila. There is a hint of a cautionary tale here.

I give this book 4 stars as it is a good read but I still don't quite understand why Barney killed his lover. If you know why please reach out. Was it because Fern was bad for him. Or was it because he was killing a good future with Fern? Or is it by fighting for Sheila he killed any possibility for real live with Fern? A mystery.

This book deserves a wide readership.

[Holly LaPat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the Kindle reissue of this 1942 pulp novel after watching the 1947 movie based on it. Quite a few things didn't make sense in the movie; the book is puzzling in different ways. In the Hollywood version, a woman shoots her alcoholic husband and goes back in time by some unexplained magic and tries to fix the events that led up to the shooting. In the novel, the alcoholic husband of a woman who committed suicide strangles his lover, then goes back in time and tries to fix THOSE events. In the book, the time travel is explained, ... partially ... or maybe not. I wasn't sure if I was dealing with an unreliable narrator, a hallucination or something else. But as Barney Page retraces his past, one thing is clear: He's a rotten so-and-so. Yes, he's trying to correct his past -- or future -- mistakes. But he willfully walks into new mistakes, or excuses the hazards he does allow to develop. (The Hollywood version may well have switched the characters around to give audiences a more likable protagonist.) The novel is well-writtten, but watching self-destructive behavior by unlikable people isn’t my favorite thing. Your mileage may vary.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Open on Barney Page, New York actor, who's just murdered his lover, Fern. If only he could have prevented his wife's suicide or having an affair with Fern at all, it wouldn't have happened and he wouldn't be running from the cops. Suddenly it's a year earlier; Barney has a clear shot at changing the past, avoiding all his mistakes, but can he change what's written?
This is radically different from the 1947 movie in multiple ways. It's dark and bleak as Barney finds himself slowly sinking, unable to stop anything. It's also a vivid novel of theater life in its era. However the final tragedy feels forced — I'd have liked it better if Barney had averted it (which seems more logical too). And the old "maybe it was all in his head" ending is an annoying copout.
Overall, though, well worth reading.

[Christine Sinclair · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a noir classic that was made into a movie in 1947 starring Louis Hayward and Joan Leslie. It is gritty, with good characters and a unique plot. What would happen if you got the chance to live your life over again? Could your "rewrite" change the outcome? A very interesting premise, but I thought it was spoiled by a confusing ending. Now to see the movie!

[Ron Kerrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

O'Farrell wrote a few golden age mysteries, but this is his best. It's one to reread every few years. It was filmed in 1947 with Louis Hayward and Joan Leslie and, as often is the case, the movie can't hold a candle to the book; plus the film changed a few essential elements of the book.

[Gina Dalfonzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I like the 1947 film version -- which turns out to be almost completely different! Other than the central concept, some character names, the theatrical setting, and a couple of plot points, it's like a whole different story. But I ended up liking this too. Very noir, very fatalistic (but I repeat myself), with really strong writing. I couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for William O'Farrell, watching his story changed even more than movies usually change their source material.

If I'm honest, though, I liked the movie ending better -- it was just as fatalistic, but with a creative twist.

[Alex Budris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little concerned that this novel was going to make the irredeemable mistake of having a redeeming ending, but I needn't be worried... A bleak noir tragedy, through and through; a parable of futility...