The Waxman Production

by John Hermansen

the author's second novel, published posthumously,

228 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although not without its faults, this forgotten novel is a bit of a hidden gem. A down-on-his-luck director decides to throw what's left of his career into making an ultra-cheap Western in the hopes that it will be sold as a television series. Shooting on location in Yuma, Arizona, Magnus Waxman finds that everything that can go wrong, does. He soldiers on, however, with the help of Sheila Goldenstein, a cynical retired actress who goes along with Waxman's plan despite having lots of burned bridges and unsettled scores. Hermansen chronicles the troubled production with zingy humor and hard-boiled style. Lots of colorful characters drift in and out of the narrative, and the story takes on some disturbingly dark turns near the end. Based on the photo on the back of the dust jacket cover, I imagine that Hermansen based the rugged, plain-spoken Waxman character on himself—although we'll never know (the mysterious author died in 1973, shortly before publication of this—his second novel).