I had never heard of Orrie Hitt until I saw the vintage cover of Shabby Street. He was an interesting figure known for writing socially aware books in pulp drag. He was wildly prolific; writing over 150 books using many pseudonyms.
It turns out that I’ve done this book before BUT I missed the second cover and Orrie’s story, which was a Hitt with me. There was, however, a swell gag in the earlier post.
Hodding Carter was a distinguished journalist. He was a Southern liberal when it was dangerous to be one.
I did not know that he’d ever written a novel but sometimes you strike gold when you go down an internet rabbit hole.
Trivia Time: The author’s son Hodding Carter III was the State Department spokesman during the Carter administration.
New Orleans Trivia Time: The author was married to Betty Werlein of New Orleans. People of a certain age will remember the much loved Canal Street music store, Werlein’s. It’s now the home of The Palace Cafe.
This week’s entry took me on a voyage of discovery; a minor one. Initially, I wasn’t sure if The Dirty Look Librarians was a genuine vintage cover or a parody. It’s the real deal.
Hell, I couldn’t even find a file big enough to post here until I consulted with the Pulp Librarian. That’s a fancy way of saying I stole these pictures from one of his old tweets, which is posted below the pictures. I did, however, use the teeny-tiny picture of the cover as the featured image. I like messing with my readers.
I don’t know about you but I’d never mess up their shelving.
A dirty look is worth a thousand words. I learned that from living with the Queen of Dirty Looks, Della Street.
Here’s the tweet I alluded to:
The real "Dirty Look #Librarians" – the models giving *that look* for Robert Maguire's cover art… #librarygirl pic.twitter.com/OLRqvVcwqA
— Pulp Librarian (@PulpLibrarian) February 17, 2015
It’s time for another Eddie Muller/Noir Alley special. Night Editor is a swell little noir based on a successful radio series. It was intended to be the first in a movie series but things didn’t go as planned.
Here’s Eddie on Night Editor in two parts:
Dig that crazy home Tiki Bar, y’all. It gave me an earworm:
Erle Stanley Gardner was a prolific author. The Perry Mason books weren’t his only series. There were also nine books featuring D.A. Doug Selby. The D.A. Breaks An Egg was the final book in that series.
In my extended family battle ax is an affectionate term. My favorite aunt prided herself on being a battle ax and a tough broad. This post is a tribute to all the battle axes out there. Long may you run.
I just gave myself an earworm. This is a song about a car but it works: my Aunt Mary had a radar detector in her car when she was 80.
The finest caviar comes from sturgeon eggs so it was quite natural for Theodore Sturgeon to call a short story collection, Caviar. What’s not to love about such a punny title?
Pulp Fiction Thursday collides with TCM’s Noir Alley yet again. Eddie Muller is good company, especially in his very own tiki bar.
Deadlier Than The Mail was written by screenwriter James Gunn.
Gunn’s book has nothing to do with the 1967 British spy movie of the same title. It was, however, sold to RKO studios and renamed Born To Kill. Gunn did not write the screenplay of this classic film noir.
I mentioned Eddie Muller. In lieu of the trailer, here are somewhat blurry clips of his intro and outro for Born To Kill:
We’ll have more about Eddie Muller, Lawrence Tierney, and Born To Kill in this week’s Saturday Odds & Sods. Stay tuned.
I don’t know about you, but this cover makes me want to hide under the bed.
I guess they forgot to wash it.
This is the perfect paperback cover and title for the Trump era. The only thing that would make it Trumpier is if the buxom chick were a blonde.
You’re not seeing double. We’ve just moved from music to books and movies.
George Orwell’s 1984 is one of the most misunderstood great books ever. It was a dystopian novel but not sci-fi. For the title, Orwell flipped the last two digits of the year in which he wrote it, 1948. Orwell was a man of the left, not the right. But his experiences during the Spanish Civil made him loathe Stalinism. Big Brother is “Uncle” Joe Stalin.
Here are three vintage paperback covers, which convey Orwell’s vision in emphatically different ways.
Next up the movie posters:
I prefer the 1956 version; partially because it’s in glorious black and white notwithstanding the poster. But Edmond O’Brien and John Hurt are equally good as protagonist Winston Smith.
In lieu of two movie trailers, here’s the legendary Apple ad that ran during the 1984 Super Bowl:
The Summer Of Sam Fuller continues here at First Draft. The new Fog Of Scandal image is how the murder of Tolly Devlin’s father was shot in today’s PFT film noir, Underworld U.S.A. What’s more noir than shadows? Not a damn thing.
You’re probably wondering what this has to do with the ruling by SCOTUS in the Trump tax cases. Not a damn thing. Don’t jump my shit or I’ll have a Tolly Devlin moment:
The post title is not 100% accurate but it’s what I predicted yesterday so I’ll stick with it:
I’ve never been compared to a Dutch seer before. I kinda like it. Thanks, Paul. Hmm, I wonder if the Dutch Dude wore seersucker…
The following analysis is as instant as it gets.
There was a clear victory for the Manhattan DA’s office in its case, which re-established the obvious principle that any POTUS is NOT ABOVE THE LAW. Trump’s legal team made preposterous arguments that made him either a king or a deity. The Kaiser of Chaos is neither; that nickname notwithstanding.
Both the New York case and the Congressional case have been remanded to the lower courts to address the details of the complaints so as Yogi Berra probably never said, “It ain’t over until it’s over.”
We may not see the records as soon as we might like but President* Pennywise is a loser in the long run. And he hates losing. Neener, neener, neener. I never get tired of Trump losing.
Other than the rule of law, the real winner today was Chief Justice John Roberts who, like any sensible Chief, prefers to stay out of the political thicket, which is as thick as it’s ever been. Thanks to a president* who is truly as thick as brick, which means as smart as a lump of shit. Make that orange shit and it fits…
Even Justice Bro believes that presidents DO NOT HAVE ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY. The Impeached Insult Comedian is already whining like a stuck pig, but he hasn’t attacked Kavanaugh. Yet. The clock is still clicking.
The cases have been remanded to the lower courts to handle the details. Congress may still prevail if they narrow their subpoena. Btw, that’s a word I can never spell without resort to a spell checker. The mere thought gives me a series of Tolly Devlin moments:
Finally, here’s summation of the case written in the style of Mongo of Blazing Saddles fame:
The last word goes to Steve Winwood with Joe Walsh:
It’s been the summer of Sam at Adrastos World HQ. Not the Spike Lee flick; Sam as in Samuel Fuller the cult film writer-director. Fuller was underrated in his day, but his quirky and idiosyncratic movies have stood the test of time
TCM Noir Alley host Eddie Muller screened Underworld U.S.A. on Father’s Day this year. It’s the story of a young man whose father is murdered. He spends his life seeking revenge against the gangsters who slew dear old dad.
The vengeful son, Tolly Devlin, was played by Cliff Robertson in a bravura performance that was as quirky and idiosyncratic as Sam Fuller himself. Tolly Devlin has become a catch phrase in our house. It’s usually aimed at Paul Drake when he’s in trouble, which is a frequent occurrence. We all have our Tolly Devlin moments.
I give Underworld U.S.A. 4 stars and an Adrastos Grade of A-.
It’s poster time. The first one is Canadian, eh:
Here’s the trailer:
Are you ready for some lagniappe? It’s Eddie Muller making a cocktail to go along with Underworld U.S.A.
This looks like a COVID-19 era dinner party at the White House. I’ll pass.
I liked Irv Docktor’s cover art for Art Tatum’s Discoveries so much that I checked out his book covers. Docktor was particularly known for his work with Robert Heinlein so we begin with a pair of those covers followed by two more pairings.
I’m a big fan of TCM’s Noir Alley with Eddie Muller. When Eddie speaks, I listen. Last week’s edition featured a tight little movie, Murder By Contract. The script was written in 1958 by blacklisted screenwriter Ben Maddow. I wonder if he’s any relation to Rachel. You never can tell.
Anyway, it’s a nifty noir. I give it 3 1/2 stars and an Adrastos Grade of B+.
Here’s the poster:
The tagline is characteristic of the casual sexism of the period.
Here’s the trailer:
Ready for some lagniappe? Here’s Marty on this movie:
I have terrible mail service but even I wouldn’t go postal on a letter carrier:
