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Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2003 im Fachbereich Germanistik - Neuere Deutsche Literatur, Note: 1,0, Universität Karlsruhe (TH) (Institut für Literaturwissenschaften), Veranstaltung: Poetik der Kriminlaerzählungen, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: „Ich brauche einen Mann, der gut aussieht, um eine Dame, die Sinn für Klasse hat, nicht gleichgültig zu lassen, aber er muß zäh genug sein, um einen Schlagabtausch mit einem Schaufelbagger auszuhalten" . So beginnt die Beschreibung des Detektivs, der die Hauptrolle in Raymond Chandlers Kurzgeschichte „Gefahr ist mein Geschäft"spielen wird. Bereits dieser Satz macht deutlich, dass die Anforderungen einen Detektiv verlangen, der in gleicher Weise galant, aber auch für das etwas Gröbere einsetzbar sein muss. Gefordert wird hier also ein typischer „Hard-boiled-Detektiv", wie Chandler ihn in seinen Werken eingesetzt hat.Diese Arbeit beinhaltet einen kurzen biografischen Abriss über Raymond Chandler, denn gerade in Bezug auf Chandlers persönliche und berufliche Entwicklung und Erfahrung lassen sich Rückschlüsse auf das Personal seiner Werke ziehen. Danach wird die Handlung von „Gefahr ist mein Geschäft" zusammengefasst, und eine kurze narratologische Analyse versucht. Mit einer Charakterisierung der Hauptfiguren in Anlehnung an die Erwartungen, die der Leser einer „hard-boiled"-Geschichte mit ihnen verbindet, wird fortgefahren. Abschließend soll die Frage gestellt werden, ob der Fall vollständig aufgeklärt werden konnte, ob der Leser durch die Lektüre auf die Lösung kommen konnte, und ob eventuell offene Fragen bleiben. ... Read more

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Now in Paper! Aimed at both the new student and the seasoned scholar, The Hard-Boiled Explicator offers brief essays on Hammett, Chandler, and Macdonald that highlight their major characteristics, relate them to each other, and show their impact on their public. Cloth edition published in 1985. ... Read more

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America's premier mystery writers--Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Erle Stanley Gardner--make a comeback in this latest suspense novel from William F. Nolan.In a vivid re-creation of Hollywood's Golden Age, Erle Stanley Gardner is accused of murder and becomes a fugitive in a desperate attempt to find the real killer.

As the action sweeps from an MGM movie set to an obscure fishing village on the Gulf of California, listeners are treated to a drunken John Barrymore emoting Shakespeare, a bawdy encounter with Mae West in a steam bath, a full-throttle car chase with racing legend Barney Oldfield, and a shocking phone call from America's foremost gossipmonger, Walter Winchell. The climax is a murder trial in which Gardner, in true Perry Mason style, chooses to defend himself against the threatened death sentence. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The Case of the Singing Actor
This historical novel is set in Southern California of the 1930s and uses famous dead authors as its characters. The `Afterword' explains this story, set in a time most now living never knew. Nolan studied Erle Stanley Gardner's life to write Chapter 2. Gardner used his legal knowledge to write "Perry Mason", just as Dashiell Hammett used his private detective experiences for the "Continental Op" stories. The style of this story does not seem to match Gardner's novels. The title sounds like one of the novels of "A. A. Fair".

Amy had a Hollywood marriage: the image didn't match the reality (p.17). Could a harsh childhood create cruelty (p.18). Is the wife's story one-sided (p.19)? ["Perry Mason" knew better than to totally believe his clients.] Chapter 3 provides amusing scenes of a Hollywood back lot. Some chapters reminded me of "The Thin Man". Suddenly Amy dies (Chapter 6). She was poisoned (Chapter 7). But Amy's will named a new beneficiary, one who profits from her death - Erle Stanley Gardner (Chapter 8). [Nolan's assessment of Custer is ignorant and biased (Chapter 9).] Lawyer Gardner knew the condition of bail and the implication of flight (Chapter 10). They drove to San Felipe to meet Maria Sanchez, Thompson's first wife. Is there a scandal here (Chapter 12)? But Thompson is no longer a suspect in Amy's death (Chapter 13). There is a new suspect when a bloody knife is found in an unlocked truck (Chapter 15). This planted evidence makes Gardner a notorious criminal in the press (Chapter 16)!

Chapter 17 explains arranged marriages for the aristocracy: it keeps their landed wealth united. The marriages are often unhappy. Hollywood also has marriages whose aim is to preserve wealth and "star quality". Gardner and his friends decide to return to San Felipe to learn more (Chapter 18). Their search leads to a dead end (Chapter 19). Gardner finds a clue in Thompson's house (Chapter 20). Gardner will represent himself at his murder trial (Chapter 21). Dashiell Hammett brings the secret evidence into court, and this reveals the truth about the murders in a "Perry Mason" conclusion (Chapter 22)! But the ending seems a little too cute and contrived (Chapter 23).

This story about the 1930s does not seem to match the style of Gardner's writings. Gardner never used the word "prostitute" but a euphemism. Gardner then wrote about a "machine" not a brand name. Women then wore light wool or silk stockings. A dictaphone would be a new technology (but wax cylinders were invented by Edison in the 1880s). Gardner often used misidentification in his novels. Unmasking an imposter is always a dramatic event. The story of an unacknowledged son committing murders to gain an inheritance seems like a new twist for 1930s novels.

Flatfooted.
The gimmick (Gardner, Dashiell Hammett, and Raymond Chandler solving a real mystery together) is entertaining enough, and Nolan eventually builds a enough of a plot to keep most readers going, but I must say I found the book a big disappointment.Despite the little lectures on California missions, the changing editorship of Black Mask magazine, and so forth -- and the pointless cameo appearance of cardboard cutouts labeled Mae West, John Barrymore, etc -- there is no sense at all of life in the '30s.At first I thought the flatfooted style was meant to be a comment on narrator Erle Stanley Gardner's writing, but at his worst Gardner wasn't this banal, cliche-ridden and tautological (again and again, a character's speech will be tagged with a clause summarizing its contents or explaining its already-obvious intention.) But okay, we don't always look for any kind of style in a certain kind of whodunit, and Nolan does deliver a decent mystery.What I couldn't stand -- I wouldn't even have finished the book if I hadn't been stuck in a hotel room with nothing else -- was the constant stream of anachronistic language.The whole point of this entertainment is that it takes place in the '30s, but again and again, the stock phraseology comes from the '70s or later.The Bing Crosbyesque character is "laid-back", someone keeps a "low profile", a celebrity funeral is a "media event" attended by "death freaks."Once would be an irritating but forgiveable slip-up, but when it keeps happening page after page, the carelessness of it becomes downright insulting.

Another Delightful Opus
In the series' third outing Nolan once again hits one out of the park, successfully evoking the spirit of bygone Hollywood glamor. Once again we have the Black Mask boys chewing up the scenery amid spectacular moviesets, Spanish-era estates and a heavy who will strongly remind them of BingCrosby. But hidden amongst all this is a surprise: the story of anauthentic California life. Erle Gardner of Perry Mason fame was born inOroville, spent a year at Palo Alto High (Paly), defended the rights ofChinese in Oxnard and later moved to Ventura and then Hollywood. As awesterner at that time, Gardner was a bit less sophisticated than hiscounterparts Hammett and Chandler who hailed from the east coast andEngland respectively. At a 1997 mystery seminar I heard author Nolanwondering aloud just how to write a novel in the Gardner style, which inmany ways is an absence of style really. Nolan needn't have worried. Hepulls off this story about the return of a lost love just fine and, anyway,apart from the occasional special effect, his style matches that of onlyone writer anyway:Nolan. As it should be. It's true that the old saw"show me instead of telling me" can sometimes be applied, butNolan has a lot of ground to cover and overall does so quite well. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

So Much Wasted Space
My biggest complaint about The Notebooks of Raymond Chandler is that it is just that, Raymond Chandler's musings and clippings that were found in his notebooks. Some of the pieces are interesting,but far to few are actually written by Chandler. Even some that are serve absolutely no purpose i.e. "A note on typewritter ribbon dating" and "the rules to craps" While still others have been printed countless times in other volumes "Notes (very brief please) on English and American Style" and "Twelve notes on the Mystery Story" Instead of these and the writings of other authors I would have rather had a book of the lost writings of Raymond Chandler. Such entries would include "Prefessor Bingo's Snuff" "The Bronze Door" "Oscar Night in Hollywood" "Backfire" "Ten Percent of your Life" Poetry and essays from Chandler during his days at the Gazette. Some of these thnigs have been published but every book or magazine has been long since out of print. It seems this one has as well. I have searched high and low for many of these things including this book itself. (I have found most of them, this particular book was bought on Ebay) Some highlights from this book include "A Qualified Farewell" and of course "English Summer" ... Read more

Product Description
In the first of a series, three famed private-eye authors, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Erle Stanley Gardner, team up as the Black Mask Boys to solve a 1930s Hollywood murder, with Hammett acting as the story's narrator. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

good fun
Fact: Mystery novel featuring writers Dashiell Hammett, Ray Chandler and Earl Stanley Gardner as amateur detectives trying to assist an old friend. Short fast paced, kind of basic mystery novel. First in a series of three.


Opinion: A good idea is one you that makes you comment "why didn't someone do this earlier?" Thats how I feel about this book (also Gores awesome Hammett novel). This novel is alot of fun, but that's what it is. If you want realism try Gores or the actual Hammett biography Shadowman. This book is a fun romp and isn't that what books should be?

The Danger of Sudden Riches
This 1994 novel is set in Southern California in the 1930s. It blends historical facts about real people with fictional characters for a mystery thriller. Copyright law prevents the use of a "Sam Spade", "Perry Mason", or "Philip Marlowe" but there is no restriction on using their authors. [Isn't that funny?] You will best appreciate this story if you've read those authors. This novel does not copy the styles of those authors, or reflect the life and speech of the 1930s novels. I've read that William F. Nolan wrote many of the scripts to the late, great "Twilight Zone" TV series in the late 1950s and early 1960s. One example where topics could be described as fiction rather than get bogged down in facts.

Chapter 1 introduces us to Hammett and his career. Sylvia Vane tells him about her gambling losses, and wonders if the roulette wheel is rigged. [Would a gambler ever give a sucker an even break?] She asks Dash to check it out, and makes an offer he can't refuse. This gambling ship sails past the 3-mile limit where state laws do not apply (Chapter 2). There is the usual electric atmosphere of a gambling casino to attract people who want to lose their money [the psychology of gambling]. Dash sees how the brake on the roulette wheel is used, but is caught and tossed off the ship! [Sam Spade wouldn't have been caught.] Next Sylvia Vane is stabbed to death in her lavish home (Chapter 4). A new development brings Hammett to New York to solve the kidnapping of Clare (Sylvia's daughter). Hammett will carry the jeweled skull to pay off the kidnapper. [Why not secure shipping?]

Chapter 6 tells how Hammett, Chandler, and Gardner try to rescue Clare from where they think she is being held. There is an explosion on the ship, but they cannot save Clare. [In Chapter 8 Nolan questions A.C. Doyle's character Professor Moriarty. Gerald Sparrow's "Vintage Victorian Murder" tells of Sayers the barrister who ran London crime for twenty years. Don't criticize what you don't understand.] Hammett and Gardner follow a lead to San Francisco but it doesn't pan out. Nolan shows his writing skills (Chapter 11). Chapter 13 describes a live radio show from the 1930s. Nolan also shows his knowledge of writers here. An "executive producer" is the guy who puts up the money for a film (Chapter 13). No mention here of Wall Street money.

They follow a lead to a curio shop, but the owner will tell no tales (Chapter16). Hammett fails to pass in disguise (Chapter 17). A chance acquaintance of Hammett tells him what she learned (Chapter 18). [The scenes in Chapter 19 seem like a caricature.] There is one big surprise! You can decide if the ending is believable (Chapter 20). [The quote "it was easy" sounds like from Mickey Spillane.] The "Cat's Eye" is certainly the stuff dreams are made from. [Was Hammett himself following a false idol?] This is an interesting novel. Few have blended fact with fiction and the results are not that great (the deus ex machina ending).
... Read more