Hardboiled Hollywood: The Origins of the Great Crime Films - Hardcover

"When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand" was Raymond Chandler's advice to pulp-fiction writers. Chandler's witticism is central to the main theme of this freewheeling work of film criticism and social history. Decharne shows how the guys with guns have jump-started the Hollywood money machine from The Great Train Robbery on, despite screams of protest from pressure groups like the Hays Office and the Legion of Decency. Thirteen chapters focus on classic individual crime films, ranging from Little Caesar to L.A. Confidential. Each chapter analyzes the ways movies translated the news (Chicago gangsters, the Mafia, serial killers) into hardboiled dramas and gives fascinating details about filming and the struggles over censorship. With reprints of lurid pulp-novel covers and movie posters and a bibliography including books, articles, and the commentary from Get Carter and L.A. Confidential. Vastly entertaining and informative. Connie Fletcher
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“Vastly entertaining and informative.” -- Booklist