RARA-AVIS: The Gist of the List, and Spade is Outted!

Kevin Smith (kvnsmith@total.net)
Sat, 22 Nov 1997 16:44:20 -0400 >Let us remember this list is for the discussion of hardboiled fiction,
>> and things that relate to it (including adaptations to film and radio
>> and TV). What Tom Clancy thinks of anyone - or how Jim Belushi's TV
>> show is doing - is not germane.

Sorry, Bill, I didn't mean to open a can of worms. I just wanted to know
peoples' ideas of the bad casting of certain HB fiction. How Tom Clancy got
in there is beyond me. Or Malcolm X or The Bridges of Madison County (a
real noir classic, fer shur).

It seems to me, though, that discussion of Total Security belongs on the
list. It (could have) fulfilled much of the definition of hardboiled
fiction. It coulda been a contender, and despite his billing, Belushi was
very much comic relief, and not, in my opinion, germane to the real
potential of the show. The brooding, solitary head of the agency, trying to
keep to the straight and narrow, while trying to come to grips with his own
past, was, to me, the real deal. Okay, the show wasn't great. It coulda
been. It got too cute at the end. Not all hardboiled fiction originated in
printed form.

Of course, others may feel this list should only focus on the printed word.
Exclusively. But if you're really going to restrict the list to only the
printed word, and not other media such as radio, film, music, television,
etc., be prepared for a drier, less lively list. The recent discussion of
jazz certainly didn't blind me to the purpose of this list. I found it
interesting and often provacative, as this list often is. For these
purists, would fiction include short stories and comic books?

A reading list is a great idea, but, like most folks, I reckon, we rather
enjoy reading things at our own pace. Lists like these open our eyes to new
books and stories, and allow us to discuss old favorites with friends. But,
much as I loved The Maltese Falcon, The Drowning Pool, etc., I've reread
them several times, and I find it hard to justify re-reading them right
now, especially with a huge TBR pile just lurking there, threatening to
topple over. So, you wanna talk about The Maltese Falcon, go ahead and
talk. Here's a topic that came up in a mystery fiction course a few years
back. Were Spade and Archer lovers? Is that why Brigid gets sent over? Or
is a gunsel sometimes just a gunsel? Discuss this among yourselves...

Kevin Smith
Web Guy for The Thrilling Detective Web Site
For info, mailto:kvnsmith@total.net

"You wanna talk to me, go ahead and talk"
Bob Dylan, via Sam Spade

#
# To unsubscribe, say "unsubscribe rara-avis" to majordomo@icomm.ca.
# The web pages for the list are at http://www.vex.net/~buff/rara-avis/.