Dick asked:
>On the British noir movie topic, putting aside the
qualities of "The Singing
>Detective," I don't see how it qualifies as noir,
unless there's something
>in the plot I've forgotten. Isn't it about a private
eye novelist so much in
>pain from psoriasis (sp?) that he fantasizes a
satiric singing and dancing
>detective yarn? I don't consider myself a purist when
it comes to the
>category, but I do think there should be a crime
element lurking around
>somewhere.
Well, gee, there's so many plot elements swirling about it's
hard to tell, but isn't there that bit about a long ago rape
and some murder, and his wife possibly stealing his money and
a few other nasties? Of course, some of it's in Marlow's
head, but real or imagined, paranoid delusion or not, it
seems real to him. Think of it as interior noir. And isn't
paranoia itself one of the ingredients of much noir?
So, no, it's not exactly noir-noir, in that B-film cigarette
smoke and rainy streets way, though it certainly makes use of
many of its traditions, but I'd say anyone beyond the purest
purist who's interested in noir, hard-boiled or detective
fiction, or the creation of it, might get a big kick out of
it.
Kevin Burton Smith The Thrilling Detective Web Site http://www.colba.net/~kvnsmith/thrillingdetective/
New fiction from Anthony Neil Smith and Jochem Vandersteen, a
Reader's Survey and Talkin' 'Bout Shaft. Can you dig
it?
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