Al,
Re your responses below:
> Jim, forget about "noir" for a minute. The
key
> point is that the viewpoint
> of criminal or victim classifies the novel
as
> "crime".
I have no problem with your dividing crime fiction into
"crime" and "anti-crime," or what I'd prefer to call
"criminal protagonist" and "investigator protagonist," though
I'll use your terms for brevity. My problem is that you
describe "crime" as equivalent to "noir" and "anti-crime" as
equivalent to
"hard-boiled," neither of which descriptions I agree
with.
> Here are a few Woolrich examples:
> "The Bride Wore Black" - Her husband was killed
on
> their wedding day on the
> steps of the church. She swore vengeance on
five
> men.
Actually, I would describe THE BRIDE WORE BLACK as an
"anti-crime" novel, to use your term. Although the second
chapter of each section is told from the killer's POV (while
the first chapter is told from the potential victim's POV),
the third is always told from the cop's POV. It's a question
of interpretation, I suppose, but, to me, THE BRIDE WORE
BLACK, is a superb example of what has been called an
"inverted" detective story, one in which we see the murder
committed, then watch the detective try to solve a crime to
which we already have the solution. Other examples include R.
Austin Freeman's short story collection, THE SINGING BONE,
Roy Vickers's short story collection, THE DEPARTMENT OF DEAD
ENDS, and the TV series, COLUMBO.
Woolrich's masterful twist here is that, during the first
four parts, we're looking at an inverted detective story,
while in the last section, he manages to turn it into a
whodunit. We know who's been doing the killing, but in the
last section, we don't know what persona she's adopted, so,
we're back to trying to figure out the killer's
identity.
> Protagonist=victim=(see definition
above)"crime"
Before you said that a "crime" novel is one with a criminal
protagonist. If the victim is the protagonist, it seems to me
that the book is inherently what you call "anti-crime."
> "Phantom Lady" - He was awaiting execution.
The
> only chance to prove his
> innocene was a woman who had disappeared from
the
> face of the earth.
> Protagonist=victim="crime"
Again, the focus in PHANTOM LADY is not on the criminal, or
even on the man falsely convicted, so much as it is on the
efforts of the falsely convicted man's secretary to find the
actual killer (whose indentity is concealed until the end,
making it a whodunit). By your own definition, PHANTOM LADY
does not have a criminal protagonist. It is about trying to
SOLVE a crime, hence, by your definition, it's
"anti-crime."
> "Waltz Into Darkness" - He knew he had married
the
> wrong woman. But he
> couldn't help loving her even after she stole
all
> his money and tried to
> kill him. Protagonist=victim="crime"
Haven't read it, so I can't comment. Anyway, I didn't day
that Woolrich NEVER wrote stories with a criminal
protagonist. He did. What I said was that he wrote noir, and
that the fact that his stories often fell into what you
define as an "anti-crime" book didn't render his stories
non-noir.
> "The Black Path Of Fear" - Scotty thought he
had
> everything he wanted - Eve,
> jewels and freedom...suddenly she was dead and
he
> was accused of her murder.
> Protagonist=victim="crime"
Again, I haven't read it, but if Scotty is innocent, and has
to find the real killer, then it seems to me that the book
fits your definition of "anti-crime."
> "The Black Angel" - She descended into the
black
> world of drugs,
> prostitution and gambling, all to prove
her
> husband's innocence.
> Protagonist=victim="crime"
Once more, she's descending into that world to INVESTIGATE a
crime, just like an undercover cop
(though she's not a cop). She's trying to solve a crime,
therefore the book fits your definition of
"anti-crime."
> Take your example above: "Murder, My Sweet", a
noir
> film based on a
> hardboiled PI story. I am confused. These
> definitions seem arbitrary. If
> I class both as "anti-crime", I am no
longer
> confused.
You seem to believe that "hard-boiled" and "noir" are
mutually exclusive concepts. They're not.
"Hard-boiled" is attitude. "Noir" is atmosphere. Some
hard-boiled is noir. Some is not. Some noir is not
hard-boiled. They're simply concepts that describe different
things. If you find those concepts aren't useful to you in
finding the books or films you most enjoy, then, by all
means, stick to "crime" and
"anti-crime."
> BTW, a bent cop/PI is a criminal and a cop/PI
who
> has suffered a bereavement
> is a victim.
Now I'M confused. I thought that if the protagonist was
trying to solve a crime (as in a PI novel or a cop novel),
then by your definition, it's "anti-crime," but if the
protagonist was trying to commit a crime, or escape the
consequences of having committed a crime
(as in Stark's Parker series) then it was "crime."
It seems to me that, if the type of character you describe as
a "victim" is trying to solve a crime, then it's
"anti-crime." The fact that what you describe as a "victim"
may have a personal stake in the crime s/he's trying to solve
(by being falsely accused of that crime, personally
victimized by the crime, in love with someone so falsely
accused or so victimized, etc.) doesn't make it less
"anti-crime" but more so.
Did I misunderstand your original definitions?
JIM DOHERTY
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