I wish I had gotten to this during Goodis month, but here goes...
I think one of the main reasons I've never read much Goodis is because
of the film version of Dark Passage. It is not a good film and a large
part of the problem is the story, which relies on coincidence so
heavily as to go beyond incredible into some realm of its own. Parry
escapes from prison, then hitches a ride with a guy who happens to be
a small time blackmailer, and then he runs into Irene, who happens to
be obsessed with his case. Irene happens to be friends with Madge, the
woman whose testimony sent Parry to prison, but apparently Madge
doesn't know Irene was at Parry's trial every day and also Parry never
managed to meet Irene although they apparently ran in the same social
circles. And don't get me started on the fact that Parry gets the one
cabby in the city who happens to run a sideline businesss finding
customers for a crooked plastic surgeon and the fact that when Parry
finally confronts Madge she just happens to fall out a window.
Now, every writer of fiction uses conicidence. The key is to use it
sparingly and to make it believable, and not to keep heaping it up
until it becomes unintentionally funny. My question to the list is,
does the movie follow the book closely (i.e,, is the book as
ridiculous as the film), and, if so, why is Dark Passage Goodis' best
known work? My exposure to him is limited, but surely there are Goodis
stories that are a tad less silly. The Wounded and The Slain, which
Hard Case reprinted, didn't have any outlandish plotting, and it was
more or less forgotten until recently.
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