The Big Heat by William P. McGivern

(hb; 1952, 1953)

From the back cover

"MURDER WAS IN THE AIR. A COP HAD KILLED HIMSELF, AND EVERY CROOK IN TOWN KNEW THAT WOULD BE SURE TO BRING ON THE BIG HEAT. Why did they fear a dead man? Dave Bannion, homicide sergeant, fought for the answer to that question. The dead man was a police clerk who shot himself for no obvious reason. That was Bannion's first judgment, until a girl named Lucy presented a quite different picture of the dead man from the one he had shown to the world and to his fastidious, glacial wife. Bannion's chief, Lieutenant Wilks, wanted the case closed and speculation ended quickly and tightly. So did Max Stone and Lagana, who held the city in a sinister, underworld grip. But why? Why did they all fear a dead man?"

Review

Heat is an excellent, waste-no-words, tough-guy of a novel about love, morality and revenge. Its temperamental protagonist, a rogue cop named Dave Bannion, takes no guff and metes out violent punishments to the murderous bad guys whose greed and avarice guides them. There is little nuance in this work, but if you are looking for a slam-bang Fifties-style cop tale with memorable characters, this is a top-notch entry in that genre. This is one of the best bad guy-bruising books I have read in a long time, one worth owning.

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The film was released stateside in October 1953. Fritz Lang directed it, from Sydney Boehm's screenplay, which was (mostly) lifted -- scene for scene -- from McGovern's Saturday Evening Post serial (which later was brought together as a novel).

Glenn Ford played Dave Bannion. Gloria Grahame played Debby Marsh. Jocelyn Brando played Katie Bannion. Carolyn Jones played Doris.

Alexander Scourby played Mike Lagana. Lee Marvin played Vince Stone. Jeanette Nolan played Bertha Duncan. Peter Whitney played Tierney. 

Willis Bouchey played Lt. Ted Wilks. Robert Burton played Gus Burke. Adam Williams played Larry Gordon. Dorothy Green played Lucy Chapman. 

City of Shadows, by Ariana Franklin

(hb; 2006)

From the inside flap:

“...Germany in the 1920s and 1930s – a decadent, turbulent time in which a proud nation scarred by defeat, deprivation, and debauchery will become the fertile breeding ground for the rise of National Socialism.

“Berlin, 1922 – one of this troubled city’s growing number of refugees, Esther Solomonova survives by working as secretary to her fellow Russian emigre, ‘Prince’ Nick, a scheming adventurer and cabaret owner. Always on the prowl for a deal, Nick smells money when he hears of a woman in an asylum claiming to be the grand duchess, daughter of the Czar of all the Russias, who escaped the assassination of the rest of her family by the Bolsheviks. Enlisting a highly suspicious Esther, Nick plans to prepare the woman – known as Anna Anderson – to claim the Romanov fortune.

“But Anna is being hunted. Or so she claims. At first Esther believes Anna’s fear to be just in her imagination – until innocent people around them begin to die. So in a Berlin stricken by hyperinflation, Esther enlists the help of a German police officer – a dogged inspector named Schmidt – to try and find out who wants Anna dead – and why. Yet the deeper she and Schmidt dig, the more they realize that their own lives are at risk.”

Review:

Franklin’s first novel is completely thrillville: it has romance, constant suspense, duplicitous characters, a mounting body count, the rise of Naziism, believable twists, and relatable characters worth rooting for (or hissing at).

Like the better historical thrillers that see the publishing light of day, it also has real-life famous folk, who pass through its pages – met, as it were, as flesh-and-blood people. Franklin populates City of Shadows with Peter Lorre (star of M and other notable films), Hermann Göring (who became Hitler’s “minister of interior” in 1933), Fritz Lang (director of M, Metropolis, and other masterworks), and Adolf Hitler himself.

The finish disappointed me – I’m often not a big fan of semi-cliffhanger finishes – but I can see why Franklin might’ve utilized it. Other than that, City of Shadows is as entrancing and unputdownable as Mistress of the Art of Death, Franklin’s second novel (not related to City).

Paul Verhoeven: Beyond Flesh and Blood, by Jean-Marc Bouineau

(pb; 1994 & 2000: non-fiction)

From the back cover:

"Paul Verhoeven's name means controversy. His films have shocked the world of movie goers. Provocation is his moto. Sex has never been depicted so freely in movies before Turkish Delight, his second feature. RoboCop has set up new standards for the science-fiction genre. His somewhat overt cynicism has made him a fearless director eager to push the boundaries of movie-making.

"For the first time the director of The Fourth Man and Basic Instinct has been given the possibility to express his thoughts and feelings freely. He... speaks of his childhood, his intimate relationships with Rutger Hauer and Sharon Stone, violence, the media, [composer Igor] Stravinsky and much much more."

Review:

Interesting, short, glossy-paged read. The Dutch-born and -raised Verhoeven is blunt about his early films -- some of them not, by his own admission, worth revisiting (e.g., Business is Business), others transitional (e.g., Turkish Delight, Soldier of Orange and Flesh+Blood, with actor Rutger Hauer, whom Verhoeven calls "my spokesman. He passed on my feelings, my philosophy.")

In talking about some of his films made in America -- the Alfred Hitchcock/Vertigo-influenced Basic Instinct; Total Recall and RoboCop (influenced by director Fritz Lang's Metropolis); and his other skewerings of American life, Showgirls and Starship Troopers -- Verhoeven is equally blunt, and more philosophical. (It makes sense, as he's talking about a subject -- a country -- that's largely removed from his formative years.)

Verhoeven also talks about his working relationship with actors Sharon Stone (with whom he has a "love-hate relationship"), Arnold Schwarzenegger ("He is very supportive of the director... He has no ego") and screenwriter Joe Estzerhas, who scripted Basic Instinct and Showgirls.

This is a good read, not only for film-geeks or film school students, but for artists, as well. Verhoeven doesn't talk much about technology or equipment, but his approach towards showing sex (which often signals manipulation), violence and its often-attendant politics may be one worth considering as an influence.