Tuesday, June 09, 2020

The Butterfly by James M. Cain

(pb; 1946)

From the back cover

“In this story of incest and mistaken identity set in the coal-mining hills of Appalachia, a man estranged from his family for many years finds himself fatally attracted to his daughter when he meets her for the first time as a grown woman.”


Review

Butterfly is a tautly penned, immediately gripping work, with its characters’ emotions and actions starkly stated, its pace and descriptions masterful and its taboo theme effectively flavored with mystery and story-altering twists. Those who might shy away─like I did─from reading this because of possible incest ickiness should consider letting go of their reservations, because Cain tastefully keeps Butterfly within acceptable thriller/mainstream guidelines, while flirting with familial perversion. This is one of the few books I have read where the word perfect is applicable, given its balance of elements and no-words-wasted delivery.

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The resulting film, Butterfly, was released stateside on February 5, 1982. Director Matt Cimber co-authored its screenplay with John F. Goff (billed as John Goff).

Stacy Keach played Jess Tyler. Pia Zadora played Kady. Lois Nettleton played Belle Morgan. James Franciscus played Moke Blue. Anne Dane played Janey.

Edward Albert played Wash Gillespie. June Lockhart played Mrs. Gillespie. Ed McMahon played Mr. Gillespie. George “Buck” Flowers (billed as Buck Flowers) played Ed Lamey. 

Stuart Whitman played Rev. Rivers. Orson Welles played Judge Rauch. Paul Hampton played Norton.



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