Widows by Lynda La Plante

(pb; 1983)

From the back cover

“When a security van heist goes disastrously wrong, three armed robbers are burnt to death─and three women are left widows.

“Then gang boss Harry Rawlins’s wife, Dolly, discovers his bank deposit box. It contains a gun, money─and detailed plans for the failed hijack.

“Dolly has three options: she could hand over Harry’s ledgers to Detective Inspector Resnick; she could pass them to the thugs who want to take over Harry’s turf; or she and the other widows could finish the job their husbands started.

“As they rehearse the raid until it’s pitch perfect, the women realize that Harry’s plan required four people, not three. But only three bodies were discovered in the carnage of the original hijack. So who was the fourth man and where is he now?”

Review

Widows is a good heist story with effective twists, solid characters and pacing and an ending that suggests a possible sequel (but does not necessitate one). It is worth borrowing from the library, owning if purchased for a few dollars.

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It has been filmed three times.

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The first filmic version is a British television/ITV six-episode miniseries that aired in 1983. Ian Toynton directed it, from a screenplay by source-book author Lynda La Plante.

Ann Mitchell played Dolly Rawlins. Maurice O’Connell played Harry Rawlins. Maureen O’Farrell played Linda Perelli. Fiona Hendley played Shirley Miller. Eva Mottley played Bella O’Reilly. Stanley Meadows played Eddie Rawlins.

Michael John Paliotti played Joe Perelli. Terry Stuart played Terry Miller. John Rowe played Brian Miller.

David Calder played D.I. George Resnick. Carol Gillies played Alice. Paul Jesson played D.S. Alec Fuller. Peter Machin played D.C. Robin Andrews.

Jeffrey Chiswick played Arnie Fisher. George Costigan played Charlie. James Lister played Carlos Moreno. 

Eddie Meadows played Eddie Rawlins. Catherine Neilson played Trudie Nunn. Thelma Whiteley played Kathleen Resnick. Judith Fellows played Mother Superior.

Its follow-up miniseries, Widows 2, aired in 1985. A second follow-up, She’s Out, aired in 1995. These sequel “series”─as they’re called in England─cover material not shown in the first book.

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An American remake-miniseries aired in 2002. Geoffrey Sax directed it, from a screenplay by Lynda La Plante. The plot in this version is notably different than its British counterpart.

Mercedes Ruehl played Dolly Rawlins. Brooke Shields played Shirley Heller. Rosie Perez played Linda Perelli. N’Bushe Wright played Bella.

Nigel Bennett played Harry Rawlins. Roman Podhora played Joe Perelli. Neil Crone played Eddie.

Jay O’Sanders played Detective John Maynard. Aidan Devine played Mike Resnick. Jayne Eastwood played Audrey. Colm Feore played Stein.

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The American theatrical film version is scheduled to be released stateside on November 16, 2018. Steve McQueen directed and co-scripted the film. Gillian Flynn was the other co-screenwriter.

Viola Davis played Veronica Rawlins [cinematic stand-in for Dolly Rawlins]. Michelle Rodriguez played Linda. Elizabeth Debicki played Alice. Cynthia Erivo played Belle.

Liam Neeson played Harry Rawlings. Jon Bernthal played Florek. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo played Carlos. Coburn Goss played Jimmy Nunn.

Robert Duvall played Tom Mulligan. Colin Farrell played John Mulligan. Lukas Haas played David. Kevin J. O’Connor played Bobby Welsh.

Jacki Weaver played Agnieska. Carrie Coon played Amanda. Ann Mitchell, who played Dolly Rawlins in the British miniseries versions, played “Amanda’s mother”.

The Burnt Orange Heresy by Charles Willeford

(hb; 1971)

From the inside flap:

"When Jacques Debierue, the world's most renown painter, secretly emigrates from the French Riviera to the Florida Gold Coast under the name of Eugene V. Debs, it inspires one of the most ingenious dramas and provokes the most intriguing crime of passion ever conceived in the world of art.

"One of the truly influential artists of all time, Debierue has kept his work from the public, allowing few critics ever to set eyes on his paintings. Why? What has made him single-mindedly shun recognition and refuse to open his collection and share the magnificence of his creative endeavor?

"This is the mystery that James Figueras tries to solve. Figueras is an art critic -- a rhetorical magician in the domain of aesthetics, a manipulator of taste, and an arbiter of judgment. Into his exemplary life arrives the ultimate professional opportunity: a chance to interview the subject of his own lifetime research, the mysterious painter Jacques Debierue. Joseph Cassidy, wealthy, powerful lawyer and art collector, has arranged the meeting, and in true Faustian fashion, Figueras is forced to tarnish his pristine critical soul in exchange -- to commit a crime. . ."


Review:

Burnt is a fun (in a could-get-sleazy, fast-talking way), humorous and ultimately good-hearted story, told from the point of view of James Figueras, whose belief that the ends justify the means dictates his actions and (by extension) their consequences. The same character-quirkish feel that so often colors Willeford's other neo-pulp works is evident here, as well as his deft use of character-based nuance -- even when events turn dark and (briefly) nasty.

This is an excellent read, worth owning.

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The resulting film was released stateside on March 6, 2020. Giuseppe Capotondi directed the film, from a screenplay by Scott B. Smith.

Elizabeth Debicki played Berenice Hollis. Claes Bang played James Figueras. Donald Sutherland played Jerome Debney. Mick Jagger played Joseph Cassidy. Rosalind Halstead played Evelina Macri. Alessandro Fabrizi played Rodolfo.