Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting by William Goldman

(pb; 1983: nonfiction)

From the back cover

“No one knows the writer’s Hollywood more intimately than William Goldman. Two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter and the bestselling author of Marathon Man, Tinsel, Boys and Girls Together, and other novels, Goldman now takes you into Hollywood’s inner sanctums. . .on and behind the scenes for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men, and other films. . .into the plush offices of Hollywood producers. . .into the working lives of acting greats such as [Robert] Redford, [Laurence] Olivier, [Paul] Newman, and [Dustin] Hoffman. . . and into his own professional experiences and creative thought processes in the crafting of screenplays. You get a firshand look at why and how films get made and what elements makes a good screenplay.”

Review

Adventures is a fun, informative, blunt and sometimes sad/frustrating (about the Hollywood writing-filming process) book. If you are interested in the aforementioned subject matter this may be an excellent read for you, like it was for me. It never lagged, was consistently interesting─in a way that I may re-read it in the future, re-reading something I rarely do: worth owning, this.

The Moving Target by Ross MacDonald

(pb; 1949: first book in the Lew Archer series)

From the back cover

"Like many Southern California millionaires, Ralph Sampson keeps odd company. There's the sun-worshipping holy man whom Sampson once gave his very own mountain; the fading actress with sidelines in astrology and S&M. Now one of Sampson's friends may have arranged his kidnapping.

"As Lew Archer follows the clues from the canyon sanctuaries of the megarich to jazz joints where you get beaten up between sets, The Moving Target blends sex, greed, and family hatred into an explosively readable crime novel."

Review

Moving is a lean, tightly plotted and fast-moving P.I. novel with snappy dialogue, underlying sexual tension and quick-sketch, sketchy characters. It is excellent, dark and worth owning. Followed by The Drowning Pool.

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The resulting film, Harper, was released stateside on April 9, 1966. It was directed by Jack Smight, from a screenplay by William Goldman.

Paul Newman played Lew Harper, the cinematic counterpart to Lew Archer. Lauren Bacall played Mrs. Sampson. Arthur Hill played Albert Graves. Janet Leigh played Susan Harper.

Pamela Tiffin played Miranda Sampson. Robert Wagner played Allan Taggert. Julie Harris played Betty Fraley. Tom Steele played Eddie Fraley. 

Robert Webber played Dwight Troy. Shelley Winters played Fay Estabrook. Roy Jenson played Puddler. Strother Martin played Claude.

Eugene Inglesias played Felix. Richard Carlyle played Fred Platt. Harold Gould played "Sheriff".