In 1929, Agatha Christie, arguably one of the most famous mystery writers of the 20th century, almost got herself kicked out of the Detection Club for violating the rules of “fair play” with the reader. In the Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Christie was the first to employ an “unreliable narrator” in a detective novel*.
Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Pocket #5
In case you were stoned in English class, an unreliable narrator is a liar. The narrator/liar can be a poetic pedophile, designer label obsessed killing machine, or a musician consumed by professional jealousy.
Ho-hum. Today this is all so pervasive and expected. Books and movies have been using this device now for decades. Heck even autobiographies are penned by unreliable narrators. Cable Newscasters/commentators — but of course! Doesn’t it add to the mystery of life? Doesn’t it makes detectives of all of us?
But in 1929, scandal. How could Miss Christie lead her public astray! How could she not write the truth in fiction. The irony of it all. It is now considered her masterpiece.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd also featured her soon to be world famous detective, Hercule Poirot.
The cover art is wickedly apropos.
-ITEM IS SOLD-
Iron Man, Original Half Sheet, 1951
If You Care…
Way before Robert Downey Jr. was born, and even thought of donning metal armor and downing massive quantities of pharmaceuticals with no apparent ill affect, there was another Iron Man in town.
In 1951, Universal decided to remake noir great W. R. Burnett’s novel, Iron Man. It had already been made as a Jean Harlow vehicle in 1931. But the boxing story didn’t feature blondes and boobs, so rewrites were necessary. In the end Harlow plays a scheming harlot with a skimpy pre-code wardrobe –what a switch! What a box office success!
Don't Bother To Knock, Original Vintage Half Sheet
If you Google “Marilyn Monroe, Don’t Bother To Knock“, you will get 49,300 responses. I won’t waste your time.
But….as an ex ad-bitch I can’t resist pointing out the obviously misleading marketing ploy with regard to the poster:
Crazy Marilyn
Sell Sexy Marilyn
Marilyn never wore the cherry red sparkly bustier in the movie. In fact, Marilyn went out and purchased a cheap shift off the rack for her character. Also, Marilyn strikes an exaggerated come hither pose while Widmark leers doorside. Is Marilyn a wanton Las Vegas showgirl? No! Throughout most of the movie, Marilyn actually looks looks like she’s having a nervous breakdown. Oh Wait! She is having one. Duh. Well that won’t sell.
I Love Trouble, 1947 Original Half Sheet
Franchot Tone should have had “I Love Trouble” tattooed across his you-know-what. Was his love interest married? No problem. Other boyfriends? Game on. Jail bait? Gang Moll? Alcoholic? Smitten.
Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone was born in 1905 to a multi-millionaire New York industrialist and his society wife. A spectacular career start with Lee Strasberg’s ground-breaking Group Theatre in New York coincided with “girl trouble”– an unmarried pregnancy and an “inappropriate engagement”. After an accolade filled year in the footlights, Tone hightailed it out of NYC on the wings of an MGM contract in 1932.
Round 1 – The Movie Star
In Hollywood, Tone was a Fred Astaire movie come to life. Good looking, cultured millionaires’ sons didn’t grow on trees in the Great Depression. The dashing singleton had his pick of the ladies. But Tone set his sights on Mrs. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. –Joan Crawford. The fact that Crawford was not yet divorced, and in a torrid affair with Clark Gable did little to dissuade his pursuit.
Laura, Book Club Edition
Ad Gal, Fortune Teller, Scriptwriter, Producer, Hit Novelist, Commie sympathizer Vera Caspary lived one hell of a roller coaster life — on her own terms.
Caspary was a natural storyteller and was driven to write, write, write!. At 17 Caspary dropped out of school and was soon writing ad copy and editing magazines. She even “created” mail order correspondence courses, such as the Sergei Marinoff School of Classic Dancing –and other topics she knew zilch about.
In the mid-1920′s she moved to Greenwich Village, quit her job, and began writing a “meaningful” novel. The White Girl in 1929 was about a southern black girl who moves north and passes as white (another expert topic for a nice Jewish girl from NYC). After this surprising hit, a stint editing an entertainment guide provided Caspary with an entree to the theater world and celebrities. Dazzled, Caspary set her sights on plays and short stories that could be sold to Hollywood.
