Classic Mysteries

R. I. P. Nero Wolfe

Actor Maury Chaykin, who played Nero Wolfe in the excellent A&E Television series of Nero Wolfe stories, died yesterday on his 61st birthday. The American-born actor lived much of his life in Canada, and he died in Toronto.

The Washington Post has the Associated Press obituary. Also, Examiner.com has a very good appreciation of Chaykin's life and work, written by Christopher Garcia.

Hat tip: The Rap Sheet blog.

Of Dinner, Discussion and a Doxy

The Wolfe Pack, the organization of Nero Wolfe readers and fans, holds bi-monthly meetings at a pub in New York City's midtown area, where members gather for dinner and coversation about various Wolfean topics. Last night, the group met to discuss one of my favorite books, "Death of a Doxy." In the book, one of Wolfe's regular assistant detectives, Orrie Cather, is arrested by police for the murder of a woman - the titular "Doxy" - whose bills are being paid (to put it politely) by a business tycoon. Said tycoon is terrified that his relationship with the woman will be revealed, and he is less concerned with seeing Wolfe find a way to clear Orrie and find the real murderer than he is with getting Wolfe to guarantee that the tycoon's name is never made public.

I am fond of it not so much because of the mystery - halfway through the book, it's clear who committed the murder - but because of a marvelous character named Julie Jaquette. She is one of the most memorable characters in any Nero Wolfe story. She's a cabaret singer, and Wolfe makes her the centerpiece of his strategem which ultimately succeeds in exposing the real killer while keeping the tycoon's name out of the case completely. Julie Jaquette not only manages to be one of the VERY few women in the entire Wolfean library to call Wolfe by his first name and get away with it, she is also treated to a personalized tour of the orchids by Wolfe himself. And he pays her what may be the most amazing tribute in any of the books: "I have the impression that your opinion of our fellow beings and their qualities is somewhat similar to mine." And he stands to say goodbye when she leaves - something he almost never does for anyone, man or woman.

At the Wolfe Pack gathering, our discussion centered around a video of "Death of a Doxy," which is contained in Nero Wolfe - The Complete Classic Whodunit Series, a compilation of some of the excellent teleplays created for the A&E Network based on  Stout's books. Timothy Hutton plays Archie and Maury Chaykin is Wolfe, and the supporting cast is outstanding. Special marks go to actress Kari Matchett, who played Julie Jacquette. As Wolfe would say, satisfactory.  Most of us were amazed at how faithfully "Death of a Doxy" was translated to the screen, with most of the dialogue and much of Archie's narration taken word-for-word from the book. I hadn't seen the A&E shows when they first ran, a decade ago. I'll have to see more of them.

This was my first visit to a Wolfe Pack gathering. I'll be back.

Birthday for a "Psycho"

Happy 50th Birthday tomorrow to one of the best, and most frightening, classic mystery movies ever made. On June 16, 1960, Alfred Hitchcock's brilliant thriller "Psycho" was released to the public.

"Psycho" broke all kinds of rules. One of the most noteworthy: a key star was murdered - very much onscreen - early in the movie. "Psycho" turned the act of taking a shower into a nightmare for millions of us. And the shocking ending of the movie still ranks as one of the most horrifying scenes ever.

Those were the days, of course, when directors knew how to make effective horror films without needing buckets of blood and guts. "Psycho" was made in black and white. No 3D effects. Very little real on-screen violence. Just good acting and, of course, Hitchcock's incredible direction. Even in the classic horror scenes, you never saw what you might have thought you had seen. It was the direction, the editing, the acting (not to mention Bernard Herrmann's music) that made the movie work and scared the stuffing out of you.

ABCNEWS.com has a fine article about the movie and its birthday. It reminds us that the audience HAD to be seated in the theater by the beginning of the movie - latecomers would not be allowed in. Those of us who had seen it knew there was a good reason for that. If you have never seen it - go ahead. Scare yourself. But take your shower before you watch it.

Hat tip: Buck Wolf and AOL Weird News

Looking Back: "The Frightened Stiff"

In my podcast review of "If the Shroud Fits" this week, I mentioned the fact that the Kelley Roos novel sounds as if it was the dialogue from a screwball comedy movie.

That really shouldn't come as a surprise, as another Roos mystery, "The Frightened Stiff," published in 1942, actually was made into a popular and successful movie, called "A Night to Remember." It starred Brian Aherne and Loretta Young as Jeff and Haila Troy - Haila was renamed "Nancy" for the movie. I checked Amazon, and the movie is still available as part of a collection of classic screwball comedies called "Icons of Screwball Comedy, Vol. 2 (Theodora Goes Wild / Together Again / A Night to Remember / The Doctor Takes a Wife)." Read it, watch it - or both, it's an enjoyable way to spend an evening.

The book answers the rather awkward social question: what do you say when the police knock on your Grfeenwich Village apartment door in the morning to ask about that naked dead man in your garden. It's a situation made doubly embarrassing when it becomes apparent that the man had been drowned in your bathtub. And it goes on from there.

(And, again for disclosure, if you buy something from Amazon through my links, I get a small commission, which is much appreciated..."

Donald Westlake

Well this is a lousy piece of news to hit us at the beginning of a new year: mystery author Donald Westlake died last night. Westlake wrote more than a hundred books, and five screenplays as well, and he won three Edgars and a variety of other honors, including a Grand Master award from the Mystery Writers of America. He'll be missed. The New York Times has a good obit.

Here Comes Harry

Classic Mystery? Perhaps not. But here comes Harry VI:

Not classic? Not a mystery? I'd argue that the seven-volume series is, indeed, a very large but classic mystery (obviously with very strong supernatural and fantasy elements) - it is quite largely a whodunit with plenty of legitimate clues scattered throughout the seven volumes, along with a myriad of very red herrings. It is about Harry's search for the truth. In that sense, it follows the pattern of Classic Mysteries.

Besides, it's MY blog. So enjoy...   ;-)