Tuesday's Overlooked Films: Cotton Comes to Harlem

Harlem detectives, Gravedigger Jones (Godfrey Cambridge) and "Coffin" Ed Johnson (Raymond St. Jacques) in this film are adapted from the novel and main characters of the same names created by crime author Chester Himes. I have read and liked Digger and Ed's short stories, but it's been a good while. So, I wanted to check out this 1970 movie for some time, and it's a lot of fun and full of action. Ossie Davis co-wrote and directed the film. Basically, the Harlem detectives go after the $87,000 a flashy preacher named Reverend Deke O'Malley (Calvin Lockhart) swindles out of his followers. The night club comedian Redd Foxx made his movie debut as did several other actors. Foxx plays a sly junk man which paved the way for his star role in the TV sitcom Sanford and Son which I have to rank as one of my all-time favorite TV sitcoms. Of course while on TV, he had to keep his act a lot cleaner. The film was shot on location in Harlem with landmarks such as the Apollo Theater where the climax occurs. Wikipedia indicates the film did well at the box office. The future action-packed black films would include Shaft (seen) and Super Fly (have not seen). Cotton Comes to Harlem was an enjoyable change of pace from my steady diet of film noir titles.

Current Movie Review: BOYHOOD

This 2014 family drama film from Richard Linklater left me with mixed feelings. Foremost, I thought it ran a little bit long (166 minutes). It stars Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater and Ethan Hawke. Linklater filmed it over 12 years as the two kids (brother and sister) grew up which I found interesting. Since we are exposed to the passing years, there's really no central plot, another quibble I had. But given the movie's premise, that's not surprising. At any rate, I liked the Ethan Hawke character (he plays the two kids's father) as well as Patricia Arquette (playing the mother). The different problems facing the two kids as they are growing up feel very familiar to me since we've all been there. The soundtrack is good with songs by Coldplay and Wilco. I'd probably like this movie a lot more if I re-watched it.

My Summer Fiction Projects Are Shaping Up Fine

I hope your summer is going well. Now that July is almost in the bag, I decided to break up my weekly blog posts reviewing the different film noir titles I enjoy watching. My latest books newsletter has been sent out, so I'm now looking toward the second half of 2014. I've been developing a second cozy mystery series idea for some time, and I'm happy with the debut title I wrote in May and June. The Piper and Bill Robins series is different than my Isabel and Alma Trumbo series. For starters, Piper and Bill live in the suburbs while Isabel and Alma are small town folks. Retirees Piper and Bill are a married couple while the seniors Isabel and Alma are sisters. The characters in both series have a crafty knack for solving murders but as amateur sleuths. I keep it clean, and the humor used is gentle and good-natured. There are multiple suspects included, and I try to stay true to the fair play rule. The series are what I like to think of as "traditional mysteries." I have enjoyed writing both series and hope my mystery readers will take to Piper and Bill as they have to Isabel and Alma. Stay tuned for further details!

Current Movie Review: LIFE ITSELF (the Roger Ebert Story)

This very fine 2014 documentary film is about the passionate, articulate, and always courageous Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times. We learn about his boyhood in a blue-collar family (his father was an electrician) and early interest with the written word. We also hear of his radiation treatments as a kid to cure an ear malady that later was thought to have caused his fatal thyroid cancer. I was pleasantly surprised by his droll and dry sense of humor. Of course, he co-hosted an internationally popular movie review TV show with his rival Gene Siskel at the higher-brow Chicago Tribune. I remember watching it a few times, but I got my movie reviews from other sources like the Washington Post, my hometown newspaper. But I always liked his down-to-earth manner. Siskel and Ebert are shown to be in friendly competition with each other but also realizing their best success was when they combined their talents on TV. Siskel's widow says she believes they loved each other like brothers. The sad part of the movie is Ebert's death last year. Even so, I found LIFE ITSELF fun to watch, and I went away with a greater appreciation of Roger Ebert's talents and spirit.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: 87th Precinct TV Series

This is the pilot episode of the 87th Precinct TV series that ran from 1961-1962 based on the Evan Hunter crime fiction series. The TV show starred  Robert Lansing, Gena Rowlands, Ron Harper, and Norman Fell. It got axed from the stiff competition of The Andy Griffith Show on a different channel in the same time slot. Rowlands does a good job of playing Detective Steve Carella's (Robert Lansing) deaf-mute wife Teddy. Robert Culp stars as the creepy serial killer who has a kinky thing for tattoos and pretty ladies, including Teddy. Norman Fell went on to play Mr. Roper on the popular sitcom Three's Company. This cop show had a good, professional cast, and I might watch some more episodes later since I'm a fan of the series Hunter (Ed McBain) wrote.

#SampleSunday: AFTER THE BIG NOISE by Ed Lynskey

After the Big Noise is my newest title in my P.I. Frank Johnson Mystery Series which began my book writing career. Here are the opening paragraphs from Chapter 1 in my blog post for today.

CHAPTER ONE

“Get a load of this, Frank.” Gerald Peyton’s pause set off his pronouncement. “She is expecting to get a wedding ring.”

“That’s understandable,” I said, unsure how he could afford a ring on what our firm cleared. Diamond rings—more sold in December than in any other month of the year—went for a cool grand per karat. Weeks ago, I’d priced them—again—for my domestic situation. “What seems to be the problem?”

“That’s a big leap for me to make.”

“I expect you’ll make it with room to spare.”

He narrowed his jasper eyes at me, wondering if I was razzing him, and I was. “The next time I’m near a pawn shop, I’ll pop in and snap up a lady’s ring,” he said.

“Fair warning. Sharona will stalk out the front door and never look back if you give her a hand-me-down ring.”

A petite, fiery young lady, she was Gerald’s significant other. His enormous physique, in sharp contrast, took after one of the earthmovers his kid brother Chet operated on his jobsites.

“Say what?” asked Gerald.

Seated behind one of the two desks, I glanced at my cell phone in front of me. It never rang when I welcomed the intrusion. We’d cut the cord on the office landline phone to save money which always seemed in short supply. I had no choice but to lay it out for him.

“She is after a commitment spelled with a capital C.”

Hands shoved into his pockets, Gerald paced the office floor as I’d last seen done inside the Sumatran tiger enclosure at the National Zoo. He went from the snake and aloe houseplants (impossible to kill, according to Dreema) kept on the sunny office windowsill to the door and back again.

“Why can’t Sharona leave well enough alone?” he asked, stopping before me.

My shoulders hunched up, and I gave him the don’t-ask-me act.

“Damn it, Frank. You’re the ace private eye who reads people all the time. Finish giving me your take on this.”

“You hooked up—when was it?—back in the middle of ’03. Now finds us at the tail end of ’05, and I get the impression she’s of the mind after that long it’s time to take your relationship to the next level.” I paused to add my emphasis. “Or else.”

A recent nervous tic, Gerald ran his fingernails over his shaved MJ coif. “‘Or else,’ you say. Those words sound ominous.” Gerald let out a rumbling sigh. “Damn it, life was a lot simpler for us in Pelham.”

“Dream on, homeboy. That’s just the small town nostalgia in you talking. We kissed that scene goodbye forever.”

“I know, I know.”

“Look, you’ve still got a little time until Christmas Day. Why don’t you give it a little more time to get acclimated to her way of thinking?”

“That’s it.” He snapped his fingers. “I’ll get acclimated to it first. Then I’ll go shop for a wedding ring, say, in a couple of days. Or maybe next week is better, depending on how busy we get.”

I didn’t tip him off that Sharona had better be the one to select her ring. However, it was the thought that counted. She could always return it for something more appealing. And expensive.

“Beautiful,” I said. “Go see a reputable jeweler and not a fly-by-night pawnshop. Used or stolen goods are a turn off. She’ll yearn to slip the spanky new diamond wedding ring on her finger and flash it around to impress her friends and family.”

“A diamond wedding ring, you say?”

I studied his face. Was he putting me on? He looked earnest. “As any guy would expect, a diamond is what she’s after,” I said. “Did you hold out hope you’d get by for anything less?”

“The God’s honest truth is I haven’t thought that far ahead.” He canted his bristly eyebrows. “You’re making plenty of sense though.”

End of #SampleSunday, opening paragraphs to After the Big Noise, a P.I. Frank Johnson Mystery Series title.

Early Reviews For THE LADYBUG SONG Are Now In...

Earlier this summer, I brought out the latest title, THE LADYBUG SONG, in my Isabel & Alma Trumbo Cozy Mystery Series. Two 5-star reviews from readers (both are "verified purchases") have been posted on Amazon, and I excerpted them below.


"I hope Ed Lynskey continues this series with a fourth book, as a Trumbo sisters cozy is a wonderful break from the hardcore mysteries I usually read. The Trumbo series of books are the perfect cozies."


"I totally enjoyed this story and find it to be the best yet of the Trumbo Sisters series. The childhood of Alma & Isabel is explored giving the characters more depth. A true cozy and highly recommended to all true cozy lovers."


I have enjoyed writing the series. The two quirky sister characters and small town setting are pretty established. I have a fourth book completed and a fifth one is well underway. The books are perfect for summertime writing.


Read and enjoy, please. Thanks!

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: Dillinger (1945)

I used to watch the popular TV sitcom Seinfeld, and one episode I remember liking was when Elaine's father came to town. He was a gruff, big man, a war veteran, who didn't like Jerry or George. Years later, I saw Lawrence Tierney had played the part. I've seen other Mr. Tierney noir films and have enjoyed them, so I decided to check out his star turn delivered in Dillinger, his first major motion picture. Dillinger from a Poverty Row studio even got an Academy Award nod (Philip Yordan for Writing Original Screenplay), so it earned some street cred. The run time is 70 minutes, and I was treated to a rousing account of Dillinger. The facts of his biography are very loosely interpreted, but this is entertainment, not a documentary. The square-jawed Tierney does a good job as the ruthless, often murderous Dillinger. The great character actor Elisha Cook, Jr. plays one of his eccentric henchman. Footage for one of the bank robberies was taken from a Fritz Lang film, but I didn't care. I just liked seeing a gritty crime drama and that's what Dillinger is. IMDb.com gives it a 6.7 rating, but that's too low for me. I'd go a solid 7.0.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: "Are There Any More Out There Like You?" (Kraft Suspense Theater, 1963)

Since the July Fourth holiday weekend is coming this week, I decided to run my blog post a little early. After watching a lot movies of late, I've grown to enjoy the work of the exceptional character actors. Dan Duryea and Elisha Cook, Jr., are but two (though I'm sure they were lead actors on occasion, such as Duryea was in The Burglar). I've always been a fan of Robert Ryan's work and try to catch whatever he starred in. This 1963 episode of Kraft Suspense Theater is such a production. I don't have a memory of Kraft Suspense Theater when it ran, but it looks like it was a winner. Anyway, four half-drunk college kids take off from a motel on a rainy Christmas Eve night and hit a pedestrian who dies. Of course, the cops want to charge the driver of the car, but the kids decide to claim their collective amnesia prevents them from remembering who was behind the wheel. One of the college kids is Ryan's spoiled rich daughter played by Katharine Ross who has a beautiful smirk. She would go on to bigger and better things. Ryan makes the 45-minute drama work as he plays the affluent and conflicted father. Things get more complicated when the seedy motel proprietor claims he saw and knows who was driving the car and wants to bribe Ryan. Ryan always makes for a convincing tortured soul without being melodramatic about it. This is an enjoyable show for other fans of the actor.