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.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: The Petrified Forest Starring Humphrey Bogart

This 1936 film starring Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, and Humphrey Bogart was based on a play in which Bogart starred. Bogart's portrayal of the gangster Duke Mantee, who was based on John Dillinger, is fun to watch and, for me, the high point of the movie. It is shot like a play with most of the action taking place inside the roadside diner in northern Arizona near the "petrified forest." Bette Davis does all right as the diner owner's starry-eyed daughter who falls in love with Leslie Howard, a vagabond who drops by for a meal. The dialogue is interesting, especially between Bogart and Howard. This movie was Bogart's breakout role which is the main reason I've always wanted to see The Petrified Forest. We can be very glad Howard insisted that Bogart got the role. IMDb.com gives it 7.7/10.0, and I'd agree with that score.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: Beat the Devil Starring Humphrey Bogart

This 1953 film is an entertaining hodge-podge starring Bogie with Robert Morley, Peter Lorre, Jennifer Jones, and Gina Lollobrigida. John Huston directed and wrote the script with some help from Truman Capote. For the most part, I enjoyed watching Beat the Devil. Bogie delivers some snarky and hardboiled lines of dialogue. Everything is played with tongue-in-cheek, so I suppose it's a parody of a sort. The plot is pretty loose, and everybody seemed to be having a good time making the film. Bogie made it through his Santana Productions. I read where he didn't particularly like it, probably because he lost money on the venture. Maybe that's why it is in the public domain now. Peter Lorre as Julius O'Hara, one of the four crooks Bogie is in league with, is funny. IMDb.com rates Best the Devil as 6.6. I don't think I'd watch Beat the Devil again, but it was fun to see Bogie in another movie, and his fans shouldn't be disappointed.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: The Face Behind the Mask (Recommended)

Every once in a blue moon, I happen across a forgotten gem of a film noir. It happens so rarely that it is all the sweeter when it does occur. Such is the case with The Face Behind the Mask which I'd never heard of until I watched it. I'll give it to you straight: it's easily the best film noir I've watched so far this year. Maybe it even falls in the Top Twenty of All Time, if I had to compile such a ranking.

In a rare film noir (or at least in the ones that I've ever viewed), Peter Lorre plays the lead. The plot is straightforward enough. Janos Szaby (Peter Lorre) arrives in New York City as an eager, optimistic Hungarian immigrant with watchmaking skills. His face is then disfigured in a hotel fire, and he turns bitter.

Lorre does an amazing job of changing his character's profile. He turns ruthless and takes to a life of crime, robbing banks and making jewelry heists. He pays a plastic surgeon to create him a strange rubber mask to hide his burn-scarred face. Lorre must have had a good make-up man because he looks odd wearing his mask.

Later, he bumps into Helen Williams (Evelyn Keyes) who is a blind bead-stringer. Since she can't see his face, they fall in love. Happy once again, Janos decides to quit his old gang, but they have other ideas despite his plans to marry Helen. I immensely enjoyed watching the versatile and talented Lorre until the film's memorable ending that is a slice of pure noir. I wish Lorre made other first-rate movies like The Face Behind the Mask. But then my watching this one wouldn't have been as nearly as much fun. My only regret is I can't see it for the first time again. Recommended.

My New Isabel and Alma Trumbo Cozy Mystery THE LADYBUG SONG Is Out

Back in the years before the economy tanked, I used to write and sell my stories to the Dorchester Media ladies confessional magazines (TRUE STORY). About the same time, I wrote a cozy mystery series featuring a pair of senior sleuth sisters, Isabel and Alma Trumbo. The first title [book:Quiet Anchorage|10530870] (2011) sold well enough for me to write and publish a second title, [book:The Cashmere Shroud|18101016] (2013). Now THE LADYBUG SONG is out as a Kindle release. I've enjoyed spending time with Isabel and Alma who are based, in part, on my two grand aunts who are no longer with us. I don't know if either of them was an amateur sleuth, but Isabel had a subscription to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. She passed on her old copies  to me for my reading enjoyment. I can remember my reading EQMM during my summer vacations from school. The added bonus for me is the small town setting of Quiet Anchorage, Virginia, where the Trumbo sisters live and sleuth. Please consider adding THE LADYBUG SONG to your summer reading list.

Book Description:
Phyllis Garner refuses to believe her best friend Ladybug Miles’ death is an accidental drowning in the local Coronet River. Phyllis thinks it was murder and asks her friends Isabel and Alma Trumbo to do their talented snooping in small town Quiet Anchorage to root out the truth of what happened and bring the guilty killer to justice. Isabel and Alma call on their own assistants, including twentysomething Sammi Jo and The Three Musketeers (Ossie, Blue, and Willie) to help with the investigation. For the dog lovers, Isabel and Alma’s pooch Petey Samson plays an instrumental role in solving the murder mystery. This third title in the popular Isabel and Alma Trumbo Cozy Mystery Series delivers the usual quaint small town setting, gentle humor, and good-hearted but dogged amateur lady sleuths.

Click here to go to Kindle page for The Ladybug Song. 

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: "The Dead Duck Caper" (Sam Spade Radio Show)

I listened to an old radio show, "THE ADVENTURES OF SAM SPADE, DETECTIVE," starring Howard Duff pictured here. This episode, "The Dead Duck Caper," originally ran on CBS (Wildroot Cream Oil was the sponsor) on February 2, 1947. This version was from a vinyl record made by the Armed Forces Radio Services which includes the scratchy background. The baritone Duff sounds like a real-life Spade. The bad guy had a quacky voice like a duck's. I had a little trouble following the plotline perhaps because the recording was so bad. The snappy dialogue and corny narrative were funny. I guess it was closer to being a radio comedy than suspenseful adventure. I recently read a bio. of Hammett, and he wrote a lot of radio scripts, but I don't know if he wrote this particular episode or not. If I run across any other recorded episodes, I might give them a listen like while I am working out.

Current Movie Review: Million Dollar Arm (from Disney)

I don't know when I last watched a Disney movie at the cinema, but I did see Million Dollar Arm with good results. Sports agent J.B. Bernstein plucks a pair of Indian pitching prospects, Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, from a reality show competition held in India. Of course, cricket is the most popular sport in India, but J.B. sees a gold mine if he can tap into the billion (that's spelled with a b) people (i.e., customers) living there to start loving baseball by following the careers of his two prize Indian prospects. The only trouble is playing cricket doesn't translate well to playing baseball. J.B. has all sorts of problems when he gets back to the States. Million Dollar Arm is an entertaining, pleasant underdog sports movie that reminded me a little of Jerry Maguire. Alan Arkin, always fun to watch, plays a sports scout. The romance between J.B. and his tenant Brenda, a medical doctor, is a nice subplot. Since this is a Disney picture, there's little or no swearing, violence, sex, etc. I'm a baseball fan, so I was hooked right from the start. You might also find Million Dollar Arm a fun movie to go see.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: The Great Flamarion Starring Dan Duryea

This offbeat but very entertaining 1945 film noir stars the Austrian actor and silent film director Erich von Stroheim as The Great Flamarion. Stroheim later appeared in a memorable role in the classic film Sunset Boulevard (nominated for Academy Award). Here he is cast as a marksman with a set of fancy pistols in a popular vaudeville act. The married couple Mary Beth Hughes and Dan Duryea also appear in the act where Duryea's main stunt is to avoid getting shot while he's dancing in front of the mirrors. It's all a matter of timing, but Duryea is also a lush, so his timing is sometimes a bit off. Hughes is a fabulous femme fatale who colludes with Flamarion to pull off Duryea's "accidental death" during a show. The reliable Anthony Mann directed this movie. Hughes reminds me of Jane Greer and even resembles her a little. I just saw Hughes in The Lady Confesses, and this is a better film. IMDb.com gives The Great Flamarion a 6.7 rating which sounds about right to me.

Current Film Review: Ida

I wanted to see Million Dollar Arm, but it was cancelled. So, I decided to watch the 2013 Polish drama film Ida directed by Paweł Pawlikowski. The English subtitles are easy to read, so that wasn't any big deal. IMDb.com rates Ida a very good 7.6, so that was good enough recommendation for me. I left the theater glad I went ahead and saw it. The movie setting is the dead of winter in 1962 (though I wonder if the late 1950s is more accurate). The title character IDA is a novice nun a week from taking her vows when the Mother Superior first sends her to see her Aunt Wanda. The horrific family secrets are exposed, and Ida gets a real world education, perhaps more than the Mother Superior had in mind. The film moves along at a deliberate pace, and the dialogue is pretty spare. I grew to like Ida, and I wanted her to get through her travails okay. Ida is a bit different, and a nice change of pace for me. You might like it, too.

Current Movie Review: "Chef" Fun stuff!

If you're a foodie and like good dishes, then Chef is a good bet for a movie-watching. Jon Favreau staffing as Chef Carl Casper decides to ditch his job at a fancy L.A. restaurant owned by Dustin Hoffman when they clash over what should go on the menu. Oliver Platt plays a smarmy food critic and blogger who skewers Chef Carl, and their loud confrontation goes viral. Luckily, he has an ex (played by Sofía Vergara who I love as Gloria on Modern Family) with a heart of gold and a solid friend in John Leguizamo playing line cook Martin. Chef Carl flies down to Miami with his ex and young son. While there, he reconnects with his roots and decides to open a sleek food truck specializing in Cuban cuisine. He is much happier and drives it back to L.A. along with his son and Martin. I got hungry from seeing all the great food being prepared. It was good to see Dustin Hoffman and Robert Downey, Jr. in their cameo roles. The film's soundtrack is Latino and snappy, adding to the fun stuff.

Current Movie Review: Locke

This 2013 indie film was written and directed by Steven Knight. The entire drama takes place within the confines of a moving car. Ivan Locke is a construction manager getting ready to pour an enormous amount of concrete for a big project. Unfortunately, he gets a call that sends him on a harrowing 90-minute drive to London. He makes and receives a series of phone calls while he is driving, and we learn what has sent him on his trip. This unusual premise works, for the most part. Tom Hardy, the harried driver, gives an intense performance of a man with a lot of pressure on him. I wasn't sure if I found Ivan to be a sympathetic character. His problems were largely of his own stupid doing. He keeps thinking and saying he can fix it or make it right. But can he? He also talks a lot to his invisible dead father in the rear seat. Evidently, they weren't close. The movie clips right along so there isn't much dragging. IMDb.com gives Locke 7.7 which I believe is a little high.

My New Private Eye Novel: AFTER THE BIG NOISE (A P.I. Frank Johnson Mystery)

This week I released my first book published in 2014. After the Big Noise is out as a Kindle. P.I. Frank Johnson and I have been together for a good while. Frank made his debut appearance as the short story “New Sheriff in Town” in the old Plots With Guns Ezine back in September 2001. After the Big Noise makes number six of his novels plus the one short story collection. Seven books is a creditable run. The late James Crumley blurbed Frank’s debut novel Pelham Fell Here. The Blue Cheer picked up a starred review in Booklist. It earned favorable reviews in the large newspapers like San Diego Union-Tribune and Halifax Herald Chronicle. He’s still going strong. So, kick back, read on, and enjoy his latest hardboiled caper.

The book description listed Amazon:

For his next hardboiled outing, P.I. Frank Johnson accepts a pair of new cases just before the 2005 year-end holidays. First, he hunts for a missing husband, and second, he looks for the truth behind a city police detective’s gunshot death in a remote alley. Frank’s hopes for a timely resolution fade when both cases take him down their twisty paths, including a side trip back to his native town of Pelham, Virginia. With his partner, the bounty hunter Gerald Peyton, getting his back, Frank chases down the clues leading them to an abandoned rocket manufacturing facility. Blue Flare Rockets is where they run into more trouble than either man has ever confronted before their long, harrowing night inside the facility’s razor wire fence is finished.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: Crime, Inc. Starring Tom Neal (Detour)

This better-than-average film noir from 1945 involves, as its title suggests, organized crime and law enforcement's determined efforts to oppose it. Tom Neal (from Detour) stars as a crime reporter/crusader and Martha Tilton as his night club singer girlfriend. She sings a few nice big band numbers along the way. Sheldon Leonard (any Big Bang Theory fans out there?) is also featured as a cop, and Leo Carrillo is a shady night club owner. I enjoyed the film mostly for watching Tom Neal's role since I liked his star turn in the cult classic Detour he made with Ann Savage. Of course, he went on to a troubled future in his personal life, including serving a prison stretch for manslaughter. But Tom Neal looks fit and happy acting in this film, and it's enjoyable enough to watch him. IMDb.com gives Crime, Inc. only a 5.6 rating which I believe is a bit too low.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: The Captive City

This 1952 crime drama directed by Robert Wise is one of several the Kefauver Committee investigation of organized crime films made with Hollywood. Dark-browed, stern Senator Estes Kefauver appears as himself at the movie's end to lecture the American citizenry on the evils of graft and bookmaking, as if they didn't already know. If you skip over that part, what is left is a pretty entertaining story. John Forsythe (yeah, the voice used in Charlie's Angels) stars as Jim Austin, the editor of a small city newspaper. Before long, he is drawn into the city's seedy underbelly and decides to take on the mob's chief thugs. Two murders and a beat up photographer played by Martin Milner (Adam 12) follow. There is a moralizing streak at work, but Forsythe's earnest performance keeps things moving along. IMDb.com rates The Captive City was a 6.7, and that seems about right to me.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)

I usually post my Tuesday's Overlooked Films on Monday, but this one is going to be a busy one, so I'm posting today. I've had a yen for some time to watch a Sherlock Holmes film if just to break up my steady diet of films noir. I've enjoyed reading the Sherlock Holmes stories since I was a kid. So, I decided on the best story I remember reading. The 1939 film adaptation with Basil Rathbone as the famous British sleuth is regarded as one of the better ones. I like the lean and dark-featured Rathbone. He seems to have a droll sense of humor, too. Nigel Bruce as the bumbling Dr. Watson I'd like to see as a little more on the ball. Rathbone and Bruce would go on to make 13 more Sherlock Holmes movies. The mean dog used in the scenes gave me a bit of a fright. I would NOT want to meet up with this Fido on a foggy, dark street or moor. It was good to see John Carradine playing the Baskervilles' butler and possible murder suspect. I enjoyed reliving the tale all these years later with this realistic film set in the right Victorian period. IMDb.com gives it a 7.7 score which is really high. But I don't quibble with it. Great stuff and superior entertainment.

My Newest Crime Novel: TOPAZ MOON

My latest crime novel Topaz Moon was first released this week as an ebook. The paperback version hit the streets a short while back. The publisher is Crossroad Press who also brought out my crime noirs Ask The Dice and Blood Diamonds, both original releases. The best way I know how to describe Topaz Moon is to call it a suburban crime noir with romance. It is similar in that way to Ask The Dice and Blood Diamonds.

Here's the book description for Topaz Moon. Criminal attorney Hondo Gunn is practicing law in the Virginia town of Emerald Shire where he falls for a younger woman, Aggie Essex, who works for an IT firm. Hondo once served as the consigliore for an organized crime outfit headed by its ruthless chieftain, Drake Hardcastle, and his equally ruthless and gorgeous daughter Maeve. They strike a deal so Hondo can leave Chicago on the condition he has to return if Maeve ever needs his legal expertise. Years later, after Drake dies under suspicious circumstances, Maeve orders Hondo back to help her run the outfit she now leads. Her message reaches Hondo in Emerald Shire, but smitten with Aggie, he balks since he understandably wishes to remain close to her. When Maeve learns of his refusal, she grows angry and decides she must personally teach her maverick lawyer to honor his commitments. Topaz Moon is a stylish, fast-paced crime novel about obsession, greed, and passion with the strong-willed Maeve and Aggie raging at the center of Hondo’s maelstrom.

I hope you'll consider putting Topaz Moon on your reading list.

Tuesday's Overlooked Films: Crime Wave Starring Sterling Hayden

This 1954 police procedural crime movie directed by André De Toth stars Sterling Hayden, Gene Nelson, Phyllis Kirk, and a young Charles Bronson (credited as Charles Buchinsky). Nelson plays an ex-con married to Kirk and gone straight when his old prison buddies, including the hood Bronson, show up on the dodge after making a prison break. The fugitives have a large bank heist plan in mind and pressure Nelson into playing the wheelman (pilot). Hayden is a wide-shouldered, square-jawed cop determined to stop the bank robbery and catch the fugitives. He gnaws on toothpicks in place of smoking cigarettes when he isn't growling out orders. I'm not a big fan of Hayden in his other movie roles I've seen, but I liked in this movie just fine. The onsite black-and-white photography of L.A. and Glendale/Burbank provides us with a nice snapshot of a past time and place. Wikipedia says many of the buildings and landmarks have been since razed, sad perhaps but not surprising. I also enjoyed seeing Bronson who does a good job playing a swarthy thug. IMDb.com rates Crime Wave as a 7.4/10 which I quibble with as being a bit on the high side. I watched Crime Wave on the DVD box set bought from Warner Brothers.