Part 3 - My top five films of the forties that have influenced my style of writing

In this series of blogs I reveal five films that have influenced me and my style of writing.  There are so many great films to choose from that I have selected five from the 1940s.  My first was The Big Sleep, written by Raymond Chandler, with the film starring the wonderful Humphrey Bogart and lovely Lauren Bacall.  The second was another classic Raymond Chandler crime novel, Farewell my Lovely (Murder My Sweet in the USA) and this time the film featuring a different Marlowe but an equally great actor who gives a perfect performance,  Dick Powell.

Here is my third film with yes, you've guessed it another private eye but this time not based on a Chandler novel.

Dark Corner (1946)

This great film noir contains one of my favourite lines, ‘I’m backed up in a dark corner and I don’t know who’s hitting me’ uttered by Brad Galt, who plays Mark Stevens, private eye and one time prison inmate framed for murder and now trying to start afresh with a new agency in another part of America.

My crime novel In For the Kill features a similar theme but instead of the private eye a one time successful businessman framed for fraud and embezzlement newly released from prison, set on revenge determined to track down the man who framed him.

But to get back to Dark Corner.  What I particularly like about this film noir, apart from the great script and wise cracking dialogue, is the character portrayed by Lucille Ball.  OK, so boss falling for secretary, the role she plays, and vice versa is a bit predictable but in this film it is the secretary who emerges the stronger character and has more staying power than her boss. It also shows how talented an actress Lucille Ball was. Directed by Henry Hathaway it also stars the talented Clifton Webb and brilliant William Bendix with that gravelly voice which I could listen to for ages.

A fast-paced film with great acting. Highly enjoyable.


In For The Kill a crime novel by Pauline Rowson


"I was hooked from the first page. Rowson's thrillers are a contemporary take on the classic page-turner. She weaves terrific plots around memorable characters. Her writing is as sharp as a punch in the ribs. Attention-grabbing. Compulsive. Next one please!" Editor - Hampshire Life Magazine.    

"A change of direction at every turn. Keep notes on all the players. If you like Jeffery Deaver, you'll love this story. The best mystery I've ever read by a female author." Amazon 5* Review


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