Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (novel)

Last updated
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (Farrar & Rinehart).jpg
Cover artwork of the first American hardcover edition by Farrar & Rinehart, 1946.
Author Gerald Butler
LanguageEnglish
Genre Crime, thriller
Set in London
PublisherNicholson and Watson,
Publication date
April 1940 (1940-04)
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint
OCLC 1705179

Kiss the Blood Off My Hands is a 1940 crime thriller novel by English writer Gerald Butler. [1] It was his first novel, originally published by Nicholson and Watson in April 1940. [2] It quickly became a best-seller and the author was signed to a multi-book deal with Jarrolds Publishing. By 1945, the novel had sold over 232,000 copies in England alone (all during war-time). [3] [4] It received numerous American editions by such publishers as Farrar & Rinehart, Dell Publishing, and Carroll & Graf Publishers. [5] [6] The book was also translated into several languages, including French and Swedish. By 1960, it had sold in excess of 750,000 copies. [7]

Contents

The narrative established Butler's distinctive hardboiled style, which led to comparisons with American writer James M. Cain. [8] [9] Butler's characters were also described by book critics as amoral and tougher than those introduced by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler a decade earlier. [10] [11]

The popularity of the novel led to its screen options getting purchased by numerous film production companies, including Eagle-Lion Films, Charles K. Feldman Group Productions, Norma Productions, Harold Hecht Productions, and Universal-International Pictures. A film was successfully made starring Joan Fontaine, Burt Lancaster, and Robert Newton, and directed by Norman Foster in 1948. A radio adaptation was broadcast in 1949 on the CBS series Lux Radio Theatre .

Synopsis

Bill Saunders former prisoner of war now living in London, whose experiences have left him unstable and violent. He gets into a pub fight in which he kills the publican and then flees. He hides out with the assistance of a nurse, Jane Wharton, who believes his story that the killing was an accident. Saunders is involved in another fight—this time with a police officer. He ends up behind bars, but Wharton, who is now in love with Saunders, gets him a job driving a truck delivering drugs for her medical clinic when he's released.

Meanwhile, hoodlum Harry Carter, who witnessed the earlier bar fight, threatens to expose Saunders to the police. In return for his silence, Carter demands that Saunders cooperate with a planned robbery of his next drug delivery. When Saunders does the run, Wharton rides with him, forcing Saunders to make the delivery to avoid getting his girlfriend involved in the possibly dangerous theft. This betrayal of Carter puts the lives of Saunders and Wharton in even greater danger.

Background

Butler worked as a chemist early in his career, before becoming a writer for the advertising and public relations firm Pritchard, Wood and Partners Limited, based on Savile Row, London, eventually becoming its director. [3] [12] [13] He was 33 years old when his first novel, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, was published by Nicholson & Watson in April 1940. [2] The novel was written as a distraction while staying in air-raid shelters while the Germans bombed London during World War II. [14]

Kiss the Blood Off My Hands was accepted by the first publisher Butler contacted, Nicholson & Watson (whose building was ironically destroyed by a German bombing shortly after publication), [8] and became a best-seller, leading to a publishing contract with Jarrolds Publishing and a reprint of the book. By 1945, the novel had sold over 232,000 copies in England alone (all during war-time). [3] [4] The Digit Books re-print of Butler's sixth novel, Choice of Two Women , published in 1960, stated that Kiss the Blood Off My Hands had sold in excess of 750,000 copies. [7]

Film and radio adaptations

In early 1947, Eagle-Lion Films bought the film rights to Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, hoping to shoot it with Robert Donat in the lead. [15] After the option expired, the novel's film rights were sold in mid-1947 to actor-turned-producer Burt Lancaster and his business partner, producer Harold Hecht. The film was the first project for Lancaster's new film production company, Norma Productions (financed by Universal-International), and hit the screens in October 1948. The film starred Joan Fontaine, Burt Lancaster, and Robert Newton and was released in some markets under the titles The Unafraid or Blood on My Hands, due to fundamentalist groups.

A radio adaption was also made for the American Columbia Broadcast System program Lux Radio Theater , which was broadcast under the title The Unafraid on 21 February 1949. [16] Fontaine and Lancaster reprised their roles from the film version, while Jay Novello, who had a smaller part in the film, played Newton's role.

Publication history

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dashiell Hammett</span> American writer (1894–1961)

Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the characters he created are Sam Spade, Nick and Nora Charles, The Continental Op and the comic strip character Secret Agent X-9.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paperback</span> Book with a paper or paperboard cover

A paperback book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardback (hardcover) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, leather, paper, or plastic.

Brett Halliday is the primary pen name of Davis Dresser, an American mystery and western writer. Halliday is best known for the long-lived series of Michael Shayne mysteries he wrote, and later commissioned others to continue. Dresser also wrote westerns, non-series mysteries, and romances under the names Asa Baker, Matthew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony Scott, Peter Field, and Anderson Wayne.

<i>Why Didnt They Ask Evans?</i> 1934 detective novel by Agatha Christie

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club in September 1934 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1935 under the title of The Boomerang Clue. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00.

<i>A Daughters a Daughter</i> 1952 novel by Agatha Christie

A Daughter's a Daughter is a novel written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by Heinemann on 24 November 1952. Initially unpublished in the US, it was later issued as a paperback by Dell Publishing in September 1963. It was the fifth of six novels Christie wrote under the nom-de-plume Mary Westmacott. Initially a play written by Christie in the late 1930s, the plot tells of a daughter's opposition to her mother's plan to remarry.

<i>The Burden</i> 1956 novel by Agatha Christie

The Burden is a novel written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by Heinemann on 12 November 1956. Initially not published in the US, it was later issued as a paperback by Dell Publishing in September 1963. It was the last of six novels Christie wrote under the nom-de-plume Mary Westmacott.

Charles K. Feldman was a Hollywood attorney, film producer and talent agent who founded the Famous Artists talent agency. According to one obituary, Feldman disdained publicity. "Feldman was an enigma to Hollywood. No one knew what he was up to – from producing a film to packaging one for someone else."

Mark V. Ziesing is an American small press publisher and bookseller, founded by Mark Ziesing. Active as a bookseller, from 1972 to present; Ziesing was in publishing, from the mid-1980s into 1998. The Ziesing publishing imprint specialized in science fiction, horror, and other forms of speculative fiction. Originally based in Willimantic, Connecticut and in partnership with his brother Michael, he published two books by Gene Wolfe under the name Ziesing Brothers.

<i>Kiss the Blood Off My Hands</i> 1948 film by Norman Foster

Kiss the Blood Off My Hands is a 1948 American noir-thriller film directed by Norman Foster. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Gerald Butler, it stars Joan Fontaine, Burt Lancaster, and Robert Newton. The film faced minor opposition from fundamentalist groups in the United States and the Commonwealth, with regard to its gory title. In some markets, the film was released under the alternate titles The Unafraid or Blood on My Hands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Butcher</span> American fantasy author (born 1971)

Jim Butcher is an American author. He has written the contemporary fantasy The Dresden Files, Codex Alera, and Cinder Spires book series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dell Publishing</span> American publisher

Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000, two employees and one magazine title, I Confess, and soon began turning out dozens of pulp magazines, which included penny-a-word detective stories, articles about films, and romance books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mapback</span>

Mapback is a term used by paperback collectors to refer to the earliest paperback books published by Dell Books, beginning in 1943. The books are known as mapbacks because the back cover of the book contains a map that illustrates the location of the action. Dell books were numbered in series. Mapbacks extend from #5 to at least #550; then maps became less of a fixed feature of the books and disappeared entirely in 1951. The occasional number in the series between #5 and #550 contains no map, but some sort of full-page graphic or text connected with the book's contents.

Michael "Mike" Shayne is a fictional private detective character created during the late 1930s by writer Brett Halliday, a pseudonym of Davis Dresser. The character appeared in a series of seven films starring Lloyd Nolan for Twentieth Century Fox, five films from the low-budget Producers Releasing Corporation with Hugh Beaumont, a radio series under a variety of titles between 1944 and 1953, and later in 1960–1961 in a 32-episode NBC television series starring Richard Denning in the title role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald Butler (writer)</span> English writer and screenwriter

Gerald Alfred Butler was an English crime, thriller, and pulp writer and screenwriter. He was sometimes referred to as the "English James M. Cain", and his characters were noted as amoral and hardboiled. His novels include the best-seller Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1940), as well as They Cracked Her Glass Slipper (1941), Their Rainbow Had Black Edges (1943), Mad with Much Heart (1945), Slippery Hitch (1948), Choice of Two Women (1951), and his late career come-back There Is a Death, Elizabeth (1972).

Brian Moore's early fiction refers to the seven pulp fiction thrillers, published between 1951 and 1957, that the acclaimed novelist Brian Moore wrote before he achieved success and international recognition with Judith Hearne (1955) and The Feast of Lupercal (1957).

<i>They Cracked Her Glass Slipper</i> 1941 novel by Gerald Butler

They Cracked Her Glass Slipper is a 1941 crime thriller novel by English writer Gerald Butler. It is his second novel, and was published by Jarrolds Publishing on 18 December 1941. It follows the hardboiled style of his best-selling debut, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands. It is Butler's only novel not to have received an American publication.

<i>Choice of Two Women</i> 1951 novel by Gerald Butler

Choice of Two Women is a 1951 crime thriller novel by English writer Gerald Butler. It was his sixth novel and was written in the hardboiled style, at the height of its popularity. It was first published as a hardcover edition in Britain by Jarrolds Publishing on 20 September 1951; Digit Books issued a paperback edition in 1960. In the United States, Rinehart & Company issued the book as a hardcover edition under the alternative title Blow Hot, Blow Cold on 2 July 1951 ; the Dell Publishing paperback edition was also issued under the alternate title in 1953.

<i>Slippery Hitch</i> 1948 novel by Gerald Butler

Slippery Hitch is a 1946-written but 1948-published crime thriller novel by English writer Gerald Butler. Published by Jarrolds Publishing on 27 May 1948, it was Butler's fifth novel and is written in the noirish hardboiled style of the era. American editions were published by Rinehart & Company and Dell Publishing.

<i>Mad with Much Heart</i> 1945 novel by Gerald Butler

Mad with Much Heart is a 1945 crime thriller novel by English writer Gerald Butler. It was his fourth novel, and second most popular, after Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1940). The book is written in the noir style popular at the time. The first British hardcover edition was published by Jarrolds Publishing on 28 June 1945. The American hardcover edition was published by Rinehart & Company on 22 August 1946.

<i>Their Rainbow Had Black Edges</i> 1943 novel by Gerald Butler

Their Rainbow Had Black Edges is a 1943 crime thriller novel by English writer Gerald Butler. It is his third novel and is written in the noir style popular at the time.

References

  1. Hubin p.17
  2. 1 2 "Daily Herald from London, London, England". Newspapers.com. 1940-04-18. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  3. 1 2 3 https://web.archive.org/web/20160509181744/http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/d2IAAOSw9N1Vv~e-/s-l1600.jpg Back cover of Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, Rinehart Publishing, 1946
  4. 1 2 http://www.royalbooks.com/pages/books/136016/gerald-butler/mad-with-much-heart-first-uk-edition Book cover of Mad with Much Heart, Jarrolds, first publishing.
  5. 1 2 United States Copyright Office (1946). 1946-1954 Copyright Registration Cards (A-N).
  6. 1 2 University, © Stanford; Stanford; California 94305. "Kiss the blood off my hands". Copyright Renewals - Spotlight at Stanford. Retrieved 2024-04-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. 1 2 Butler, Gerald. "Choice of Two Women".
  8. 1 2 Barr Mavity, Nancy (1946-04-28). "Butler Is Heralded as British James M. Cain". Oakland Tribune . Retrieved 2024-04-30 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Gerald Butler's Novel of Pursuit - Author of 'Dark Rainbow' Wrestles a Creaking Plot". The Philadelphia Inquirer . 1946-09-08. Retrieved 2024-04-30 via Newspapers.com.
  10. Northrop, Guy (1946-03-03). "Amoral Character Takes Hero's Role". The Commercial Appeal . Retrieved 2024-04-30 via Newspapers.com.
  11. Gould, Ray (1946-04-07). "High Tension, Diabolical Suspense Feature This Blistering Melodrama". The Montgomery Advertiser . Retrieved 2024-04-30 via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Daily Mail from Hull, Humberside, England". Newspapers.com. 1949-11-12. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  13. "Hull Daily Mail from Hull, Humberside, England". Newspapers.com. 1936-06-10. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  14. "Lincolnshire Echo from Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England". Newspapers.com. 1949-02-22. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  15. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/80430/Kiss-the-Blood-Off-My-Hands/notes.html Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, Notes, Turner Classic Movies
  16. http://www.otrsite.com/logs/logl1008.htm "Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs"
  17. 1 2 3 british museum general catalogue of printed books. the trustees of the british museum. 1965.