Cornell George Hopley Woolrich was an American novelist and short story writer. He sometimes used the pseudonyms William Irish and George Hopley.
Black Mask was a pulp magazine first published in April 1920 by the journalist H. L. Mencken and the drama critic George Jean Nathan. It is most well-known today for launching the hardboiled crime subgenre of mystery fiction, publishing now-classic works by Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Erle Stanley Gardner, Cornell Woolrich, Paul Cain, Carroll John Daly, and others.
The Whistler is an American radio mystery drama which ran from May 16, 1942, until September 22, 1955, on the west-coast regional CBS radio network. The show was also broadcast in Chicago and over Armed Forces Radio. On the west coast, it was sponsored by the Signal Oil Company: "That whistle is your signal for the Signal Oil program, The Whistler." There were also two short-lived attempts to form east-coast broadcast spurs: July 3 to September 25, 1946, sponsored by the Campbell Soup Company; and March 26, 1947, to September 29, 1948, sponsored by Household Finance. The program was also adapted into a film noir series by Columbia Pictures in 1944.
Hardboiled fiction is a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction. The genre's typical protagonist is a detective who battles the violence of organized crime that flourished during Prohibition (1920–1933) and its aftermath, while dealing with a legal system that has become as corrupt as the organized crime itself. Rendered cynical by this cycle of violence, the detectives of hardboiled fiction are often antiheroes. Notable hardboiled detectives include Dick Tracy, Philip Marlowe, Nick Charles, Mike Hammer, Sam Spade, Lew Archer, Slam Bradley, and The Continental Op.
Cloak & Dagger is a 1984 American spy adventure film directed by Richard Franklin, and starring Henry Thomas, Dabney Coleman, and Michael Murphy. It was written by Tom Holland and based on a Cornell Woolrich short story, "The Boy Cried Murder", which had been filmed as The Window (1949). It was originally released in a double feature with The Last Starfighter on July 13, 1984, and was released separately on August 10, 1984. The film grossed $9.7 million in the United States. Thomas was nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Actor.
Fear in the Night is an American 1947 film noir crime film directed by Maxwell Shane, starring Paul Kelly and DeForest Kelley. It is based on the Cornell Woolrich story "And So to Death". Woolrich is credited under pen name William Irish. The film was remade by the same director in 1956 with the title Nightmare this time starring Edward G. Robinson playing the cop and Kevin McCarthy.
Black Angel is a 1946 American film noir starring Dan Duryea, June Vincent and Peter Lorre. Directed by Roy William Neill, it was his final feature film. Produced by Universal Pictures, it is set in Los Angeles and broadly adapted from Cornell Woolrich's 1943 novel, The Black Angel.
Deadline at Dawn is a 1946 American film noir, the only film directed by stage director Harold Clurman. It was written by Clifford Odets and based on a novel of the same name by Cornell Woolrich. The RKO Pictures film release was the only cinematic collaboration between Clurman and his former Group Theatre associate, screenwriter Odets. The director of photography was RKO regular Nicholas Musuraca. The musical score was by German refugee composer Hanns Eisler.
The Guilty is a 1947 American film noir directed by John Reinhardt, based on Cornell Woolrich's short story "Two Men in a Furnished Room". The film was produced by oil millionaire Jack Wrather, the husband of lead actress Bonita Granville.
The Window is a 1949 American black-and-white film noir, based on the short story "The Boy Cried Murder" by Cornell Woolrich, about a lying boy who witnesses a killing but is not believed. The film, a critical success that was shot on location in New York City, was produced by Frederic Ullman Jr. for $210,000 but earned much more, making it a box-office hit for RKO Pictures. The film was directed by Ted Tetzlaff, who worked as a cinematographer on over 100 films, including another successful suspense film, Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (1946). For his performances in this film and in So Dear to My Heart, Bobby Driscoll was presented with a miniature Oscar statuette as the outstanding juvenile actor of 1949 at the 1950 Academy Awards ceremony.
Veronica Patricia Hurst was a British film, stage and television actress. Hurst was born in Malta and brought up in Tooting, London.
The Bride Wore Black is a 1940 American novel written by Cornell Woolrich, initially published under the pseudonym William Irish. Although it was Woolrich's seventh published novel, it was the first in the noir/pulp style for which he would become known, his previous novels having been Jazz Age fiction about the wealthy and privileged.
A Successful Failure is a 1934 American film directed by Arthur Lubin. It was Lubin's first film as director.
Eyewitness is a 1970 British thriller film directed by John Hough, and starring Mark Lester, Susan George, and Lionel Jeffries. Its plot follows a young English boy who, while staying with his grandfather and adult sister in Malta, witnesses a political assassination, and is subsequently pursued by the killers—however, due to his habitual lying, those around him are hesitant to believe his claims. It is an adaptation of the novel by Mark Hebden, the pen name for John Harris, and bears similarity to Cornell Woolrich's novelette "The Boy Cried Murder", originally adapted for film as The Window.
George Paul Breakston was a French-American actor, producer and film director, active in Hollywood from his days as a child actor in Andy Hardy films in the 1930s, to a period as an independent producer/director in the 1950s.
Fall Guy is a 1947 American crime film noir directed by Reginald Le Borg. The drama features Leo Penn, Robert Armstrong and Teala Loring. The film is based on Cornell Woolrich's short story, "Cocaine."
The Black Angel is a 1943 novel by Cornell Woolrich, which was based on two of his own short stories, Murder in Wax and Face Work. Woolrich had reworked many of his short stories into full-length novels, including Black Angel.
Stephen Gould Fisher was an American author best known for his pulp stories, novels and screenplays. He is one of the few pulp authors to go on to enjoy success as both an author in "slick" magazines, such as the Saturday Evening Post, and as an in-demand writer in Hollywood.
I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes is a 1948 American film noir directed by William Nigh, starring Don Castle and Elyse Knox. It was based on a novella of the same name by Cornell Woolrich with a screenplay by fellow pulp writer Steve Fisher.
Leon Barsha was an American film producer, editor and director. As a producer and director he was best known for making films in the Western genre. In his later years he concentrated especially on editing.
