Leigh Douglass Brackett was an American author and screenwriter. Nicknamed "the Queen of Space Opera," she was one of the most prominent female writers during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. As a screenwriter, she was best known for her collaborations with director Howard Hawks, mainly writing Westerns and crime films. She also worked on an early draft of The Empire Strikes Back (1980), elements of which remained in the film; she died before it went into production.
The Big Sleep (1939) is a hardboiled crime novel by American-British writer Raymond Chandler, the first to feature the detective Philip Marlowe. It has been adapted for film twice, in 1946 and again in 1978. The story is set in Los Angeles.
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, often a murder. Most crime drama focuses on criminal investigation and does not feature the courtroom. Suspense and mystery are key elements that are nearly ubiquitous to the genre.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1939.
The Mask of Dimitrios is a 1944 American film noir starring Sydney Greenstreet, Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson, Peter Lorre, and Victor Francen. Directed by Jean Negulesco, it was written by Frank Gruber, based on the 1939 novel of the same title written by Eric Ambler. Scott played the title role, of Dimitrios Makropoulos, in his film debut.
Ferit Orhan Pamuk is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic, and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, he has sold over 13 million books in 63 languages, making him the country's best-selling writer.
Crime fiction is a typically 19th-, 20th- and 21st-century genre, dominated by British and American writers. This article explores its historical development as a genre.
Eric Clifford Ambler OBE was an English author of thrillers, in particular spy novels, who introduced a new realism to the genre. Also working as a screenwriter, Ambler used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for books co-written with Charles Rodda.
Journey into Fear is a 1940 spy thriller novel by Eric Ambler. Film adaptations were released in 1943 and 1975.
Jonathan Wyatt Latimer was an American crime writer known his novels and screenplays. Before becoming an author, Latimer was a journalist in Chicago.
Otto Penzler is an American editor of mystery fiction, and proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle, published in 1970, is the debut novel of George V. Higgins, then an Assistant United States Attorney in Boston. The novel is a realistic depiction of the Irish-American underworld in Boston. Its central character is the title character Eddie Coyle, a small-time criminal and informant.
Elif Shafak is a Turkish-British novelist, essayist, public speaker, political scientist and activist.
Journey into Fear is a 1943 American spy film noir directed by Norman Foster, based on the 1940 novel by Eric Ambler. The film broadly follows the plot of the book, but the protagonist was changed to an American engineer, and the destination of his journey changed from France to the Soviet Union—reflecting the changes in the war situation since the original Ambler book was written. The RKO Pictures release stars Joseph Cotten, who also wrote the screenplay with Orson Welles. The Mercury Production was also produced by Welles, again uncredited.
The Vicious Circle is a 1957 British thriller film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring John Mills, Noelle Middleton, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Lionel Jeffries. It was written by Francis Durbridge based on his TV serial My Friend Charles (1956). The screenplay concerns a leading Harley Street specialist who is forced to work with the police to nail a gang of international criminals, after being falsely accused of murder.
Dirty Story: A Further Account of the Life and Adventures of Arthur Abdel Simpson is a 1967 novel by Eric Ambler. It was also published as This Gun for Hire.
The Intercom Conspiracy is a novel by British thriller writer Eric Ambler, first published in 1969. It was adapted for television as A Quiet Conspiracy.
Epitaph for a Spy is a 1938 spy novel by Eric Ambler.
Judgment on Deltchev is a 1951 novel by Eric Ambler. It was his first solo novel for eleven years, and Ambler was worried about producing a bad novel, but did not. The book is a courtroom drama based on the show trial of Bulgarian politician Nikola Petkov. It provoked hostile responses from Communist fellow travellers.
The Levanter is a 1972 novel by Eric Ambler.
