Wednesday, July 15, 2020

HAMMETT HERALD-TRIBUNE: The Smiling Corpse (1935-37)



Chillicothe Gazette, Feb. 26, 1935

Chicago Tribune, Mar. 18, 1935

Lancaster New Era, Apr. 1935

Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 13, 1937



Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Feb. 24, 1937

Sadly, it appears this film was never made. The novel has been reprinted, though, and is still available.

4 comments:

Art Scott said...

None of these ancient clippings even hint at the fascinating story behind this book. The anonymous authors were Bernard Bergman & Philip Wylie - yes, that Philip Wylie. This was disclosed in The Armchair Detective in 1969 thanks to a letter from Frank Gruber, who had worked on the screenplay. Further information was ferreted out by Randy Cox and detailed in TAD. The whole story is told by Cox in his introduction to the Ramble House edition, which I just ordered. You can read the Cox piece online at http://www.ramblehouse.com/smilingcorpsechapter.htm.

Evan Lewis said...

Philip Wylie's involvement, you'll note, was also known to Louella Parsons, so must have been an open secret back then. The TAD revelation was only a rediscovery.

Art Scott said...

I missed Louella's disclosure in my quick skim of the clippings. More shamefully, I didn't spot right off that the book has a body-in-the-bathtub cover! Ellen Nehr would have lusted for a copy!

Evan Lewis said...

I read that Randy Cox thing too. Interesting stuff.