claire

FILM VS. PRINT ESSAY

Film makers are constantly adapting literature to the big screen, and each time a novel becomes immensely popular, a movie version isn't far behind. Usually I find myself enjoying a story more in print, but detective fiction is definitely better on film. Your imagination can only go so far, and when it comes to the blood, guts, and gore that encompasses the detective fiction subgenre, the movie wins out. It is harder to imagine detective fiction because we do not experience it during a typical day in our lives. People get up and go to work or school. We deal with friends, significant others, and family, but rarely does the average person go on a shootout or witness a murder. While reading a book from a different genre of literature, people can relate to events such as falling in love, or the passing of a loved one, and crazy adventures with friends, but the prostitution, murders, and drug dealings that frequent mystery fiction are only imaginable to a certain degree. This makes it harder to get the full effect of the story. At least while watching a detective movie you can see everything with your own eyes. You can see the watch lights streaming everywhere, and the chaos of the police officers and detectives running hastily around the crime scenes. For the average person reading a detective novel, it is just too far of a stretch for our imaginations. It also helps to see the hazardous, filthy buildings and streets the sleuths are scurrying around. I also find that many of the characters become more likeable on camera. By watching them on screen you can see them interact with other people, and get a better idea of who they are. In __Devil in the Blue Dress__, the novel, I didn't like Mouse. I interpreted him as a meaner, nastier character and didn't really understand why Easy Rawlins would be friends with him. Mouse seemed incredibly dangerous to everyone, including Easy. While watching the movie however, my opinion completely changed. Don Cheadle did a wonderful job playing the character, he provided the otherwise ruthless movie with some much needed comic relief. I also realized that Mouse was a true friend to Easy, and could be trusted to help solve the case and find Daphne. The film, __Double Indemnity__, was a decent movie, but I don't think I would care for the novel. It was beneficial to have the film open with Neff recording the entire ordeal and then flashing back to when he met Phyllis Dietrichson, but I don't think the same approach would benefit the novel. Also, throughout the film Neff' narrates each new scene as it opens, which absolutely adds to it. This approach would have to be left out of the novel, and would therefore lose some of the suspense. Also, much of this film was Neff being completely paranoid that he was going to get caught with murdering Mr. Dietrichson and insurance fraud. It is not boring because we see him looking around suspiciously at everyone, but I think this part of the book may have dragged on too long. Detective fiction can be hard to follow. There are countless suspects and detectives mentioned in the book. When I read Raymond Chandler's __The Big Sleep__, I was confused for the majority of it. It seemed as if in every chapter there was a new twist in the case, or a new character introduced, and I had a difficult time following the story. Film helps alleviate much of this confusion because you can see each character on the screen and put a face to the name, helping to eliminate the uncertainty of who is who. If we had been able to watch The Big Sleep in class, I think we would have had an easier time keeping tabs on everyone.  One positive element to detective fiction novels rather than film, is along with other genres of literature, the story is open to interpretation. The author writes down what he or she feels, and it is up to the reader to decipher who the characters are and what is really happening. That is not possible in film because the entire story is right in front of the audience's eyes. Besides being open to interpretation, detective fiction films certainly triumph over the long, drawn out detection novels. It is much more enjoyable to watch the mayhem and drama play out on the screen, rather than reading it in a novel.

EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT L.A. CONFIDENTIAL

The film I watched is //L.A. Confidential//, which was made in 1997. It is based on the novel __L.A. Confidential__ by James Ellroy, and was directed by Curtis Hanson, who also wrote the screenplay along with Brian Helgeland//. L.A. Confidential// has numerous famous actors in it including Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger, and Danny Devito. The movie was very fast paced and thrilling. I enjoyed it a lot and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in detective fiction. The movie takes place in 1950's L.A., and is centered around the Los Angeles Police Department. The majority of police officers are corrupt and follow their own moral code, destroying or killing anyone to get ahead in their careers. The story begins when several people are killed at Nite Owl Coffee Shop and an investigation ensues, which eventually reveals prostitution, drugs, and political corruption occurring throughout the city. There are three main cops the story focuses on. There is Ed Exley, who is one of the good guys, although he is hated by mainly everyone on the force. Exley testifies against other officers after the Bloody Christmas incident where several of his peers brutally attacked a number of prisoners on Christmas Eve. Bud White is the bad cop turned almost good. He terrifies people on and off the job and is incredibly violent and unpredictable. He also has a bad temper which he unleashes on anyone who crosses him the wrong way, although he does save Exley's life at the end. The third officer, Jack Vincennes, works for a television show called Badge of Honor. He arrests celebrities for kick backs and works with Sid Hudgens of Hush Hush Magazine. Out of the three of them, Ed Exley is the only non-corrupt officer. Throughout the film, Exley and the other detectives believe Mickey Cohen's gang, who run the organized crimes in L.A., is responsible for the murders at the Nite Owl. In the end Exley and White discover the person responsible is their boss, Dudley Smith, Dudley is also involved in a drug ring involving heroin. Smith is the most dishonest person in the story, as he completely disregards any corruption in the LAPD as long as he benefits from it. The movie is without a doubt hardboiled. The male detectives are very much macho characters who use violence and any other means necessary to solve the mystery. They are always on the move and there is either a fist fight, or a shoot-out in every scene. There is blood splashed all over the walls and floors of each and every crime scene, and we watch Dudley strangle Hudgens to death and shoot Vincennes in his own home. There is also a prostitution ring run by Pierce Patchett the millionaire. Patchett is basically a pimp who owns Fleur de Lis, which offers up hookers who have had plastic surgery to make them resemble movie stars. Lynne Bracken, who gets involved with White and sleeps with Exley, works for Fleur de Lis. Of course all of this happens in an urban setting, with the detectives traveling through each section of seedy Los Angeles.

//L.A. Confidential// is an excellent example of film noir. It has that moral uncertainty to it. Each detective struggles with the "right" thing to do throughout the whole film. They are all confused as to who is corrupt and who isn't and have their own set of rules to follow. There is also an element of sexuality to the film. Lynne Bracken who is basically a call girl has an affair with Officer White. Bracken also sleeps with Ed Exley while being filmed so that Patchett and Smith can frame Exley and make him look crooked. The best part of the film is at the end after the huge fight has taken place. Only Exley and Smith are left standing and Exley is faced with that moral ambiguity. Smith tells Exley if he spares his life, Smith will spin the story so that Exley looks like the hero and gets a promotion. Exley could have benefited greatly from conspiring with Smith, but instead he kills him in the name of justice and confesses to the rest of the police department what really happened. Exley is not concerned with his status, merely with what is right and true. It was a fantastic way to end the film. It honestly was a great movie. There are so many different stories going on, and it is fascinating how all the corruption leads back to one person, Dudley Smith. It is packed with all the intrigue a murder mystery should have. All of the actors were incredible, including Danny Devito who provides a little comedic relief to the otherwise dark story//. L.A. Confidential// is the best movie about detective fiction that I have ever seen.

HARDBOILED/CLASSIC DETECTION ESSAY REVISION

Hardboiled detection and classic detection both entail solving a mystery and catching the criminal, although that is mainly where the similarities end. Detectives in each subgenre use exceedingly different methods to apprehend the perpetrator. Besides the act of figuring out who was involved, the settings, and how the murder was committed, are some of the key divergences between the two styles of detective fiction. "The Blue Geranium", a classic mystery and __The Maltese Falcon__ which is hardboiled detection, show these differences. The classic story, "The Blue Geranium" takes place at the Bantry residence during a dinner party. To entertain his guests, Colonel Bantry is telling a mystery story about the recent death of Mrs. Pritchard. Miss Marple uses armchair detection. She literally sits in her chair, ponders over the evidence, each person surrounding the case, and comes to the realization that Mrs. Pritchard was poisoned by her nurse. Her intuitiveness, a skill possessed by many female sleuths helps her come to the solution. The crime scene and the murder are also very clean, which is another characteristic of classic detection. Mrs. Pritchard was not killed in a brutal way. There was no violent actions, or bloodshed. Her bedroom looked as if it was untouched, adding to the puzzling chain of events. The story of "The Blue Geranium" takes place in a rural area outside of London, England. While some classic detection stories are set in an urban area, the others take place in a rural, country setting, and usually people of the upper class are involved. In this fictional story, The Pritchard's are somewhat aristocratic, being able to afford nurses to care for Mrs. Pritchard as well as fortune tellers, psychics, and the like.

__The Maltese Falcon__, an example of hardboiled detective fiction is completely different than "The Blue Geranium". The detective, Sam Spade, is actively involved, and traipses around San Francisco trying to figure out exactly what is going on. The entire story occurs in San Francisco, obviously a large city and an urban area. In the beginning Spade is trying to help Brigid O' Shaughnessy find her sister who has run off to California with a much older gentleman. Eventually the truth comes out she is looking for the Maltese falcon, a bird statue encrusted with gold and jewels, but she is not the only one. Many other shady characters want the bird as well, including Gutman, Cairo, and Jacobi who is supposed to be assisting Miss O' Shaughnessy. The murders that take place are increasingly gruesome. Archer, Spade's partner is murdered in the very beginning, found in a pool of his own blood. Both Thursby and Jacobi are also shot repeatedly and killed. Jacobi dramatically dies on the floor of Spade's office after delivering the falcon to Brigid. There is violence and chaos surrounding the entire story, as people are constantly beating each other up to get information, and Spade is drugged by Gutman. Eventually Spade realizes Brigid has been lying the entire time and is responsible for Miles Archer's murder, and turns her in to the police. Hammett's novel emphasis masculinity. Spade is presented as the tough, fast talking private detective who will stop at nothing. For the majority of the novel, Spade protects Brigid O' Shaughnessy, as he believes her to be a somewhat helpless woman. He does realize that she is not completely innocent, but he is not ready to accept that she is the perpetrator behind all of the murders until practically the end. Each of the male characters are gun-toting, masculine figures, except for Cairo, and are made to look more intelligent and capable than the women. Even Spade's secretary, Effie follows Spade's orders and listens to every word he utters. We rarely learn her feelings on anything because she obeys Spade. Spade underestimates Brigid because she is a woman and therefore delays his discovery of who the true murderer is. While each style of detective fiction is very dissimilar, each has its own strengths and weaknesses. With classic detection, the strengths include the lack of violence, which makes it appealing to a wider variety of people who perhaps may not enjoy the blood and grisly details. Reading a classic mystery, requires more intelligence and thinking. It is the puzzle to be solved that keeps the reader interested. A problem with it, however, is it isn't nearly as exciting as the hardboiled stories. There is less action, and not as much suspense, which could bore people enough and cause them to put the story down. Hardboiled, on the other hand, has plenty of suspense and action sequences to amuse the reader. It is often fast paced, and things change very quickly between the characters in the story. There is never a lack of the messy, horrific crime scenes, which can be very exciting. There is never a boring part to the story, which may make it more popular then the classic detection. However, with the description of the murders and crime scenes, it is sometimes just too gruesome for some people, and people could get turned off to the subgenre.  The good thing about there being two major types of detective fiction is there is something for every reader. There is the less ghastly classic detection, and also the more action filled, dramatic hardboiled type. And, though they differ notably, both forms of detective fiction prove to be incredibly popular.

Hardboiled detection and classic detection both entail solving the mystery and catching the criminal, although that is mainly where the similarities end. Detectives in each case use exceedingly different devices to apprehend the perpetrator. Besides the act of figuring out who was involved, the settings, and how the murder was committed, there are numerous other divergences between the two styles of detective fiction. The Blue Geranium, a classic mystery and The Maltese Falcon which is hardboiled detection, show these differences. The classic story, The Blue Geranium is being told by detective Miss Marple at a dinner party one night. Marple is entertaining the guests with the story behind the death of Mrs. Pritchard. In classic detection the detective sits back and watches the events unfold. Miss Marple sits at home, ponders over the evidence and comes to the realization that Mrs. Pritchard was poisoned by her nurse. Her intuitiveness, a skill possessed by many female sleuths helps her come to the deduction. The crime scene and the murder are also very clean, which is another characteristic of classic detection. Mrs. Pritchard was not killed in a brutal way, there was no violent actions, or bloodshed, so her bedroom looked as if it was untouched, adding to the puzzling chain of events. The story of The Blue Geranium takes place in a rural area outside of London, England. While some classic detection stories are set in an urban area, the majority take place in a rural, country setting, and usually people of the upper class are involved. In this fictional story, The Pritchard's are somewhat aristocratic, being able to afford nurses to care for Mrs. Pritchard as well as fortune tellers, psychics, and the like constantly coming in as an effort to appease and entertain Mrs. Pritchard. The Bantry's, which is where Miss Marple is telling her adventure, are affluent as well which is implied by the dinner party they are having. The Maltese Falcon being an example of hardboiled detective fiction is completely different than The Blue Geranium. The detective, Sam Spade, is actively involved, and traipses around San Francisco trying to figure out exactly what is going on. The entire story occurs in San Francisco, obviously a large city and an urban area. In the beginning Spade is trying to help Brigid O' Shaughnessy find her sister who has run off to California with a much older gentleman. Eventually the truth comes out she is looking for the Maltese falcon, a bird encrusted with gold and jewels, but she is not the only one. Many other shady characters want the bird as well, including Gutman, Cairo, and Jacobi who is supposed to be assisting Miss O' Shaughnessy. The murders that take place are increasingly gruesome. Archer, Spade's partner is murdered in the very beginning, found in a pool of his own blood. Both Thursby and Jacobi are also shot repeatedly and killed. Jacobi dramatically dies on the floor of Spade's office after delivering the falcon to Brigid. There is violence and chaos surrounding the entire story, as people are constantly beating each other to get information, and Spade is drugged by Gutman. Eventually Spade realizes Brigid has been lying the entire time and is responsible for Miles Archer's murder, and turns her in to the police. The emphasis on masculinity is extremely prevalent. Spade is presented as the tough, fast talking private detective who will stop at nothing. For the majority of the novel, Spade protects an innocent Brigid O' Shaughnessy, as he believes her to be a helpless woman. Each of the male characters are gun-toting, masculine figures, except for Cairo, and are made to look more intelligent and capable than the women. Even Spade's secretary, Effie follows Spade's orders and listens to every word he utters. You don't ever get her opinion or feelings on anything because she obeys Spade. Spade underestimates Brigid because she is a woman and therefore delays his discovery of who the true murderer is. While each style of detective fiction is very dissimilar, they each have their own strengths and weaknesses. With classic detection, the strengths include the lack of violence. It isn't a bloody mess every time something happens, which makes it appealing to a wider variety of people who perhaps may not enjoy the blood and gore. When reading a classic mystery, it requires more intelligence and thinking, it is a puzzle to be solved that keeps the reader interested. A problem with it however, is it isn't nearly as exciting as the hardboiled stories. There is less action, and not as much suspense, which could bore people enough to put the story down. Hardboiled on the other hand has plenty of suspense and action sequences to amuse the reader. It is often fast paced, and things change very quickly between the characters in the story. There is never a lack of the messy, horrific crime scenes, which can also be very exciting. There is never a boring or lacking part to the story, which may make it more popular then the classic detection. However, with the description of the murders and crime scenes, it is just too gruesome for some people, and people could get turned off to the genre. The good thing about there being two types of detective fiction is there is something for every reader. There is the casual, less ghastly classic detection, and also the more action filled, dramatic hardboiled type. And, though they each have notable differences, both forms of detective fiction prove to be incredibly popular and well read.

A detective's job is to solve the crime, whether that crime is a robbery, a murder, or a missing person's case. Detectives gather up clues and any evidence left behind by the perpetrator in order to crack the case. While both male and female sleuths are dedicated to the same cause, making sure justice is served, each sex has their own idea about what true justice really is, as is evident in many of the detective fiction stories we have read. All detectives are naturally clever. They can take seemingly meaningless clues and string them together to explain what happened, which we see in Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue", with Dupin. However, although both male and female sleuths are similarly cunning and intelligent, they often differ from one another when it comes to their own beliefs, feelings, and behaviors, when dealing with the law. Male detectives are more businesslike, and they do not involve their emotions when they are at the office. They want to solve the problem as quickly and efficiently as possible, and they frequently dedicate their lives to the job. Many of the male detectives, including Sherlock Holmes, Dupin, and Sam Spade, are unmarried, indicating their feelings and personal relationships are not as important as catching the bad guys. At the end of "The Maltese Falcon", Spade has Brigid O' Shaughnessy arrested after he realizes she has been murdering people including his partner. Although Spade loves Brigid, he does not let his emotions cloud his judgment. Men also have an easier time solving the crimes. They are respected much more highly then women, unlike Miss Marple, who is scoffed at as she tells the tale of the blue geranium. Since they are respected more than their female counterparts, it is easier for them to work with the police and carry out their own investigations. A problem with the male detectives, is that they see everything in black and white. They see the evidence, ponder the crime that occurred and come to a conclusion. When they figure out who the perpetrator is the case is over and done with, there is no wondering what happened before the crime, or any circumstances surrounding the lives of those involved. The law dictates what a crime is, and the men pursue those un-abiding citizens. I agree that sentimental feelings do not belong in the workplace, however the men could learn a few things from the way women carry out investigations. Nothing is as clear cut for the female sleuths. Females exist in a grey area, rather than the black and white world the men live in. They use their intuition and their "gut" feeling to solve a mystery. Women have a better sense of people and what their true colors are. There is also a sense of solidarity and sisterhood between women. Men will turn each other in at the drop of a hat, in order to show their strength and power. The female detectives realize that there is strength in sticking together, and although they do involve their emotions while solving their cases, they do not let them take over completely. Women detectives are completely underestimated, which can be in their favor. In "A Jury of Her Peers", Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are left alone at the crime scene, while their husbands step outside of The Wrights' home. They are supposed to be gathering things for a jailed Minnie Foster, who has been accused of killing her husband, but wind up discovering the dead bird that reveals what truly happened in the Wright home. After coming to the conclusion that Minnie murdered her husband after he abused her and took away the only light in her life, her bird, they decide to cover up their new discovery and stay loyal to their friend. The women know it was wrong to murder Mr. Wright, but they agree that Minnie has been tortured enough by her husband and they will not add to her suffering. They also see a little "Minnie" in themselves. The same thing could happen to Mrs. Peters or Mrs. Hale, and know they need to protect their own kind. Both female and male detectives have their strong points and weaknesses. The women need to find the right balance between using their minds and their hearts. And the male sleuths should come to realize that being emotional during a case will not always wreak havoc. Despite their differences, the detectives of each sex ultimately catch the criminal in their own ways and bring him or her to justice, restoring the peace, until the next crime anyway.

Edgar Allen Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" absolutely corresponds to my notion of what detective fiction is. Poe does an impressive job of including all the elements of the genre, including the clever professional detective and his less intelligent sidekick, the baffling murder, and the very satisfying ending. There is also a suspenseful feeling throughout the entire story, which indulges the reader to continue. Although I have only recently begun reading detective fiction, "Murders" encompasses all the important features, and I feel it is the standard that all other mystery stories be measured against. "Murders" has a good story line, although it does start out a bit slow. It seemed to drag on for several pages until the actual story started. The only part of the story that I disliked was the chess game. It wasn't completely random, because chess is about rules, and strategies such as getting into your opponents head, which obviously Dupin had to do in order to solve the murder, but I don't think it truly added anything to the story. Besides that, the story line flowed nicely. Poe's use of language was just right, and his descriptions of the characters and setting were very well done. I can picture Dupin and the narrator sitting in the library of the Rue Montmartre pondering over the murder of Madame L'Espanaye and her daughter. The character of Dupin is fantastic. He is such a cunning, brilliant detective, and can anticipate any move from any foe. I enjoyed that while I, along with the narrator, was completely bewildered as to who could have murdered the two women, it came to Dupin as clear as day. He is incredibly competent, which is exactly how a detective should be in detective fiction. There should be someone to understand the clues, and be able to solve the crime in one quick sweep. If Dupin had been just your average person trying to solve the crime, I think the story would have been far less entertaining and dragged on much too long. Poe's illustration of the narrator was also wise because if he had made him as smart as Dupin, there would be nothing special about our detective. Like any good mystery, the mystery to be solved was a murder by an unlikely culprit, an "ourang-outang". Instead of using a human perpetrator, the criminal was a monkey, which added a comedic aspect to the story, and also kept me guessing until the very end, as I was trying to pin the murder on one of the human witnesses. The fact that a monkey had escaped from a sailor's apartment and killed two women by imitating the act of shaving is so unexpected. But at the same time, the fact that it was so unclear kept me speculating and wanting to finish the story. "Murders" has just the right amount of suspense and trepidation, and the ending was fitting too. In the span of a few pages, Dupin explains to the narrator each little clue that helped him come to the answer, including the strands of animal hair, and the fact that the criminal did not speak a recognizable human language. I liked the fact that he tricked the sailor into coming to meet him, and got him to confess to the entire mishap with the monkey. The story gets so involved, it is easy to forget why Dupin is conducting an investigation in the first place, but we cannot ignore the reality that two innocent women were murdered. Everyone likes the bad guy to get caught, confess, and be punished for his actions, so the ending is completely appropriate. Good must win over evil, and Dupin is triumphant over the sailor.  Everything a reader looks for in detective fiction is included in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". There are the colorful characters, including the ingenious detective, a fascinating crime, and the path by which the murder is solved and the perpetrator gets what is coming to him. This story is a wonderful model for detective and mystery fiction. e here.