BRANAGH TO THE RESCUE: “Not Your Granny’s Christie”

This classic mystery fan is always grateful when the modern press pays attention to anything related to the Golden Age, so it was with great delight that I received my latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, only to find the cast of the upcoming remake of Murder on the Orient Express splashed across the cover. Kenneth …

A IS FOR ALFRED

All through April, the Tuesday Night Bloggers are on an “Anything Goes” kick: the subject can be anything beginning with the letter “A.” So far this month, I’ve focused on Agatha – Christie, that is – so I thought that, for my final TNG post of the month, I would switch it up to another …

ACRIMONY! Agatha and Adaptations

This April theme to which All the Tuesday Night Bloggers Aspire is An Admirable Act. I Attribute it to the Allure of Alliteration. Anyway, As Bev’s Adorable Artwork Alludes, in April, Anything Goes . . . just as long as it begins with the letter A. You can imagine, knowing me as you do, my …

THE LOVE DETECTIVES: Hammett’s The Thin Man

REPORTER: Say, is he working on a case? NORA: Why, yes – REPORTER: What case is it? NORA: A case of Scotch. Go in and help him. I rarely venture into hard-boiled territory, but I have always had a deep fondness for Dashiell Hammett. I bought myself a copy of his Five Collected Novels years …

CALLING DR. DEATH: The Wonderful World of The Inner Sanctum

“This is the Inner Sanctum - a strange, fantastic world controlled by a mass of living, pulsating flesh – the mind. It destroys, distorts, creates monsters . . . commits murder. Yes, even you, without knowing, can commit murder!” Every month over at Past Offenses, Rich Westwood picks a different year to celebrate for the …

IT’S ALL RELATIVE: Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt

Over at Past Offenses this month, Rich Westwood is hosting a celebration of the best mysteries of 1943. Anybody who wants to can select a book or film from that year and put something together. I’m grateful to Rich for providing a forum for folks to share their views and opinions, and I’m especially glad …

THE RIGHT DIRECTION: Hitchcock’s North by Northwest

When Rich at Past Offenses chooses a particularly challenging year for his monthly “Crimes of the Century” invitational – where bloggers from all over send in posts of great mysteries of the time – I am grateful that he includes films as well as books. This is particularly true when we’re dealing with the late …