I’ve been trying to think who has the look and attitude to be Archie Goodwin. At first, I was considering Alan Ladd, although he’s a little hard-boiled for the role. Then it hit me: Lloyd Nolan.
Yup, Dr. Chegley from the ground-breaking TV sitcom Julia.
I remembered seeing him in some noir B-flicks as a quick-witted Los Angeles P.I. named Michael Shayne. He’d need to lose the always-looking-over-his-shoulder-for-the-cops air, but I’m pretty sure he could have risen to the occasion. Every time he was actually confronted by an Inspector, he let the bravado kick in, and handled himself with grace and aplomb (and wisecracks). Pretty sure he’d have been up to dealing with Cramer.
What’s this about there being more than one Zeck story? (I’m only familiar with In the Best Families, in which I remember Wolfe being bearded and skinny, but not working as a cabbie.)
I removed William Conrad playing him. He was older and overweight by that time, but I could imagine him as overweight but fairly mobile (think Conrad’s “Cannon” character).
There’s an enormous difference between a guy in his 20s, who’s in peak athletic condition, and who’s 270 pounds of muscle, and a sedentary 56-year-old who weighs that much (and who, at 5’ 11", is probably a half-foot shorter than the comparable 270-pound NFL linebacker).
You’re talking about someone who never gave to the reader information which was actually available to the speaking voice. That’s not a way to keep people guessing, that’s cheating.
Compare with Poe or Chesterton, who gave full information. Relevant details could easily be overlooked, but they had been given.
Roderick Femm @36: I only meant to call The Rubber Band one of the lesser 1930s novels, in comparison to The League of Frightened Men (1935), Too Many Cooks (1939), and Some Buried Caesar (1940)…which happen to be my three favorite Wolfe novels. I too prefer the earlier books, and rate The Red Box and The Rubber Band much higher than most of the ‘50s and ‘60s entries.
Yep, but not quite. Wolfe and Archie are in the pasture, Wolfe instructs Archie to divert the bull, and while Archie is running for his life and humiliating himself leaping a fence, the boss finds a tall. safe rock to perch on.
What do you base that on?
While you’re here, are the Goldsborough novels considered to be canon? In one of his novels, one of the things recommending Archie is shooting a guy.
