Just got a note from Nathan Ward, author of the quite hard-boiled Dark Harbor, a history of the head-busting and mayhem that ruled the New York docks and provided the back story for Brando to chew the scenery in On the Waterfront.
You may want to check that one out so you’re ready for the book Nathan is working on now, a non-fiction look into young Dashiell Hammett and “his transition from Op to artist.”
While I appreciate the entire span of Hammett’s biography — and who could argue that the McCarthy era wasn’t one of the most historically significant periods in which he played a role? — personally my favorite era is his early life, the detective and pulp-writing years. Should be good.
But one of the things that prompted Nathan to pop in this note was my review of the movie John Carter — yeah, trust me, pretty much anyone with taste is going to like it. He said, “Good for you defending John Carter. My boy and I loved it (in a near- empty theater) and you’re right that leaving off ‘of Mars’ may have killed some casual interest. After all, it’s at least as good as a Clash of the Titans sequel, and more humorous and original. There’s no way anyone will make Carson of Venus now.”
