Another Underappreciated Mystery Author: DAVID GOODIS

Dave's choice of an underappreciated mystery author today takes us back to the glory days of Hollywood:

David Goodis (1917-1967) with friends Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Becall graced the cover of Paperback Forum from 1985 issue #2. There is an article in this issue by Geoffrey O'Brien titled "David Goodis: Tough Guy As Walter Mitty."

Many of devoted readers of noir have read books by David Goodis, whose titles include the following:

Somebody's Done For (1967)
Night Squad (1961)
Fire in the Flesh (1957)
Down There (1956) aka Shoot the Piano Player
The Wounded and the Slain (1955)
The Blonde on the Street Corner (1954)
Street of No Return (1954)
Black Friday (1954)
The Moon in the Gutter (1953)
The Burglar (1953)
Street of the Lost (1952)
Of Tender Sin (1952)
Cassidy's Girl (1951)
Of Missing Persons (1950)
Behold This Woman (1947)
Nightfall (1947) aka Convicted, The Dark Chase
Dark Passage (1946)
Retreat from Oblivion (1939)

I first read books by David Goodis in the paperbacks published by the original Black Lizard/Creative Arts imprint that was edited by Barry Gifford. Goodis wrote for many pulp magazines and wrote for radio serials and lived in Hollywood for six years writing screenplays. If you like noir, find a David Goodis title to read.

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PS from Beth: Nice material on David Goodis in The Big Book of Noir edited by Ed Gorman et al., and a story by Goodis, "It's a Wise Cadaver," in Pulp Fictions, edited by Peter Haining.