This 1955 Bantam edition of Steve Fisher's 1954 novel Giveaway has a front by James Hill that's at once beautiful and sordid. We've always been drawn to this art, so after seeing the book around for years we finally decided it was time to give it a read. Fisher tells the story of a seventeen-year-old Midwestern runaway named Eddie Shelton who ends up in Los Angeles and meets a mother and daughter who make their living by selling prizes they win for appearing on (fictional) game shows such as Down Melody Street and Cookies or Cash. It's difficult to get on the shows because the producers prefer novices, rather than “pros.” Jane, the daughter in this duo, sees Eddie as her ticket to being booked on a show called Man and Wife that offers huge prizes, including a trip to Hawaii and a year's wardrobe. She's willing to do anything for the chance—even convince Eddie she's in love with him.

The allegory is strong with this book. It reminded us of They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, with its capitalist critique folded within the characters' constant hope that a jackpot will lift them out of their meager circumstances, but it's also indebted to Catcher in the Rye because it features the same sort of youngish character who thinks the entire world is phony bullshit. Like that book, Giveaway is written in first person with copious slang and the feel of trying to make sense of a confusing society. We saw it labeled somewhere as juvenile fiction. It isn't. It stars two teens, but the themes from veteran pulp magazine contributor, crime novelist, and screenwriter Fisher are adult, and overall he crafts a good tale. His screenplays include Dead Reckoning, Lady in the Lake, and Johnny Angel, so a foray into the criminal underworld with him is mandatory. We have one of his crime novels, so that'll be an upcoming read, and we'll report back.

This promo poster for Dead Reckoning is deliberately garish and highly effective at drawing the eye. They don't make 'em like this anymore, nor movies like this either. It had a special premiere today in 1947 in San Francisco, and went into wide release across the U.S. a month later. We shared a piece of Japanese promo art years ago and talked about the film, so if you want to know more, check here. 

Above, Lizabeth Scott is smoking in more ways than one in this promo image shot for her 1948 film noir Pitfall. She was born Emma Matzo, if you can believe that, which makes her real name maybe the second worst in Hollywood history. But her career has to rank as one of the best in the sense that unlike most actresses she began with starring roles, debuting in 1945’s You Came Along, and later appearing in such classics as The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Dead Reckoning and I Walk Alone. She last acted in 1972’s Pulp with Michael Caine, and today, aged 90, is retired and living in Southern California. 

A while back we made fun of some English-language websites for uploading a Japanese poster backwards. Well, now it’s Japan’s turn. Play it again Boggy? Seriously guys? Is that supposed to be phonetic? We think not. Well, it just goes to show you that whatever your language is, written down it’s just a bunch of chicken scratching to billions of other people. In any case, what you’re looking at is a poster for the film noir Dead Reckoning, starring Bogie, not Boggy. In Japan the movie was titled Great Split. At least that’s what the big red writing at bottom says. Platinum-haired Lizabeth Scott co-stars with Bogart, and we think she fares better in this than in Pitfall, which we discussed last week. She’s more alluring here, and has a meatier role to play as a woman with a complicated past.

The film is narrated by Bogart, and his tale is peppered with combat and gambling metaphors as various gambits come up “snake eyes,” or he’s “dealt a joker.” Of course, the real wild card is Scott—is she or isn’t she in with the villains? Bogart’s rational side says yes, but his gut—and groin—are seduced by Scott’s siren song. We mean that literally. Mid-century filmmakers often snuck in vocal numbers for their female starsto perform. Sometimes they fit seamlessly into the plot. In this case—not so much. Scott’s routine occurs at dinner while she’s sitting at the table with Bogie. You can see the thoughts playing on his face, above, and, “This is one freeeaky chick,” eventually loses out to, “I wonder if she dyes her muff?”

In the end, the whole conspiracy—the lies, the murders, the blackmail—is all about money. No shock there. And the head villain is the one with the best suit. Of course. So Dead Reckoning isn’t special, and in fact it borrows from a few other film noirs, but how can we resist it when Bogart sneers lines like: “I haven’t had a good laugh since before Johnny was murdered.”? It’s those hardboiled moments that make Dead Reckoning worth watching. As for the mandatory love angle, strings swell and eyes well, but despite best efforts from Bogart and Scott, their chemistry is a bit, er, boggy. So maybe the Japanese were right after all.