NO TELL MOTEL

Need to rendezvous in secret? Chas Ray Krider shows you how.

Chas Ray Krider’s Dirty Rendezvous is the third and final book in his motelesque trilogy, the first two entries of which were Motel Fetish and Do Not Disturb. Krider’s meticulously staged scenes in book three continue to conjure the retro chic of those lonely highwayside stopovers of American lore. The images nod strongly toward mid-century film noir and melodrama. Anything from The Postman Always Rings Twice to Psycho could apply, but soaked in deep, lush color. Krider’s women are the dangerous type—smokers and drinkers garbed in fetish wear, and often lavishly tattooed. Despite their tough looks, there’s an undercurrent of romance—the isolated motel is linked in the American psyche to freedom, adventure, and never knowing what you’ll find past the next solitary mile marker. Or who. 

But while motels suggest travel by road and the exhilaration of unexpected encounters, the title Dirty Rendezvous and the models’ elaborate garb speak of illicit plans and long guarded secrets. Not random meet-ups, but carefully woven webs of deceit—wives lied to, hats pulled down low, furtive glances in the rear view mirror. Krider has deftly achieved all these sensations and more, and when you add in the fact that his motel sets are as clean and carefully arranged as pages from vintage furniture catalogs, the result is guilty sleaze done with considerable class.

Dirty Rendezvous is a book depicting the moments just before wicked acts are committed with soul-freeing joy. You imagine Krider’s women checking in wearing demure garb, then transforming once concealed in the room. Of course, the desk clerk doesn’t care either way. He smirks when guests register under obviously false names and pay with cash, but all that really matters to him is that they don’t wake the family in 3B. It’s a futile wish—3B is about to hear things they never heard before. Get more info at the artist’s blog here.

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1944—Velez Commits Suicide

Mexican actress Lupe Velez, who was considered one of the great beauties of her day, commits suicide by taking an overdose of sleeping pills. In her note, Velez says she did it to avoid bringing shame on her unborn child by giving birth to him out of wedlock, but many Hollywood historians believe bipolar disorder was the actual cause. The event inspired a 1965 Andy Warhol film entitled Lupe.

1958—Gordo the Monkey Lost After Space Flight

After a fifteen minute flight into space on a Jupiter AM-13 rocket, a monkey named Gordo splashes down in the South Pacific but is lost after his capsule sinks. The incident sparks angry protests from the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, but NASA says animals are needed for such tests.

1968—Tallulah Bankhead Dies

American actress, talk show host, and party girl Tallulah Bankhead, who was fond of turning cartwheels in a dress without underwear and once made an entrance to a party without a stitch of clothing on, dies in St. Luke’s Hospital in New York City of double pneumonia complicated by emphysema.

1962—Canada Has Last Execution

The last executions in Canada occur when Arthur Lucas and Ronald Turpin, both of whom are Americans who had been extradited north after committing separate murders in Canada, are hanged at Don Jail in Toronto. When Turpin is told that he and Lucas will probably be the last people hanged in Canada, he replies, “Some consolation.”

1964—Guevara Speaks at U.N.

Ernesto “Che” Guevara, representing the nation of Cuba, speaks at the 19th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York City. His speech calls for wholesale changes in policies between rich nations and poor ones, as well as five demands of the United States, none of which are met.

2008—Legendary Pin-Up Bettie Page Dies

After suffering a heart attack several days before, erotic model Bettie Page, who in the 1950s became known as the Queen of Pin-ups, dies when she is removed from life support machinery. Thanks to the unique style she displayed in thousands of photos and film loops, Page is considered one of the most influential beauties who ever lived.

1935—Downtown Athletic Club Awards First Trophy

The Downtown Athletic Club in New York City awards its first trophy for athletic achievement to University of Chicago halfback Jay Berwanger. The prize is later renamed the Heisman Trophy, and becomes the most prestigious award in college athletics.

Barye Phillips cover art for Street of No Return by David Goodis.
Assorted paperback covers featuring hot rods and race cars.

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