With Noirember right around the corner we thought we’d give you a list of movies to watch in celebration. If you couldn’t tell from our previous articles, we love film noir. And we love talking about our love of film noir almost as much as we love watching them. So here’s a list of some… Continue reading Celebrate Noirvember with these Film Noir Flicks
Tag: Pulp Fiction
H.P. Lovecraft and Lovecraftian Horror
Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890 – 1937) was largely an unknown writer during his lifetime. His work was primarily published in the horror pulp rags like Weird Tales and Astounding Stories and was never considered “literature.” He developed a cult-like following years after his death. Today people still write about his creations in a Horror sub-genre… Continue reading H.P. Lovecraft and Lovecraftian Horror
In Defense of Godfather Part III
On December 20, 1990 The Godfather Part III premiered in Beverly Hills. Nowadays The Godfather Part III is a forgotten mob flick thats never ends up on any best of mafia movie lists, ours included. First, I should say this article contains spoilers, I don’t usually feel bad about spoilers for movies turning 30 in… Continue reading In Defense of Godfather Part III
Our Favorite Gangster Movies
There has always been a Gangster film. Audiences have always been seduced by crime, greed, sex, and those who walk outside the boundaries of polite society. It’s an escapism for many who have jobs and bosses they hate. Here’s the first ever Mafia film, The Black Hand (1906). It’s not part of our list but… Continue reading Our Favorite Gangster Movies
Prohibition Era Cocktails: The Mary Pickford
Born in Toronto as Gladys Marie Smith, Mary Pickford became the biggest celebrity of the Silent Era. She came to be known as “The Girl with the Golden Curls” and “America’s Sweetheart.” Mary was possibly the first celebrity to shrewdly make sure her public persona as America’s Sweetheart stayed in tact. She was never pictured… Continue reading Prohibition Era Cocktails: The Mary Pickford
Dashiell Hammett: Pinkerton Detective Turned Hardboiled Writer
They don’t make ’em like Samuel Dashiell Hammett (1894 – 1961) anymore. A veteran of both world wars AND a Pinkerton Agent, Sam wrote what he knew. And what he knew was far more interesting than your average person. A product of the D.M.V. (D.C., Maryland, Virginia NOT the Dept. of Motor Vehicles), Hammett was… Continue reading Dashiell Hammett: Pinkerton Detective Turned Hardboiled Writer
Prohibition Era Cocktails: Black Velvet
It’s Friday the 13th and what better drink to have on a day like today than a Black Velvet. This drink originates way before Prohibition. It’s said that after Prince Albert died in 1861 the steward at the Brook’s Club in London wanted everything in mourning, even the champagne. So we have this half Guinness… Continue reading Prohibition Era Cocktails: Black Velvet
Raymond Chandler: The Bard of the Hardboiled Mystery
I don’t think the Hardboiled Detective would have had the staying power it did if it weren’t for Raymond Chandler (1888-1959). Pulp fiction, unfairly has been considered the lower art form of literature. But you can’t deny the the masterful way Chandler wrote, using metaphors and similes in such a way that was groundbreaking at… Continue reading Raymond Chandler: The Bard of the Hardboiled Mystery
Prohibition Era Cocktails: The Daiquiri
It’s widely accepted that Jennings Stockton Cox is the man who invented the Daiquiri in the Cuban town of, well, Daiquirií in 1898. But it was the bartender at the El Floridita, Constantino Ribalaigua Vert who crafted the drink for Tennessee Williams, Jean-Paul Sartre, Gary Cooper and of course Ernest Hemingway, made El Floridita in… Continue reading Prohibition Era Cocktails: The Daiquiri
Donald Westlake: The Patron Saint of the Hardboiled Heist Novel
Donald E Westlake (1933-2008) is your favorite writer’s favorite writer. The man wrote over 100 fiction books and almost all of them are pure pulp. I can’t recommend his books enough, if you’re into hardboiled fiction, pick one up. This is a guy who counts Elmore Leonard, Jim Thompson, Stephen King, Dennis Lehane, and Lawrence… Continue reading Donald Westlake: The Patron Saint of the Hardboiled Heist Novel