hollywood fiction

November 1947 issue ~ cover art by Peter Stevens

November 1947 issue

~ D.L. Champion, “Down Payment on Death”, 24^th of 26 stories with Rex Sackler, reprinted in Murder Costs Money: The Complete Black Mask Stories of Rex Sackler (Steeger, 2020), 26^th of 30 stories in BM

~ Bruno Fischer, “Middleman for Murder”, ‘Willie, narrator, is blackmailer, etc.’, reprinted in The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Stories (Vintage, 2010), 3^rd of 5 stories in BM

~ William Campbell Gault, “The Case of the Sleeping Beauty”, 4^th of 5 with PI Mortimer Jones, reprinted in Hot-House Homicide: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Mortimer Jones (Steeger, 2925), 5^th of 9 stories in BM

~ R.M.F. Joses, “Red Pearls”, 2nd of 3 with ‘Hollywood private snoop Duane, 1^st person narrator’, 2^nd of 4 stories in BM

~ Julius Long, “Call in the Coroner”, last of 17 stories with ‘Ben Corbett, D.A.’s chief investigator, 1^st -person narrator’, 22nd of 23 stories in BM

~ H.H. Stinson, “Please Kill Me Carefully”, “Ned Healey, L.A. private eye’, 25th of 27 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

July 1934 issue

July 1934 issue

cover art by J. W. Schlaikjer

better image than previously posted

~ W.T. Ballard, “Whatta Guy”, 7th of 27 stories with ‘Bill Lennox, troubleshooter for Consolidated Films’, reprinted in That’s Hollywood: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Bill Lennox, Vol.1 (2023 Steeger Books), 7th of 43 stories in BM

~ Raymond Chandler, “Smart-Aleck Kill”, 2^nd Mallory, first book appearance in the collection The Simple Art of Murder (Houghton Mifflin hardcover, 1950), first paperback appearance Pickup on Noon Street (Pocket, 1/52), various paperback editions, 2^nd of 11 stories in BM

~ George Harmon Coxe, “Hot Delivery”, 5^th of 27 with Flashgun Casey, 5^th of 31 stories in BM

~ Eugene Cunningham, “If Murder Can Be Funny”, 3^rd of 5 with undercover Texas Ranger Cleve Corby, 9^th of 14 stories in BM

~ John Graham, “Murder Crate”, ‘ambulance crew; NYC setting’, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Raymond Jae Moffatt, “Death in the Dark”, ‘Patrolman tries to avenge murdered father’, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

Dealing out Death x 4

1948 McKay hardcover

3rd novel with Hollywood trouble-shooter Bill Lennox who works for the General Consolidated Studios

1950 Graphic reissue

better image than previously posted

1954 Graphic reissue – cover art by Walter Popp

1958 Banner reissue in the UK – cover art by Stanley Borack

November 1934 issue ~ cover art by Fred Craft

November 1934 issue

cover art by Fred Craft

better image than previously posted

~ W.T. Ballard, “In Dead Man’s Alley”, 10th of 27 stories with ‘Bill Lennox, troubleshooter for Consolidated Films’, 10th of 43 stories in BM

~ Eugene Cunningham, “Room Service”, last of 5 with Cleve Corby, 11^th of 14 stories in BM

~ Carroll John Daly, “The Eyes Have It”, ‘last William’s caper [of 53 though Hagemann lists 54] in BM (wherein he had appeared ‘exclusively’), CJD not to pub. in BM until Mar 1938’, reprinted in If Death is Respectable: The Collected Hard-boiled Stories of Race Williams, v.4 (Altus, 2018), 66th of 71 appearances in BM

~ Erle Stanley Gardner, “Hot Cash”, 59th of 73 Ed Jenkins, as Bob Sabin, 83rd of 99 stories in BM

~ Herbert Koehl, “See See Drops In”, ‘C.C. Cane, private eye, 1^st person narrator‘, author’s only appearance in BM

~ Roger Torrey, “Law and Disorder”, 10th of 11 with Dal Prentice, Magna City police dick, ‘one tough guy’, title used again in April 1941 issue, not the same story, 13th of 50 appearances in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

January 1937 issue ~ cover art by Wilber Thomas

January 1937 issue

cover art by Wilber Thomas

better image than previously posted

~ Dwight V. Babcock, “State Narcotic Dick”, ‘Bromley and muggles (marijuana)’, 13^th of 21 stories in BM

~ J.M. Bell, “The Blinking Eye”, short-short, 2^nd of 2 stories in BM

~ Max Brand, “Bulldog”, 1^st of 2 stories in BM

~ Raymond Chandler, “Try the Girl”, 4^th and last Carmady story, first reprint and first book appearance Killer in the Rain (Hammish Hamilton, 3/26/64), last of 11 stories in BM

~ Theodore A. Tinsley, “Little Guy”, ‘18th (of 25) Jerry Tracy capers, columnist on the (NYC) Planet, ‘mixer with poor and rich, the crooked and the straight, trailer of trouble and happiness’, reprinted in Murder Maze: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Jerry Tracy, vol.2 (Steeger 2022), 19th of 26 stories in BM

~ Roger Torrey, “Murder Frame”, ‘Cassidy, cop, is framed’, 24th of 50 appearances in BM

~ Cornell Woolrich, “Shooting Going On”, ‘Hollywood murder’, 1^st of 24 (22 original) stories to appear in BM

©Seattle Mystery Bookshop

March 1947 issue ~ cover art by Albert Drake

March 1947 issue

cover art by Albert Drake

better image than previously posted

~ Dale Clark, “The Corpse with the Bloody Nose”, last of 28 O’Hanna stories, last of 32 appearances in BM

~ Merle Constiner, “Dead on Arrival”, ‘Luther McGavock, private detective; he works Atherton Browne who heads a Memphis-based agency, 10^th of 11 of the McG stories; usually rural setting’, reprinted in Let the Dead Alone: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Luther McGavock (Steeger, 2020), 11^th of 12 stories in BM

~ Robert C. Dennis, “Out of This World”, 2nd of 6 with ‘William (Willie) Carmody, Confidential Investigations & Margaret O’Leary, writer, Hollywood, WC is first-person narrator’, 2nd of 10 stories in BM

~ William Campbell Gault, “A Murder for Mac”, reprinted in Hot-House Homicide: The Complete Black Mask Cases of Mortimer Jones (Steeger, 2925), 2nd of 5 with PI Mortimer Jones, 3^rd of 9 stories in BM

~ Coleman Meyer, “You’ll Never Grow Old”, ‘Hill Cartright, auto racer, tells it’, author’s 1^st of 2 stories in BM