David Dodge (1910–1974)
Autore di To Catch a Thief [1955 film]
Sull'Autore
Fonte dell'immagine: David Dodge (1910-1974).
Serie
Opere di David Dodge
Fly Down Drive Mexico: A Practical Motorist's Handbook for Travel South of the Border (1968) 5 copie
Novelas escogidas 3 copie
hdts 2011 catalog 2 copie
Fellow Passenger 1 copia
Uppdrag i Barcelona 1 copia
Den enes dd̲ 1 copia
Opere correlate
The Golden Age of Film: Four Great Novels That Captivated Hollywood (2007) — Collaboratore — 4 copie
Etichette
Informazioni generali
- Data di nascita
- 1910-08-18
- Data di morte
- 1974-08
- Luogo di sepoltura
- San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
- Sesso
- male
- Nazionalità
- USA
- Luogo di residenza
- San Francisco, California, USA
Princeton, New Jersey, USA
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico - Attività lavorative
- Certified Public Accountant
- Breve biografia
- David Francis Dodge was born in Berkeley, California. His career as a writer began when he made a bet with his wife Elva that he could write a better mystery novel than the one she was reading. He drew on his professional experience as a Certified Public Accountant to create his first series character, San Francisco tax expert and reluctant detective James "Whit" Whitney. "Death and Taxes" was published in 1941 and he won $5.00 from Elva. Three more Whitney novels were published between 1943 and 1946. After Pearl Harbor Dodge was commissioned in the U.S. Navy and emerged three years later as a Lieutenant Commander. On his release from active duty, he set out for Guatemala by car with his wife and daughter. His Latin-American experiences produced a second series character, expatriate private investigator and tough-guy adventurer Al Colby, and launched Dodge's second career as a travel writer. Dodge was fond of explaining that while many writers traveled in order to gather material to write about, his goal was to write in order to gather money to travel. David Dodge also wrote short stories, magazine articles, and plays. He is best known as the author of "To Catch a Thief," which Alfred Hitchcock turned into a film (1955) starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. His final novel, "The Last Match," remained unpublished and hidden among his personal papers until 2006, when it was published by Hard Case Crime.
Utenti
Recensioni
Premi e riconoscimenti
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Autori correlati
Statistiche
- Opere
- 35
- Opere correlate
- 6
- Utenti
- 1,148
- Popolarità
- #22,370
- Voto
- 3.8
- Recensioni
- 51
- ISBN
- 55
- Lingue
- 4
- Preferito da
- 3
In the first of the three books, which do not need to be read in order, Al is hired to discover if a man who left his wife is dead, so that his unpleasant ex-wife can get hold of his properties in Los Angeles. From Mexico to Chile and Spanish spots between, Al Colby’s search is imbued with a spicy flavor the reader can almost taste. It moves so quickly, however, there isn’t much time to soak it in before you’re off for answers somewhere else. Once Al is told the man is actually dead, he begins to feel it might have been murder, or perhaps something even more involved.
There’s a lovely girl named Ann “Idaho” Farrell who helps him out, and with whom Al has a romantic involvement as he attempts to sort out what happened. The crux of the mystery centers on the surviving family of the deceased in Chile, a powerful family which doesn’t want the body exhumed to confirm who is in the grave. One of them is the stunningly beautiful Teresa (Terry), who may not be as warm as Idaho but has a higher voltage. She may be protecting more than her impulsive brother Frito. Soon, the secrets being hidden lead to someone taking a shot at Al. An old murder, and a cunning deception is finally uncovered by Colby, but realizing to expose it will literally end a life, and damage others, Colby must wrestle with his next step.
The Long Escape, released in 1948, seems startlingly fresh when read today, in spite of its age. Dodge was terrific at atmosphere, using a modicum of words to describe the colorful surroundings during the goings on, placing the reader there in Al Colby’s shoes. The conversational narrative style can almost be coined as breezy, and before you know it, you’ve read half the book. A blending of adventure story and detective mystery, this will appeal to anyone who loves either.
Dodge is most famous for To Catch a Thief because of the Hitchcock film starring Cary Grant and the lovely Grace Kelly, but he wrote other novels, and I’ve always found the Al Colby series some of his best work. Two of the three Colby stories are now available on Kindle, and I'm hopeful the third will be at some point, as interest in Dodge's work is renewed. My highest recommendation.… (altro)