Craig Rice (author)
Encyclopedia
Craig Rice was an American author of mystery
novels and short stories, sometimes described as "the Dorothy Parker
of detective fiction
." She was the first mystery writer to appear on the cover of Time Magazine
, on January 28, 1946.
to give birth to her first child, Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig. Mary’s husband, Harry Craig, a Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
native was nicknamed Bosco. Soon after Georgiana’s birth, Mary abandoned the child to return to her husband overseas leaving Georgiana to travel from relative to relative. They returned in 1911 to meet their three-year old daughter but then departed for Europe again, moving on to India when the war broke out. At that time, Georgiana found a permanent home in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
where she lived with her paternal aunt and uncle, Mr. & Mrs. Elton Rice at 607 South Main St. It was the Rices who raised Georgiana and it was her uncle Elton who has been credited with stirring her interest in mysteries by reading her the poems and stories of Edgar Allen Poe.
Gritty but humorous, Rice's stories uniquely combine the hardboiled
detective tradition with no-holds-barred, screwball comedy
. Most of her output features a memorable trio of protagonists: Jake Justus, a handsome but none too bright press agent with his heart in the right place; Helene Brand, a rich heiress and hard-drinking party animal par excellence (to become Mrs. Justus in the later novels); and John Joseph Malone, a hard-drinking, small-time lawyer (though both his cryptic conversation and sartorial habits are more reminiscent of such official or private gumshoes as Lieutenant Columbo). Against the odds and often apparently more by luck than skill, these three manage to solve crimes whose details are often burlesque
and surreal
, sometimes to the point of grand guignol
, and all involving the perpetually exasperated Captain Daniel Von Flanagan of the Homicide Squad. A few stories feature the team of Bingo Riggs and Handsome Kusak, small-time grifters who become involved in criminal situations and have to dig themselves free by solving the mystery.
Craig Rice also ghostwrote
for a number of celebrities, including Gypsy Rose Lee
and George Sanders
. "While the collaboration with Gypsy is often reported, this claim cannot be independently verified."
Her association with Sanders came about as a result of her work on the screenplays of two of The Falcon movies, The Falcon's Brother (1942, Sanders's final outing as The Falcon) and The Falcon in Danger (1943, when Sanders's brother Tom Conway
had taken over the role). She collaborated with fellow mystery writer Stuart Palmer
on screenplays and short stories and with Ed McBain on a novel for which she furnished the principal characters, Bingo Riggs and Handsome Kusak. (The "collaboration" with McBain is a "posthumous collaboration in which McBain completed an unfinished book begun by Rice. In a foreword to at least one edition of the book, McBain wrote that the book was essentially half-finished in first draft, but there were no notes as to how she had intended to continue it, so that he had to solve the mystery himself before completing the MS.)
. A reader of her 1944 novel http://www.ruemorguepress.com/catalog/rice_homesweet.htmlHome Sweet Homicide might be excused for believing that it was based on her experiences with her own children; the children solve a mystery while their mother, oblivious to their antics and everything else around her, tries to finish writing a mystery novel. The novel is told from the children's point of view.
Emulating the wild lifestyle of her characters, Rice developed chronic alcoholism
and made several suicide
attempts. She also suffered from deteriorating health, including deafness in one ear
and blindness
in one eye with incipient glaucoma
in the other. She died of apparently natural causes shortly before her fiftieth birthday.
and also Frank Lovejoy
and George Petrie.
13 30-minute episodes starring Lee Tracy
as John J. Malone
"Although The Amazing Mr. Malone ran for only one season on ABC from September 1951 to March 1952 it is fondly remembered by older viewers as the first crime series to feature a wise-cracking relationship between a Chicago lawyer and a police Captain ... which had originated in print, transferred successfully to the cinema, and then made it to TV—though not with the success it had enjoyed in the other two media. ... All in all, The Amazing Mr. Malone deserved a better fate than the one to which it was condemned by poor ratings.
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
novels and short stories, sometimes described as "the Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles....
of detective fiction
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
." She was the first mystery writer to appear on the cover of Time Magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, on January 28, 1946.
Early Life
In 1908, Mary Randolph Craig reluctantly interrupted her globetrotting to return home to ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to give birth to her first child, Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig. Mary’s husband, Harry Craig, a Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
Fort Atkinson is a city in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the Rock River, a few miles upstream from Lake Koshkonong. In 1996, Money Magazine named Fort Atkinson "One of America's Hottest Little Boomtowns." The population was 11,621 at the 2000 census.- History :Fort...
native was nicknamed Bosco. Soon after Georgiana’s birth, Mary abandoned the child to return to her husband overseas leaving Georgiana to travel from relative to relative. They returned in 1911 to meet their three-year old daughter but then departed for Europe again, moving on to India when the war broke out. At that time, Georgiana found a permanent home in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
Fort Atkinson is a city in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the Rock River, a few miles upstream from Lake Koshkonong. In 1996, Money Magazine named Fort Atkinson "One of America's Hottest Little Boomtowns." The population was 11,621 at the 2000 census.- History :Fort...
where she lived with her paternal aunt and uncle, Mr. & Mrs. Elton Rice at 607 South Main St. It was the Rices who raised Georgiana and it was her uncle Elton who has been credited with stirring her interest in mysteries by reading her the poems and stories of Edgar Allen Poe.
Writing Career
Craig Rice "apparently spent her early life working in (Chicago) on radio and in public relations. For a number of years she tried unsuccessfully to write novels, poetry and music, but it was not until her first story of John J. Malone, which she published under her birth surname and adopted surname [Craig Rice], that she enjoyed some hard-won success."Gritty but humorous, Rice's stories uniquely combine the hardboiled
Hardboiled
Hardboiled crime fiction is a literary style, most commonly associated with detective stories, distinguished by the unsentimental portrayal of violence and sex. The style was pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s, popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the decade, and refined...
detective tradition with no-holds-barred, screwball comedy
Screwball Comedy
Screwball Comedy is an album by the Japanese band Soul Flower Union. The album found the band going into a simpler, harder-rocking direction, after several heavily world-music influenced albums.-Track listing:...
. Most of her output features a memorable trio of protagonists: Jake Justus, a handsome but none too bright press agent with his heart in the right place; Helene Brand, a rich heiress and hard-drinking party animal par excellence (to become Mrs. Justus in the later novels); and John Joseph Malone, a hard-drinking, small-time lawyer (though both his cryptic conversation and sartorial habits are more reminiscent of such official or private gumshoes as Lieutenant Columbo). Against the odds and often apparently more by luck than skill, these three manage to solve crimes whose details are often burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
and surreal
Surreal humour
Surreal humour is a form of humour based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent. Constructions of surreal humour involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational situations, and/or expressions of nonsense.The humour arises from a...
, sometimes to the point of grand guignol
Grand Guignol
Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol — known as the Grand Guignol — was a theatre in the Pigalle area of Paris . From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962 it specialized in naturalistic horror shows...
, and all involving the perpetually exasperated Captain Daniel Von Flanagan of the Homicide Squad. A few stories feature the team of Bingo Riggs and Handsome Kusak, small-time grifters who become involved in criminal situations and have to dig themselves free by solving the mystery.
Craig Rice also ghostwrote
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
for a number of celebrities, including Gypsy Rose Lee
Gypsy Rose Lee
Gypsy Rose Lee was an American burlesque entertainer famous for her striptease act. She was also an actress, author, and playwright whose 1957 memoir was made into the stage musical and film Gypsy.-Early life:...
and George Sanders
George Sanders
George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
. "While the collaboration with Gypsy is often reported, this claim cannot be independently verified."
Her association with Sanders came about as a result of her work on the screenplays of two of The Falcon movies, The Falcon's Brother (1942, Sanders's final outing as The Falcon) and The Falcon in Danger (1943, when Sanders's brother Tom Conway
Tom Conway
Tom Conway was a British film and radio actor, and elder brother of actor George Sanders.-Early life:...
had taken over the role). She collaborated with fellow mystery writer Stuart Palmer
Stuart Palmer
Stuart Palmer was a popular mystery novel author and screenwriter, best known for his character Hildegarde Withers.Palmer was born in Baraboo, Wisconsin...
on screenplays and short stories and with Ed McBain on a novel for which she furnished the principal characters, Bingo Riggs and Handsome Kusak. (The "collaboration" with McBain is a "posthumous collaboration in which McBain completed an unfinished book begun by Rice. In a foreword to at least one edition of the book, McBain wrote that the book was essentially half-finished in first draft, but there were no notes as to how she had intended to continue it, so that he had to solve the mystery himself before completing the MS.)
Personal Life
She had three children, two daughters and a son. "Craig Rice kept very few personal records. She was conventionally wed four times with other affairs." One of her husbands was beat poet Lawrence LiptonLawrence Lipton
Lawrence Lipton was an American journalist, writer, and beat poet, as well as the father of James Lipton.Lipton was born in Lodz, Poland, the son of Rose and Abraham Lipton. He was brought to the United States in 1903 and settled in Chicago, Illinois...
. A reader of her 1944 novel http://www.ruemorguepress.com/catalog/rice_homesweet.htmlHome Sweet Homicide might be excused for believing that it was based on her experiences with her own children; the children solve a mystery while their mother, oblivious to their antics and everything else around her, tries to finish writing a mystery novel. The novel is told from the children's point of view.
Emulating the wild lifestyle of her characters, Rice developed chronic alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and made several suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
attempts. She also suffered from deteriorating health, including deafness in one ear
Hearing impairment
-Definition:Deafness is the inability for the ear to interpret certain or all frequencies of sound.-Environmental Situations:Deafness can be caused by environmental situations such as noise, trauma, or other ear defections...
and blindness
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
in one eye with incipient glaucoma
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is an eye disorder in which the optic nerve suffers damage, permanently damaging vision in the affected eye and progressing to complete blindness if untreated. It is often, but not always, associated with increased pressure of the fluid in the eye...
in the other. She died of apparently natural causes shortly before her fiftieth birthday.
Novels and Short Story Collections
All novels feature John J. Malone and Jake and Helene Justus unless otherwise noted.- Eight Faces at Three (1939) "John J. Malone, rumpled Chicago lawyer, teams up with press agent Jake Justus and eccentric heiress Helene Brand, to discover who killed a vicious dowager and why the murderer then made up the beds in the victim's house and stopped the clocks at 3:00."
- The Corpse Steps Out (1940)
- The Wrong Murder (1940)
- The Right Murder (1941)
- The G-String MurdersThe G-String MurdersThe G-String Murders is a 1941 detective novel written by famed American burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee. There have been claims made that the novel was in fact written by Craig Rice but others have suggested that there is enough documented evidence in the form of manuscripts and correspondence...
(1941; possibly ghostwritten for Gypsy Rose Lee, though there is much dispute) (featuring and published as by Gypsy Rose Lee) - Trial by Fury (1941)
- The Sunday Pigeon Murders (1942; Bingo and Handsome)
- Mother Finds a Body (1942; ghostwritten for Gypsy Rose Lee) (featuring and published as by Gypsy Rose Lee)
- The Big Midget Murders (1942)
- Telefair (1942; non-series)
- Having Wonderful Crime (1943)
- The Thursday Turkey Murders (1942; Bingo and Handsome)
- Home Sweet Homicide (1944; non-series)
- Crime on My Hands (1944; ghostwritten for and published as by George Sanders)
- Lucky Stiff (1945)
- The Fourth Postman (1948)
- Innocent Bystander (1949; non-series)
- My Kingdom for a Hearse (1957)
- Knocked for a Loop (1957; all publication from this point on is posthumous)
- The April Robin Murders (1958, principally credited to Ed McBain and featuring Bingo and Handsome)
- The Name is Malone (1958; short stories)
- People vs. Withers and Malone (1963; short stories; completed by Stuart Palmer and featuring his Hildegarde WithersHildegarde WithersHildegarde Withers is a fictional character who appeared in several films and novels. She was created by Stuart Palmer.Miss Withers "whom the census enumerator had recently listed as 'spinster, born Boston, age thirty-nine, occupation school teacher'" becomes an amateur sleuthin the first book of...
character) - But the Doctor Died (1967)
- Murder, Mystery and Malone (2002; short story collection)
- The Pickled Poodles (1960, by Larry M. Harris) is a continuation of the John J. Malone series.
Films
- The Falcon's Brother (1942, original screenplay)
- The Falcon in Danger (1943, screenplay)
- Having Wonderful Crime (1945) Pat O'BrienPat O'Brien (actor)Pat O’Brien was an American film actor with more than one hundred screen credits.-Early life:O’Brien was born William Joseph Patrick O’Brien to an Irish-American Catholic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as an altar boy at Gesu Church while growing up near 13th and Clybourn streets...
as Michael J. Malone, George MurphyGeorge MurphyGeorge Lloyd Murphy was an American dancer, actor, and politician.-Life and career:He was born in New Haven, Connecticut of Irish Catholic extraction, the son of Michael Charles "Mike" Murphy, athletic trainer and coach, and Nora Long. He was educated at Peddie School, Trinity-Pawling School, and...
as Jake Justus, Carole LandisCarole LandisCarole Landis was an American film and stage actress whose break-through role was as the female lead in the 1940 film One Million B.C.. Landis has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1765 Vine Street....
as Helene Justus, loosely based on the novel - Home Sweet HomicideHome Sweet HomicideHome Sweet Homicide is a 1946 American mystery film directed by Lloyd Bacon. The film stars Peggy Ann Garner, Randolph Scott and Lynn Bari and is based on a mystery novel by Craig Rice....
(1946) Peggy Ann GarnerPeggy Ann GarnerPeggy Ann Garner was an American actress.A successful child actor, Garner played her first film role in 1938 and won the Academy Juvenile Award for her work in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn...
, Dean StockwellDean StockwellDean Stockwell is an American actor of film and television, with a career spanning over 65 years. As a child actor under contract to MGM he first came to the public's attention in films such as Anchors Aweigh and The Green Years; as a young adult he played a lead role in the 1957 Broadway and...
and Connie Marshall as the mystery-solving kids; Lynn BariLynn BariLynn Bari , born Margaret Schuyler Fisher, was a movie actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in over one hundred 20th Century Fox films from the early 1930s through the 1940s.-Career:Bari was born in Roanoke, Virginia...
as their mystery-writing mother, and Randolph ScottRandolph ScottRandolph Scott was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals , adventure tales, war films, and even a few...
as the homicide detective whom they introduce as a romantic interest for their mother. - Tenth Avenue Angel (1948) Margaret O'BrienMargaret O'BrienMargaret O'Brien is an American film and stage actress. Although her film career as a leading character was brief, she was one of the most popular child actors in cinema history...
and Angela LansburyAngela LansburyAngela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
in a "weeper" based on a radio sketch by Rice entitled Miracle at Midnight. - The Lucky Stiff (1949) Brian DonlevyBrian DonlevyBrian Donlevy was an Irish-born American film actor, noted for playing tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best known films are Beau Geste and The Great McGinty...
as John J. Malone, Dorothy LamourDorothy LamourDorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .-Early life:Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise Dorothy...
as Anna Marie St. Claire, the nightclub singer, and Robert ArmstrongRobert Armstrong (actor)Robert Armstrong was an American film actor best remembered for his role as Carl Denham in the 1933 version of King Kong by RKO Pictures. He uttered the famous exit quote, "'Twas beauty killed the beast," at the film's end...
as Inspector Von Flanagan, loosely based on the novel - The Underworld Story (1950) Dan DuryeaDan DuryeaDan Duryea was an American actor, known for roles in film, stage and television.-Early life:Born and raised in White Plains, New York, Duryea graduated from White Plains Senior High School in 1924 and Cornell University in 1928. While at Cornell, Duryea was elected into the Sphinx Head Society...
, Herbert MarshallHerbert MarshallHerbert Marshall , born Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall, was an English actor.His parents were Percy F. Marshall and Ethel May Turner. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Old Harlow, Essex and worked for a time as an accounting clerk...
and Gale StormGale StormGale Storm was an American actress and singer who starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show.-Early life:...
in a film noir story from Rice's original story. - Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone (1950) based on a story by Rice and Stuart PalmerStuart PalmerStuart Palmer was a popular mystery novel author and screenwriter, best known for his character Hildegarde Withers.Palmer was born in Baraboo, Wisconsin...
, Once Upon A Train, or The Loco Motive. Featuring James WhitmoreJames WhitmoreJames Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
as John J. Malone and Marjorie MainMarjorie MainMarjorie Main was an American character actress, mainly at MGM, perhaps best known for her role as Ma Kettle in a series of ten Ma and Pa Kettle movies.-Early life and career:...
as Hattie O'Malley in a comedic story of murder on board a train to Chicago. - The Eddie Cantor Story (1953) – treatment only.
Radio
The Amazing Mr. Malone (aka Murder and Mr. Malone) 30 minute episodes, 1948 (ABC), 1951 (NBC). John J. Malone was played principally by Gene RaymondGene Raymond
Gene Raymond was an American film, television, and stage actor of the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to acting, Raymond was also a composer, writer, director, producer, and decorated military pilot.-Stage and movie career:...
and also Frank Lovejoy
Frank Lovejoy
Frank Lovejoy was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He was born Frank Lovejoy Jr. in Bronx, New York, but grew up in New Jersey. His father, Frank Lovejoy Sr., was a furniture salesman from Maine...
and George Petrie.
Television
The Amazing Mr. Malone (1951–1952)13 30-minute episodes starring Lee Tracy
Lee Tracy
William Lee Tracy was an American actor.- Early life :Tracy was born in Atlanta, Georgia.After graduating from Western Military Academy in 1918 he studied electrical engineering at Union College, and then served as a 2nd lieutenant in World War I. In the early 1920s he decided to work as an actor...
as John J. Malone
"Although The Amazing Mr. Malone ran for only one season on ABC from September 1951 to March 1952 it is fondly remembered by older viewers as the first crime series to feature a wise-cracking relationship between a Chicago lawyer and a police Captain ... which had originated in print, transferred successfully to the cinema, and then made it to TV—though not with the success it had enjoyed in the other two media. ... All in all, The Amazing Mr. Malone deserved a better fate than the one to which it was condemned by poor ratings.