Kent wrote:
"Chandler is a different proposition. He is remembered
because of his written words, not because the film version of
the "The Big Sleep" and forgettable versions of his other
novels."
Cain and Gardner are in print and, at least in Gardner's
case, have probably remained more steadily in print (there
have been times in my lifetime when Chandler has been near
unobtainable in stores, before you could go deep catalog
online) than Chandler. However, Chandler does seem to have
more literary cache than the other two. It is Chandler who so
often is said to write "real books," not "just mysteries," as
if that were something to be ashamed of. So I think a good
case could be made that Chandler is more respected, if not
better known, than the other two in non-mystery
circles.
However, I have a major quibble with the other part of the
statement. I really doubt Chandler would be as well known if
not for "The Big Sleep" movie, just as Hammett would not be
as well known without "The Maltese Falcon" -- I think the
popularity of the PI owes a lot to Bogart.
Finally, "Murder My Sweet" is far from forgettable.
Mark
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