tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post5895078847503403394..comments2024-03-17T06:01:06.495-07:00Comments on The Passing Tramp: Rhineland Romance: Castle Skull (1931), by John Dickson CarrThe Passing Tramphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-61787358822540479562021-10-27T00:34:09.700-07:002021-10-27T00:34:09.700-07:00Dear sir, thank you for an interesting read, dashe...Dear sir, thank you for an interesting read, dashed thorough, old horse! You slay me, your wit to boot: "The Dutchess is really Sir Henry Merrivale in drag" (can you imagine, Merrivale forgetting himself, like Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire when pitching the studio exec dressed in drag and breaking character, Merrivale thunder out load, preceding at the table, giving stately dinner at Castle Skull to the local mayor etc, Masters having come down to lend authority to the ghost-hunt, and getting above himself as usual, putting it to the dinner guests that Merrivale should not see fit to drive the guests home, handbrake in 90 degree angle notwithstanding, Merrivale already on the 24th brandy while still in the h'dourvs, booming put load enough to wake the dead, his voice crashing back and forth in echo throughout the Castle dungeons: "HEYYYY!!!!!! I AM THE OLD QUEEN!!!, YOU KNOW"!!!!!! (say, are you with us on Facebook, at the John Dickson Carr page?)Arnfinn Ronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09920753509391422212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-37107243896365267962016-01-30T00:08:11.387-08:002016-01-30T00:08:11.387-08:00DB, I'm glad it wasn't just my impression ...DB, I'm glad it wasn't just my impression with the Duchess, burn me!<br /><br />John Dickson Carr has complex plots, but so much of his work is inherently cinematic it seems to me. Such atmosphere!The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-79360335173503003512016-01-27T18:13:23.636-08:002016-01-27T18:13:23.636-08:00I didn't enjoy this one as much as The Corpse ...I didn't enjoy this one as much as The Corpse in the Waxworks but I rate it better than It Walks. I still have Four False Weapons and I need to track down The Lost Gallows. I like Bencolin books for the atmosphere but I prefer Fell and Merrivale.<br /><br />I love, and routinely listen to, all of the surviving Carr radio plays. And I thought I had a copy of every adaptation except Colonel March but I guess I have to hunt down that Italian Merrivale. I think Carr is ripe for film/tv adaptation but if not by now, then when? Some of his books are very visual. They don't even make Marsh or Sayers stuff anymore, even though they're closest in many ways to the perennially popular Agatha. (Don't get me wrong, I'll always look forward to AC and ACD productions--BBC's recent And Then There Were None was brilliant.)<br /><br />Oh, and "Duchess" Agatha in this book definitely reminded me of Merrivale. I think it's the interjections. H'mm!<br /><br />I can't believe JDC was so young when he wrote this.DBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04094596928780098392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-4432862298344285712012-04-27T12:48:29.624-07:002012-04-27T12:48:29.624-07:00Ah, yes, JDC and radio plays. Has there ever been ...Ah, yes, JDC and radio plays. Has there ever been scene broadcast over the air waves as gripping and spellbinding as the one from "The Dead Sleep Lightly," in which a man hears his late wive mutter these words over a dead telephone, "<i>But the dead sleep lightly. And they can be lonely too.</i>"TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-57685495263821801902012-04-26T21:39:45.492-07:002012-04-26T21:39:45.492-07:00Sergio,
I still think I'm right about Sir Hen...Sergio,<br /><br />I still think I'm right about Sir Henry, aka Agatha--nothing in the book disproves my theory!<br /><br />I first read Carr over twenty years ago and vividly remember it. I've heard some of radio plays too and really admire them. He was a natural for that form. Filmmakers are really missing a golden opportunity with Carr.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-44889804746702866672012-04-26T13:39:47.340-07:002012-04-26T13:39:47.340-07:00Great review Curt and the appalling idea of Merriv...Great review Curt and the appalling idea of Merrivale in drag is one that is going to be very hard to shift from the old cerebellum for the rest of the evening probably - if this had been a Philip MacDonald novel you would probably be right at that! Carr was a true master, even in the early Bencolin novels and short stories - he is the reason I became a mystery addict thirty years ago and he's still my favourite all this time. Great to read such a jolly and sensible analysis!<br /><br />I would love to see a properly atmospheric film or TV rendition of his Fell or Merricale mysteries - the zoo climax to HE WOULDN;T KILL PATIENCE during a Nazi bombing raid for instance could work brilliantly! Carr of course worked extensively on radio and a lot of his work has transferred very well to that medium so it would be interesting to catch up with some of attempts to transfer his work to the screen. I've not seen any of the TV adaptations made in the UK or Italy (where Adolfo Celi, the villain in THUNDERBALL, played Merrivale) but enjoyed THE MAN IN A CLOAK, from one of his most entertaining short stories, and the two adaptations of CABIN B-13 (DANGEROUS CROSSING and the improved remake, TREACHEROUS CROSSING) are quite good fun. I always thought Timothy West would have made an excellent Merrivale.Sergio (Tipping My Fedora)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07760255627379603587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-75917619744354925602012-04-26T12:18:16.469-07:002012-04-26T12:18:16.469-07:00Patrick, TomCat,
I'd like to see Carr films! ...Patrick, TomCat,<br /><br />I'd like to see Carr films! Unlike most true detective novelists, Carr wrote books with a lot of flash and excitement (too much for me sometimes--I don't mind a certain level of "dullness" in a detective novel). His books, in other words, have true cinematic qualities. Of course, the filmmakers might well make a hash of it anyway!The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-55461876144121243132012-04-26T00:39:36.312-07:002012-04-26T00:39:36.312-07:00Am I the only one relieved at the lack of movie/te...Am I the only one relieved at the lack of movie/television adaptation of JDC's work? I agree that it would be something special to watch one of his novels unravel on the small screen, but I'm realistic enough to realize that they will probably muck it up and I don't want to trust the work of one of the greatest mystery writers to a two-bit scenarist.TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-66264920712415677572012-04-25T20:16:06.983-07:002012-04-25T20:16:06.983-07:00Absolutely love this book-- and I completely agree...Absolutely love this book-- and I completely agree about the lack of a film adaptation! I can see an opening scene already, as Myron is set ablaze and as he burns one of the guests fiddles away... It's a mental picture that has haunted me, similar to a finale in a maze in THE SKELETON IN THE CLOCK... Or that eerie voice from nowhere in ALL IN A MAZE...Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-1433060315958376632012-04-25T20:14:56.218-07:002012-04-25T20:14:56.218-07:00Les,
It's always nice to go back and visit Ca...Les,<br /><br />It's always nice to go back and visit Carr. I don't like the Bencolins as much as the Merrivales or Fells, but they have their points. I like The Corpse in the Waxworks best though.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137677673775151256.post-64600615647153288202012-04-25T16:41:05.688-07:002012-04-25T16:41:05.688-07:00Well, Curt, you've intrigued me again. I haven...Well, Curt, you've intrigued me again. I haven't read this one in a very long time and remember nothing about it...not sure I still have a copy, so I'll have to do some digging...and then add it to my TBR pile. Which becomes increasingly unsteady with every added book...sigh...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com