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John D(ann) MacDonald (1916-1986) |
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American mystery writer, one of the great names of the genre, who establish his name in the pulps. MacDonald created his famous series character Travis McGee in his forty-fourth novel The Deep Blue Good-by in 1964, and went on to write twenty-one books about the most "colorful" of all unlicensed private detectives – each novel in the McGee series contains a color in the title. The awarded mystery writer and critic H.R.F. Keating selected MacDonald's The Green Ripper (1979) in 1987 for his list of the one hundred best crime novels. "The twenty-odd McGee books... are, in fact, perhaps our best example of the crime story as a novel of feelings. In this it is not unfair to compare MacDonald to Charles Dickens, although Dickens had of course an infinitely wider range. But it is Dickens the novelist of feelings, of sentiment, and of sentimentality, that MacDonald brings to mind." (Keating in Crime & Mystery: the 100 Best Books, 1987) John D. MacDonald was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, the son of Eugene Andrew MacDonald, a treasurer of the Savage Arms Corporation, and Marguerite Dann. He received his B.S. degree from Syracuse University in 1938, and earned a Harvad M.B.A. in 1939. In 1937, he married Dorothy Mary Prentiss; they had one son. During World War II, he served in the Office of Strategic Services (1940-46), the forerunner of the CIA, and in the Burma-China-India theatre. While in service, MacDonald began write fiction, and sold later all kinds of stories – sports, science, adventure, fantasy – to a number of magazines. His first story was published in Story magazine, and the first novel, The Brass Cupcake, came out in 1950. (Note: John D. MacDonald is not to be confused with Ross Macdonald who wrote his first Lew Archer novels under the name John MacDonald. Next four books he issued as John Ross MacDonald dropping finally the John.) An example of MacDonald's early tales is 'In a Small Motel' (1955), in which he shows his skills in composing believable characters. Everyday details are depicted carefully, but they do not only give a sense of realism but are just those small things that his characters find in their own lives suppressive. Mr. Brown has taken a large sum of money from his employer and hides himself in a small motel. He believes he's being watched all the time, and without his gun he is helpless. Three other persons must decide what to do with him and the money. MacDonald creates suspense from the different moral stands of his characters. Ginny is a young widow, who alone tries to take care of the motel and has problems with mortgage payments. Johnny, who runs a gas station, and Don, a cunning lawyer, are her rivals. Johnny could buy new cars with the money and Don has business plans. "I - can't ever forget the way he - " Since 1949 MacDonald lived in Florida, where he set most of his tales. Like Raymond Chandler or Ross MacDonald, he often he used fiction to comment such moral or social issues as ecological dangers, racism, political corruption, real estate scams, infidelity, and the drug culture. Before MacDonald's McGee appeared in the scene of the mystery ficion, he had already written over 40 books and several hundred short stories. His publisher pressured him to create a regular series character when Richard Prather, who wrote highly popular books for Fawcett, left for another publisher. MacDonald planned to call his hero Dallas McGee, but the assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas made him to change the name, he picked it from a US Air Force base. MacDonald used the first-person narrative, but he did not like its limitations. The author himself called the figure of McGee a "tattered knight on a spavined steed." Travis McGee is a Korean War veteran and a 200-pound drop-out from conventional society, a former football player, who has sandy hair and ice-blue eyes. Usually he wins his fistfights but he don't like brutality. He drives a 1936 Rolls Royce, and lives in Fort Lauderdale on a houseboat named 'The Busted Flush', after the poker hand that won it for him. Following the characters in Steinbeck's pleasure-loving Mexican-Americans in Tortilla Flat (1935), McGee has chosen an alternate life style. His best friend and neighbour is the brilliant, chess-palying retired economist Meyer – the relationship has much literary connections to Rex Stout's heroes Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe. Typically McGee is drawn into a situation through some obligation from his past, or he is helping his friend or a relative. In Cinnamon Skin (1982) McGee's friend Meyer lends his boat to his niece Norma, and her new husband Even. The boat explodes and Meyer enlists his friend McGee to investigate the case. After spending some time in Mexico, MacDonald offered readers details based on his experiences in The Damned (1952) and Border Town Girl (1956). Satirical Dress Her in Indigo (1971), set in Oaxaca, Mexico, brought on the stage American hippies and with them the obligatory drug culture. Nightmare in Pink (1964) already featured an early fictional use of LSD. The story took McGee in New York. Usually private detectives consume heavily liquor and smoke only cigarettes. "I think that most of us have a greater liking for strong and solid people than we have for the whimps of the world. With the strong people you can tell where you stand. Nobody, of course, is too strong to ever be broken. And that is McGee's forte, helping the strong broken ones mend." (in 'John D. MacDonald' by Ed Gorman, from The Big Book of Noir, 1998) MacDonald's device to unite his detective series with a color was perhaps inspired by Lawrence Treat (1908-1998), who named his mystery novels with alphabets. McGee began his adventures under the color of deep blue (The Deep Blue Good-by) in 1964, referring to a mood and of course to Chandler's The Long Goodbye (1953). In the story McGee goes after a thug who has ruined a woman's life. In The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper (1968) McGee wraps the dead Maureen Pike in brown paper. MacDonald's science fiction novels include The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything (1962), a romance about time travel, and Ballroom of the Skies (1952), a story about an atomic war that leaves India world ruler. Murder in the Wind (1956) and Condominium (1977) were realistic descriptions of hurricanes. The author published also non-fiction. The House Guests (1965) focused on animals, principally on cats – they are very proper sidekicks for lonely private eyes, as Robert Altman proved in his film The Long Goodbye (1973), an updating of Chandler's novel. Deadly Drug (1968) was an account of the hearing and trials of Dr. Carl Coppolino, a doctor accused of killing his wife and a neighbor. Nothing Can Go Wrong (1981) told about the mishaps on the SS Mariposa the MacDonalds experienced on one of their cruises. The Lonely Silver Rain (1984) was the last in the Travis McGee series. MacDonald never used the color black – or white – in the title, and it was rumored for a long time that there was a final, 'black' McGee story. MacDonald died on December 28, 1986. Among his awards were Grand Prix de Littérature Policiere (1964), Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award (1972), and American Book Award (1980). The first John D. MacDonald conference was held in 1978 and subsequent followed in the 1980s and 1990s. Several of MacDonald's stories have been filmed. J.Lee Thompson's Cape Fear (1962), starring Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum, was based on The Executioners (1958), and remade in 1991. "What I like about you is you're rock bottom. I wouldn't expect you to understand this, but it's a great comfort for a girl to know she could not possibly sink any lower." (Barrie Chase to Robert Mitchum, playing the psychopath Max Cody) The plot of the novel revolves around the idea, that to stop an unstoppable monster, in this case a psychopath rapist, the protagonist must abandon all idealism and become a monster himself. In the book, Sam Bowen is a lawyer, who does not believe in vigilantism, but when his family is constantly harassed by a clever ex-convict, Max Cady, Sam tells his wife. "I want to commit a murder, and I think I know how it can be done." At the end, as Cody tries to escape from a trap, he is wouded fatally by a nearly accidental shot by Sam, who afterwards feels satisfied. "All the neat and careful layers of civilized instincts and behavior were peeled back to reveal an intense exultation over the death of an enemy." Man-Trap (1961), directed by actor Edmond O'Brien, was based on a novelette. Kona Coast (1968) was based on a short story. Travis McGee appeared in Darker Than Amber (1970), directed by Robert Clouse and featuring Rod Taylor as McGee. Travis McGee: The Empty Copper Sea (1982), starring Sam Elliott, was a television film, directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. A Flash of Green (1984) was Victor Nuñez's adaptation of MacDonald's 1962 novel. I Could Go on Singing (1963) was MacDonald's novelization of a screenplay, written by Mayo Simon. MacDonald hated the work so much that he bought back the rights of the book and refused to allow it to be reprinted. The film, directed by Ronald Neame and starring Judy Garland and Dirk Bogarde, told about an American star, who is torn between her career and her old lover and their illegitimate son. For further reading: John D. MacDonald and the Colorful World of Travis McGee by Frank D. Campbell Jr. (1977); A Bibliography of the Published Works of John D. MacDonald by Jena and Walter Shine (1981); John D. MacDonald by David Geherin (1982); A Special Tribute to John D. MacDonald (1987); Meditations on America; John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee Series and Othrer Fiction by Lewis D. Moore (1994); Contemporary Popular Writers, ed. by David Mote (1997); Mystery & Suspense Writers, Vol. 1, ed. by Robin W. Winks (1998); The Red Hot Typewriter by Hugh Merril (2000) Travis McGee novels:
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