The Street Was Mine White Masculinity in Hardboiled Fiction and Film
This book considers a recurrent figure in American literature: the solitary white man moving through urban space. The descendent of Nineteenth-century frontier and western heroes, the figure re-emerges in 1930-50s America as the 'tough guy'. The Street Wa
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Megan E. Abbott
The Street Was Mine
The Street Was Mine White Mas culinity in Hardboiled Fiction and Film Noir
M
EGAN
E. A
BB OT T
THE STREET WAS MINE
Copyright © Megan E. Abott, 2002.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2002
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published 2002 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS. Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-38787-8 ISBN 978-1-4039-7001-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-4039-7001-5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Abbott, Megan E., 1971The street was mine : white masculinity and urban space in hardboiled fiction and film noir / by Megan E. Abbott. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978- 0–312–29481–6 1. Detective and mystery stories, American—History and criticism. 2. Detective and mystery films—United States—History and criticism. 3. Film noir—United States—History and criticism. 4. City and town life in motion pictures. 5. Private investigators in literature. 6. City and town life in literature. 7. Masculinity in literature. 8. White men in literature. 9. Men in motion pictures. 10. Race in literature. 11. Men in literature. I. Title. PS374.D4 A23 2002 813’.087209321732—dc21 2002068408 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Letra Libre, Inc. First edition: November 2002 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
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Printed in the United States of America
To my parents For 1578 Anita Avenue And for Josh “It’s a wonderful thing, dinner for two.” —Jack Lemmon, The Apartment (1960)
C o n t e n t s
Acknowledgements
ix
Chapter One
Introduction
Chapter Two
“I Can Feel Her”: The White Male as Hysteric in James M. Cain and Raymond Chandler
21
“Another Soft-Voiced Big Man I Had Strangely Liked”: Containing White Male Desire
65
The Woman in White: Race-ing and Erace-ing in Cain and Chandler
91
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Epilogue Appendix Notes Bibliography Index
1
“Nothing You Can’t Fix”: Hardboiled Fiction’s Hollywood Makeover
125
“The Strict Domain of Whitey”: Chester Himes’s Coup
155 191 201 203 229 239
Acknowled gements
I CANNOT IMAGINE EMBARKING ON THIS PROCESS WITHOUT THE SUPPORT and motivation of Carolyn Dever, whose utterly indispensable criticism has challenged and inspired me, and whose kindness and patience has been a beacon throughout this project. Likewise, I would like to thank Phillip Brian Harper, who was so influential and inspiring throughout my re
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