L.A. Private Eyes by Dahlia Schweitzer (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: L.A. Private Eyes by Dahlia Schweitzer Matthew Sorrento Dahlia Schweitzer L.A. Private Eyes Rutgers University Press, 2019. 188 pages. $17.95 The loner-turned-criminal holds an important place in the noir tradition – think of Fred McMurray as Walter Neff in Double Indemnity (1944). When such character types are central to a film, viewers get a sense of their psychology and unique perspective on crime, leading us to root for them and learn more about their motivations. But the private eye, in other noirs like The Big Sleep (1946), slowly unravels a criminal undertaking to reveal the truth. This "unofficial" avenger, who works separately from the police, the subject of distrust in many films noir, detects with more instinct and willpower than logic. Noir on page and screen has its share of New York stories and even some set in London (1950's Night and the City), Vienna (1949's The Third Man), and beyond the city. But Los Angeles, at the end of the American "frontier," has yielded the ideal environs for the private eye, in a bleak "desert" city with plenty of real-life crime as inspiration. With noir still a hotly debated genre, Dahlia Schweitzer takes a welcome approach in L.A. Private Eyes to a subset of the style. Some standout short monographs on the crime genre of late have looked at its subgenres: for example, Prison Movies by Kevin Kehrwald and Stings, Grifts, Hustles and the Long Con by Amy Sargeant. Scwheitzer's detailed look at this central figure of noir helps to clarify the investigator's point of view and its effects on the narrative. The concept of Los Angeles in the minds of readers and viewers stretches far beyond that of the actual place and its inhabitants. Through a century of popular culture, it has become a city of "memory" inspiring Vincent Brook to describe it as a land of "Smoke and Mirrors."17 As noted by Edward Dimendberg, the actual city consists of sprawling neighborhoods reflecting 20th-century growth more than city centers and neighborhood design. As the "the ultimate example of a city sans planner" that reflects chaos,18 it has served as an ultimate setting of mystery and corruption to be unlocked by its fictional gumshoes. Chapter One asserts appropriately that "noir was defined by Los Angeles, and Los Angeles was defined by noir" (13). In surveying the early-20th-century tensions of the city, the book addresses not just the famous murders, but ethnic and cultural conflicts like the "Zoo Suit Riots," a fight between 11 sailors and Mexican youths that resulted in 500 Latinos and blacks suspiciously arrested (17). In finishing Chapter One, which cites L.A. Confidential (1997) to reflect the early-century, the author comments on the important myth of reinvention sold by the city, which fueled much of its movie history. The notable fictional private eyes of Los Angeles (Philip Marlowe, Mike Hammer, among others) and their rough methods underscore the city's complexity and confusion. Chapter Two backtracks to cover the history of the detective story. The discussion, perhaps predictable for some, takes a suitable approach for an introductory text, and Schweitzer offers some important clarifications about the development of the hardboiled private detective versus the earlier "cozy" ones. Of importance is 1920s Black Mask writer-turned-novelist Carroll John Daly and his New York detective Race Williams, who predates Dashiell Hammett's Continental OP and coined several hard-boiled standards: "The police don't like me. The crooks don't like me. … My ethics are my own" (quoted from 1927's "The Snarl of the Beast," 36). These stories came naturally to the soundwaves and screens with "intentional synergy" between writers and related media forms (39). The author also notes how even criminal-centered classic Los Angeles noirs like Double Indemnity use a "suitable proxy" [End Page 31] (40) for the private eye, like Edward G. Robinson's Barton Keyes. Schweitzer notes Raymond Chandler's advice from "Twelve Notes on the Mystery Story" (published posthumously in 1976) to provide her own primer for mystery writers. Again, she teases out important points from familiar material: "the most effective way to...