Whit Masterson
Whit Masterson was a pen name for a partnership of two American authors, Robert Allison “Bob” Wade (June 8, 1920 – September 30, 2012) and H. Bill Miller (May 11, 1920 – August 21, 1961). The two also wrote under several other pseudonyms, including Wade Miller and Will Daemer.
Together they wrote more than thirty novels, of which several were adapted for film. Most famously, their novel Badge of Evil was adapted into the Orson Welles film Touch of Evil.
Wade and Miller met at violin lessons when they were both 12. From an interview with Wade: "The Wade Miller collaboration worked successfully largely because it began so early. We teamed up at the age of 12." They went on to attend college together at San Diego State, leaving in their senior year of college to enlist in the US Air Force. [1] (source for above 2 paragraphs, also, same information is found in a Mystery*File article by Ed Lynskey).
Anthony Boucher reviewed their first novel, Deadly Weapon, in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1946. He described their writing as having "machinegun tempo, tight writing, unexaggerated hardness" and said it was a "highly satisfactory debut of new publishers and new writing team." (from the San Francisco Chronicle, April 6, 1946) A more recent reading by Richard Moore found that "modern readers would need to overcome instinctive reactions to racial and other slurs" but that "This was a stunning debut novel. It would be a shame if the language of the times kept it from revival." (from Mystery*File magazine #42 April 2004, published by Steve Lewis in CT, also see www.mysteryfile.com link below in Sources)
After Miller's death from a heart attack on August 21, 1961, Wade went on to a solo career as a movie and television scriptwriter. In 1988, Wade was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Private Eye Writers of America. (sources same as above, Mystery*File and the articles by Ed Lynskey, who also interviewed Wade along with Bill Pronzini) Wade also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the San Diego Public Library in 1998 [2] and the Ellen Nehr award from the American Crime Writers League in 2004, for his work reviewing crime fiction for the San Diego Union-Tribune. [3] Robert Wade died, 92 years old, on Sept 30, 2012. [4]
NOVELS[1]
As "Wade Miller," unless otherwise noted
P.I. Walter James
Deadly Weapon (1946)
P.I. Max Thursday
Guilty Bystander (1947)
Fatal Step (1948)
Uneasy Street (1948)
Calamity Fair (1950)
Murder Charge (1950)
Shoot To Kill (1951)
Miscellaneous
Pop Goes The Queen (1947; aka "As Murder-Queen High")
Devil On Two Sticks (1949; aka "Killer's Choice,")
Devil May Care (1950)
Stolen Woman (1950)
The Killer (1951)
The Tiger's Wife (1951)
Memo For Murder (1951; by Dale Wilmer)
The Case of the Lonely Lovers (1951; by Will Daemer)
Branded Woman (1952)
South Of The Sun (1953)
The Big Guy (1953)
Dead Fall (1954; by Dale Wilmer)
Jungle Heat (1954; by Dale Wilmer)
All Through The Night (1955, aka "A Cry In The Night:" by Whit Masterson)
Dead, She Was Beautiful (1955; Mort Hagen; by Whit Masterson)
Mad Baxter (1955)
Kiss Her Goodbye (1956)
Badge Of Evil (1956, aka "Touch Of Evil;" by Whit Masterson)
Murder Bait (1956; aka "The Case of the Lonely Lovers;" by Will Daemer)
A Shadow in the Wild (1957; by Whit Masterson)
Kitten With A Whip (1959)
The Dark Fantastic (1959; by Whit Masterson)
Sinner Take All (1960)
A Hammer In His Hand (1960; by Whit Masterson)
Nightmare Cruise (1961; aka "The Sargasso People")
Evil Come, Evil Go (1961; by Whit Masterson)
As "Whit Masterson" (Robert Wade only)
The Girl From Midnight (1962) Murder Bait (1956; aka "The Case of the Lonely Lovers;" by Will Daemer) The Man on a Nylon String (n.) Dodd 1963; by Whit Masterson) 711-Officer Needs Help (1965; aka "Warning Shot" "Killer With a Badge;" by Whit Masterson) Play Like You're Dead (1967; by Whit Masterson) The Last One Kills (1969; by Whit Masterson) The Death of Me Yet (1970; by Whit Masterson) The Gravy Train (1971; aka "The Great Train Hijack;" by Whit Masterson) Why She Cries, I Do Not Know (1972; by Whit Masterson) The Undertaker Wind (1973; by Whit Masterson) The Man with Two Clocks (1974; by Whit Masterson) Hunter of the Blood 1977; by Whit Masterson) The Slow Gallows (1979; by Whit Masterson)
SHORT STORIES
As "Wade Miller," unless otherwise noted
"The Author Confesses" (September 1946, Mammoth Detective) "This Deadly Weapon" (September 1946, Mammoth Detective) "Devil on Two Sticks" (November 1949, Famous Detective) "Murder Has Girl Trouble" (Spring 1950, Mystery Book Magazine; Max Thursday) "The Corpse Walked Away" (January 1951, Two Complete Detective Books; Max Thursday) "Invitation to an Accident" (July 1955, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine) "A Bad Time of Day" (September 1956, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine) "Midnight Caller" (January 1958, Manhunt) "Suddenly It's Midnight" (January 1958, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine;" by Whit Masterson). "The Women in His Life" (June 1958, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine" by Whit Masterson) "The Memorial Hour" (March 1960, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine) "We Were Picked as the Odd Ones" (July 1960, The Saint Mystery Magazine) "Seek Him in Shadows" (April 1966, Argosy; aka "What Happened to Timothy Owen?;" by Whit Masterson)
FILMS
GUILTY BYSTANDER (1950, Film Classics) Screenplay by Don Ettlinger Based on the novel by Wade Miller Directed by Joseph Lerner Produced by Rex Carlton Starring Zachary Scott as Max Thursday Also starring Faye Emerson, Mary Boland, Sam Levene, J. Edward Bromberg, Kay Medford
A CRY IN THE NIGHT (1956 Warner Brothers) Based on the novel All Through the Night by Whit Masterson Written by David Dortort Directed by Frank Tuttle Starring Natalie Wood, Raymond Burr, Edmond O'Brien, Brian Donlevy
TOUCH OF EVIL (1958, Universal) Based on the novel Badge Of Evil by Whit Masterson Written by Orson Welles, Franklin Coen, Paul Monash Directed by Orson Welles Starring Orson Welles, Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Marlene Dietrich
KISS HER GOODBYE (1959) Based on the novel by Wade Miller Screenplay by Alan Marcus, Bill Miller Directed by Albert Lipton Starring Elaine Stritch, Steven Hill, Gene Lyons, Andrew Prine, Sharon Farrell
THE YELLOW CANARY (1959) Based on the novel Evil Come, Evil Go by Whit Masterson Screenplay by Rod Serling Directed by Buzz Kulik Starring Pat Boone, Barbara Eden, Steve Forrest
KITTEN WITH A WHIP (1964) Based on the novel by Wade Miller Screenwriter & director: Douglas Heyes Starring Ann-Margret and John Forsythe.
TELEVISION
ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS (1955–65, NBC)
"Invitation to an Accident" (June 21, 1959)
Based on the story by Wade Miller
Teleplay by Robert C. Dennis
Directed by Don Taylor
Starring Gary Merril, Joanna Moore
WARNING SHOT (1963) Based on the novel 711—Officer Needs Help by Whit Masterson Screenplay by Mann Rubin Directed by Buzz Kulik Starring David Jannsen, Edc Begley, Keenan Wynn, Stefanie Powers, Steve Allen, Joan Collins
THE BOLD ONES (1969–72) Created by Roy Huggins Starring Burl Ives, Joseph Campanella, James Farentino
"A Game of Chance" (September 21, 1969)
Based on the novel by Whit Masterson
Teleplay by Roy Huggins
THE DEATH OF ME YET (1969 TV movie) Based on the novel by Whit Masterson Teleplay by A.J. Russell Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey Starring Doug McClure, Darren McGavin, Rosemary Forsyth
References
Sources
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0557767/
- http://www.mysteryfile.com/Wade/Miller.html
- http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=318535
- http://www.mysteryfile.com/Wade/Miller.html#Crider
External links
At the above link, you will find an illustration of the cover of Branded Woman by Wade Miller, along with the option to read a sample chapter, and some description and blurbs.
