Line #6 Creator/RaymondChandler


1	[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Raymond-Chandler-Splash_7824.jpg]]
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3	->''"But down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid."''
4	-->-- ''[[https://web.archive.org/web/20200806081521/http://www.en.utexas.edu/amlit/amlitprivate/scans/chandlerart.html The Simple Art of Murder]]'' (1944)
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6	Chicago-born and London-raised, Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was a former oil executive fired from his job due to Main/TheGreatDepression before becoming one of the most influential writers of HardboiledDetective fiction, through seven novels, many short stories, and a number of essays, of which the most famous is 1944's "The Simple Art of Murder". He also had an influence on the developing FilmNoir, both indirectly through adaptations of his novels, and more directly through a stint as a Hollywood screenwriter (he wrote the screenplays for ''Film/DoubleIndemnity'', ''Film/TheBlueDahlia'', and ''Film/StrangersOnATrain'').
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8	His most famous creation is Los Angeles private detective Literature/PhilipMarlowe, the central character of his novels: ''The Big Sleep'' (1939), ''Farewell, My Lovely'' (1940), ''The High Window'' (1942), ''The Lady in the Lake'' (1943), ''The Little Sister'' (1949), ''The Long Goodbye'' (1953), and ''Playback'' (1958).
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10	----
11	!!Chandler's works with their own trope pages include:
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13	* Literature/PhilipMarlowe novels
14	[[index]]
15	** ''Literature/TheBigSleep''
16	** ''Literature/FarewellMyLovely''
17	** ''Literature/TheHighWindow''
18	** ''Literature/TheLadyInTheLake''
19	** ''Literature/TheLittleSister''
20	** ''Literature/TheLongGoodbye''
21	** ''Literature/{{Playback}}''
22	[[/index]]
23	----
24	!!Chandler's other works provide examples of:
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26	* BitterAlmonds: In "Nevada Gas", when a crooked lawyer is murdered with cyanide gas.
27	* TheButlerDidIt: "Trouble Is My Business". An interesting spin on this trope, as Chandler has the private eye and the butler share drinks and a laugh over being the only "average joes" involved in the case. Of course, that's over when the private eye figures everything out.
28	* ChandlerAmericanTime: Named by Creator/StephenKing in Chandler's honor in the short story "Umney's Last Case", and typified by countless pastiches of Chandler's work over the years. For his own part, Chandler simply wrote about the time in which he lived, exaggerated for poetic effect.
29	* ChandlersLaw: The TropeNamer and [[TropeCodifier Codifier]], set down by Chandler in his essay "The Simple Art of Murder": ''when in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand.''[[note]]''Not'' the famous [[FirstInstallmentWins earlier]] one, quoted all over the place (including this very page), which is longer and a lot more aggressive about tearing into "classic" mysteries; this was a later, shorter piece sharing the same title and general themes but a lot more self-deprecatory about Chandler's own pulp writing. In modern times it's typically used as an introduction for ''Trouble Is My Business''.[[/note]] Typically it's hired goons (sometimes {{Dirty Cop}}s) busting in on Marlowe in his office. True to form, they often provide the impetus for Marlowe to start investigating the case in earnest, since if it was worth sending goons to try and warn him off, somebody must have something to hide.
30	* ComeAlone: In "Pearls Are a Nuisance", the protagonist is instructed to come to a remote location with the ransom money, alone. His friend insists on coming along, hidden in the back of the car, in case there's trouble. The other side don't show up, [[spoiler:but then they were never going to anyway, because the friend was behind the whole thing and it was a set-up to get the protagonist somewhere quiet and rob him of the ransom money]].
31	* EmpathicEnvironment: The wind and heat in "Red Wind", rain in ''The Big Sleep.''
32	* {{Expy}}: Philip Marlowe, protagonist of Chandler's novels, is pretty much John Dalmas, protagonist of Chandler's stories for ''Dime Detective'' magazine, who is pretty much Carmady, protagonist of Chandler's stories for ''Black Mask'' magazine. To the extent that the Dalmas and Carmady stories were subsequently collected and reprinted [[DolledUpInstallment with Marlowe's name substituted for theirs]].
33	* GambitPileup: Chandler's detectives often crack the case by finding some tangential intersection between two crimes, with the sheer corruption of Los Angeles/Bay City's syndicate gangsters, crooked police force, and wealthy elite resulting in a good deal of RightHandVersusLeftHand attempts to hamfistedly cover up one crime leading to [[PullTheThread an obvious thread to pull]] which ends up leading the detective to the real culprit.
34	* GasChamber: "Nevada Gas" uses the well-sealed backseat of a limousine.
35	* HandCannon: Inverted in the novellas "Trouble Is My Business" and "Red Wind". Both stories feature hard guys carrying .22 target pistols. As Chandler puts it: "This guy uses a twenty-two. He uses it because he's good enough to get by with that much gun. That means he's good."
36	* HardboiledDetective: Chandler basically codified the genre for once and for all.
37	* HeatWave: See the memorable WeatherReportOpening below from "Red Wind".
38	* {{Kneecapping}}: In one of his short stories, the protagonist stops one of the crooks from escaping by shooting in the most painful spot he could think of that wouldn't kill him: the back of the knee.
39	* HorribleHollywood: His first two short stories ("Blackmailers Don't Shoot" and "Smart-Aleck Kill") deal directly with seedy goings-on in the film industry. In the '40s he briefly became a professional screenwriter, which (despite the money and award nominations) drove his opinion of Hollywood even further into the ground; he used the experience to write the Marlowe novel ''The Little Sister'', as well as a number of scathing articles. His nicest opinions of Hollywood, expressed mostly in private letters, boiled down to, [[DamnedByFaintPraise "It's not as bad as most of the other entertainment industries. Yet."]]
40	* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: In "The Lady in the Lake" (the short story, not the novel which borrowed from it), a simple request to find an estranged wife leads to [[spoiler:uncovering three murders and evidence of the UsefulNotes/{{Mafia}} laundering money through defense contracts]].
41	* MoneyMauling: The protagonist of "Trouble is My Business" carries a roll of quarters in his pocket that he uses as [[WeightedGloves a fist load to give his punches extra impact]].
42	* PatchworkStory: Chandler cannibalised previous short stories of his when creating his first two novels, and used elements of them for further novels, with the expectation that his magazine stories would disappear and never be seen again -- he was mildly dismayed when they were collected in anthology form following the success of his later novels. The level of cannibalisation varied, from whole plots to select passages and descriptions. The novels go beyond simple SelfPlagiarism, however, as Chandler would usually try to build on what he had previously written, streamlining some plots while making others considerably more intricate, and adding depth to character motivation and the detective's insights over the course of the investigation. The lengthy descriptive passages, originally added to increase the page count, became the stylized, almost meditative {{Private Eye Monologue}}s Chandler is known for.
43	* PrivateEyeMonologue: One of the major {{Trope Codifier}}s, Chandler was a master of the hardboiled internal monologue. The somewhat flowery and overblown prose which typifies the trope is often an attempt to deliberately emulate, homage, or parody Chandler's specific style.
44	* PurpleProse: Subverted. Chandler's descriptive writing evokes this, but his own skill makes it rise above that trope. Attempts to copy or parody his way with descriptive words tend to turn into Purple Prose.
45	* RightHandCat: In "Finger Man", the corrupt politico (and BigBad of the story) Frank Dorr has a large, black Persian cat on his desk, which he pets and plays with throughout his first conversation with the detective protagonist. The cat actually plays a role in the plot besides just characterizing the villain: [[spoiler:when negotiations go south, the detective grabs the cat and throws it at Frank Dorr, then grabs Frank's gun during the resulting confusion.]]
46	* SturgeonsLaw: About twenty years before Sturgeon spoke it aloud, Chandler laid down an early form of it in a private letter:
47	-->"Granted... ninety per cent of Hollywood's pictures are not really worth making; I say that ninety per cent of the books and plays and short stories they were made from are not worth seeing or reading, by the same standards. And you and I know those standards are not going to change in our time."
48	* WarriorPoet: Chandler dabbled as a romantic poet before enlisting in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. As noted above under PurpleProse, his hard-boiled detective fiction is essentially prose poetry about violence.
49	* WeatherReportOpening: ''Red Wind'' starts with:
50	--> There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge]].

Context Creator / RaymondChandler