I’m a big fan of the classic hardboiled detective writers – Chandler, Hammet, Cain, Ellroy, etc. Their gender and sexual politics aren’t exactly woke, and their plots often convoluted, but I love them for their cynical humor and the darkness of the stories.
The glamorous femme fatale entering the detectives office with a plea for help is a staple of the genre. Typically there’s a lot of flirting and smart banter, along with the sense of an unspoken trap that the detective willingly steps into. However, in all the books and films I’ve seen, I don’t remember this classic scene ever turning into a pegging situation. An opportunity missed perhaps? Things never typically work out well for anyone involved in these plots, so maybe a good pegging was what was needed. It certainly would have changed the sexual chemistry for the rest of the story.
This is by the artist Felix Deon (instagram and etsy).
“There’s no such thing as innocence – innocence touched with guilt is as good a deal as you can get.”
— Mike Hammer in Kiss Me, Deadly.
That’s a suitably cynical quote :-). Never a huge fan of all Spillane’s work, but Kiss Me, Deadly was a classic (both the book and film.
-paltego