Customer Reviews

Build My Gallows High (Film Ink)

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Geoffrey Homes was the pseudonym of Daniel Mainwaring, who was born and raised in the Central California city of Fresno, began working as a journalist after college, then moved to Hollywood to launch a highly successful screenwriting career. "Build My Gallows High" later became the fantastic film noir classic "Out of the Past," with the original name being preserved in Great Britain.

As a strong devotee of "Out of the Past," and having conversed many times with the film's beautiful star, the recently deceased Jane Greer, I was anxious to supplement my appreciation for the film by reading the novel that was then adapted by Homes to the screen with some uncredited assistance from established Hollywood pro Frank Fenton. The novel contains the biting edge of the best hard-boiled detective fiction of the forties' period when the book was written. Red Bailey from the book becomes Jeff Bailey in the film, with Robert Mitchum perfectly cast as the tough, laconic, shrewd loner whose common sense deserts him when confronted by the combustible noir brunette charms of femme fatale Jane Greer. The book hits on the same cylinders, unremarkable in that Homes adapted it to the screen. Bailey does everything he can to forge a new life away from Greer, including finding a sweet, homespun girlfriend who is the diammetrical opposite of the ruthless femme fatale, but to no avail. He can never reject Kathie's enticements, despite his awareness of her treachery. The book is strong on hard-bitten narrative and those who like the work of Chandler and Hammett should appreciate "Build My Gallows High."

The British newspaper The Guardian strikes the correct note concerning the book, "Intermingling obsessive love, crime and betrayal ... the film's razor-sharp dialogue is mostly already there in the novel and an even more tortuous plot." Curl up on a dark, spooky evening, begin reading, and enjoy.

I read this book many, many years ago and then saw the movie "Out of the Past," when it first came out. Robert Mitchum appeared in person with his film and he sang a few songs (yes he had a good voice) and then talked about making the movie and urged everyone to read the book. When I met him after the performance he said he thought the book was 'too old' for me and teased me about reading books suitable for a fifteen year old. He also urged me to stay in school and get a good education so I wouldn't have to earn my living making stupid movies (though as he said NOT THIS ONE). He was very proud of this film. So, if your in the mood for a good Noir mystery, then this is the one for you, see the movie again after reading the book to see how much of the flavor of the book is retained in the film.

This is a very short but good novella which consciously imitates the Maltese Falcon. The situations and characters over time have become well-known noir archetypes, if not quite cliches. The plot is set up from its opening paragraphs for calamity, yet a surprising amount of irony squeezed from a story barreling toward a foregone conclusion. And this is how the novel functions best- like a Greek tragedy; everything seems ideal between the protagonist and his beloved, but a dark misdeed in his past provides the undercurrent of wrong.

Jeff Bailey, former PI, tries to escape that past but cannot. The man he wronged finds him and forces him to perform one last task for him. Jeff cannot escape, because he is blackmailed. It is all a crooked plan to pin a murder on him, and he is sucked deeper into a labyrinth of illegality and betrayal. He is neither completely innocent nor completely guilty. He is just a flawed man in an elaborate, shadowy trap. The cops and crooks pursue him from all sides as he desperately tries to find a way out of his mess, all the while just wanting to go away and sit on the beach with his best gal...

As stated before, this is a very short book- there is not much description. People just do things because they do them, seldom with any emotive insight or explanation. This style works because the characters are who they are: a loyal friend is a loyal friend and a dirty double-crossing dame is a dirty double-crossing dame. Only one character really changes or acts in a surprising way. The aloof approach and moral complexity means relatively few characters garner too much sympathy from the reader; however, there is still some legitimate suspense developed, as we generally just want to see things end happily. But remember, Homes was shooting for a Maltese Falcon feel...

The already fast-moving book was streamlined for the movie "Out of the Past." And almost none of the great dialogue present in the film came from the novel, which surprised me, since they were both written by Homes. Perhaps an uncredited Frank Fenton (His Kind of Woman) had more to do with the witty and sardonic repartee in the screenplay than Homes. The prose of the book is like Hammett written by Cain- it's hard-boiled all right, but laconic; a lot goes unsaid. It has a poet's heart and a mug's voice. Which is fine, just not quite what I expected.

Overall, a good but not altogether satisfying read. Add Build My Gallows High to the short list (see also: Cape Fear, Big Clock, Strangers on a Train) where the movie eclipses the literary source.

Who knows if this well-told story of love, murder, and betrayal would still be in print were it not for Jacques Tourneur's magnificent adaptation of it--OUT OF THE PAST starring Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas. I'd seen the film many times before I'd ever read the book; and whereas the film is both tough and tender, the tenderness of the novel by Geoffrey Homes (who penned the sharply-written screenplay as well) is downright poetic--and is surprisingly well-integrated into what is, at heart, a detective novel. All the double-crossing of the book makes it into the film intact, but the film adds a depth to it that leaves you breathless at the conclusion. A cynical, despairing work of art that stands out in the hard-boiled genre for the beauty of its prose and the depth of its tragedy.

Clearly written--the prose was not dated or old-fashioned. A very enjoyable book to read. It made me want to try fly-fishing, and, of course, to watch the movie. I would like to read other works by this author.

Fans of noir fiction will not be disappointed by Build My Gallows High, a dark tale of ill-fated love. Red Bailey runs a gas station in a small scenic town near the California-Nevada border. His mysterious, shady past does not discourage the lovely, virtuous Ann Miller from falling madly in love with him. In fact it could possibly be that Bailey's dubious past contributes to Ann's unconditional devotion to him.
But, like an unwelcome ghost, Bailey's past comes back to haunt him in the form of femme fatale Mumsie McGonigle. Mumsie has the curious habit of destroying the male of the species with the same predictability as the female praying mantis.
Build My Gallows High is an early, unvarnished example of hardboiled crime that compares quite favorably with the best of James M. Cain and other pioneers of the noir genre. Highly recommended.

The basis for the great RKO film Out of the Past, Build my Gallows High is a fine 40's crime thriller. Weighing in at 153 pages this is really only of interest as a companion piece to the film. The narrative is much more straightforward than the film, character names changed, combined or eliminated. Although the book and film were structured differently, I found it difficult to not imagine Mitchum and the others as I read the story (the images of the film are seared into my brain). I love the film and liked the book. Interesting note that the author of this novel (Daniel Mainwaring under the pseudonym Geoffrey Holmes) also was the adapter for the film. I love to read books that have been turned into the great films, this is not essential reading.