Customer Reviews

No House Limit (Hard Case Crime)

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Among the twenty-plus movies that Fox has put out as part of its film noir series, one of my favorites has been I Wake Up Screaming, a gem with Victor Mature, Betty Grable, Elisha Cook and - in a scene-stealing performance - Laird Cregar. The movie was based on a novel by an almost-forgotten writer named Steve Fisher. Hard Case Crime, which has been reissuing a lot of out-of-print works from decades past, has given readers a chance to be introduced to Fisher with his 1958 novel, No House Limit.

No House Limit is a tale of early Las Vegas, that is, the period when the city was really taking off with all new (often mob-financed) casinos. This was not a place for family vacations; all there was to do was gamble and occasionally see a show or go swimming. Joe Martin owns the Rainbow's End, a big casino that is independent from the syndicate; fortunately, Martin is savvy enough to prosper, but the syndicate has decided it's time to take him down.

This doesn't involve anything as crude as murder; instead, the syndicate has staked the best craps player around, the infamous Bello, to win $10,000,000 from the Rainbow's End, ruining Martin in the process. Bello comes in early on a Sunday morning, and Martin - knowing what's coming - needs to monitor the gambler's play and okay the high bets that will be laid down. To some extent, the next few days will be a test of endurance as much as skill, as a marathon gambling session will occur with very little in the way of breaks.

Complicating matters are little distractions that the syndicate has prepared to keep Martin and his security chief Sprig on their toes, a lounge singer who has caught the eye of Bello's girlfriend, and a beautiful schoolteacher who has enamored Martin.

Fisher's prose has a nice lean quality to it that draws the reader in quickly and wastes few words. In addition, he begins most chapters with a little description of the workings of Vegas, establishing the city as a cruel town of superficial pleasures and desperate people. It's good stuff; actually, it's great stuff, the type of tough, short crime novel that you rarely see nowadays. Steve Fisher wrote a lot of books (and films) in his day, but with most of them forgotten, No House Limit is one of the rare chances to read him.

Steve Fisher, probably best known as the author of I Wake Up Screaming, makes 1950s Las Vegas come to life in No House Limit. This short fast paced book covers three hectic days in the life of The Rainbow's End, a casino hotel. In it Fisher, using multiple subplots, describes a number of stereotypic Las Vegas denizens. The driven casino owner, his equally driven chief of security, a prim schoolteacher on vacation, an introspective lounge singer, a professional gambler based on the real life Nick the Greek, a star struck waitress and many, many others.

Some parts of No House Limit are quite interesting, while others, to be honest, are somewhat lame. It's very apparent Steve Fisher had much enthusiasm about the subject matter and made a good effort in trying to share his enthusiasm with the reader. Unfortunately, the end result is markedly uneven. A short, effortless read, but not one of Hard Case Crime's best selections.

Joe Martin runs the Rainbow's End, the only independent casino left in Las Vegas; the rest are all run by the Syndicate (better known to the uninitiated as the Mafia). The Syndicate wants Joe out of business, so they surreptitiously challenge him on his own turf -- by sending Bello, the world's greatest gambler, to win millions of dollars at Joe's craps table.

With Bello on their side, how can they lose? But a man like Joe Martin doesn't get where he is by taking unnecessary risks. He's got an ace in the hole of his own, namely an innocent schoolteacher from Utah.

Steve Fisher, screenwriter of such beloved films as Lady in the Lake and Song of the Thin Man -- and Oscar-nominated for Destination Tokyo for his original story -- was the author of over 100 novels, as many screenplays for film and TV, and nearly 1,000 short stories. Any author who can produce that much understands the need for a brisk pace, and his novel No House Limit doesn't let up from the start. If other Fisher works are this briskly paced, I'll definitely be on the lookout for more.

But the main reason for No House Limit's success is the atmosphere. Fisher's portrait of Las Vegas in the 1950s, especially the casino environment, is so rich and detailed, it's a character in itself. I would have believed that he was a denizen of the city himself. But according to his son Michael's afterword, he just really enjoyed gambling -- the rest came from research, in particular time spent with famous real-life gambler Nick the Greek.

The portrayal of the inside of a busy casino: the overlapping voices (game callers on top of conversations) and the loneliness of crowds combines with his insightful characterizations to make No House Limit -- which is essentially a simple story, well told -- into a memorable reading experience.

Steve Fisher was a prolific writer in the 40's through the 60's and is best known for his I WAKE UP SCREAMING which was twice made into films. Here, he shows a deft style and a first rate flair for characterization as he details a marathon craps game between an independent casino owner and a well known and skillful gambler (modeled after the real life Nick The Greek) who's been hired by the syndicate to break the owner so that they can acquire the establishment.Along the way, we're introduced to the pianist/singer who's the principle entertainer and who becomes dangerously enamored of the gambler's current woman. Add to that mix the head of the casino's security who's efficiency makes him a target, and you have an enjoyable multi-layered story. This is 50's style writing, but don't expect a lot of pulpy action because it's not here. But you grow to care for not only these three characters, but for minor ones who typify those who float in and out of the gambling mecca.Fisher injects enough information about gambling and craps in particular so that one unfamiliar with the game can still enjoy the story. You also get a feeling for the background of Vegas as it was at the time. I quite recommend this for an enjoyable read.

Steve Fisher writes a fantastic novel. No House Limit is a marvellous, suspenseful, exciting, almost addictive piece of fiction. From the prologue, we get a glimpse behind the scenes at Joe Martin's independant casiono. The waitresses, the entertainment, the powerful owner, and the syndicate. Bello is called in to break Joe Martin and winner takes all. With his empire at stake, Martin must be at his best!

Fishers' writing is packed with characterization, plots, and oozes passion for his craft. Simply outstanding.

Wow! Hard Case Crime has yet another winner in the series. Steve Fisher was a popular author who penned screenplays, and original novels in a long career.

This book is poor. The characters are cardboard and not credible. But, worst of all, the very premise of the book is absurd. It is not possible to come to Las Vegas with a sure fire "plan" to win. The casinos just love players like that. The best one can hope for is to follow an optimim betting stategy and, if one is lucky, he will come out ahead. The player's win probability is enhanced, not by raising the house limit on pass line bets, the premise and title of the book, but by raising the level of the permitted "odds bet". The "odds bet" is mentioned only once, in passing, in the book. The idea of "the world's best gambler" who is able to break the house by his superior gambling skills is simply not credible. Further, the author errs time and time again in his stating of the odds. Moreover, can you imagine a casino allowing the continued use, even for one more roll, of dice known to be questionable?
Sorry, for anyone who has actually played craps in any casino, this book is absurd.

Steve Fisher is best known for the wonderful "I Wake Up Screaming", a great book that became an iconic noir movie. No House Limit is not up to that quality, but Fisher is an extremely talented writer who understands gambling, the Mob, and Las Vegas as few can. He uses that understanding to create a three day stretch at an independent casino the Mob is trying to put out of business by sending in a professional craps player to break the house.

Fisher interweaves the story of a 72 hour crap game with the complicated lives and loves of the people who manage and work at the casino. Written in 1958, some of the personal affairs will seem a outdated, but the characters are reasonably well drawn and by the end of the book, I found myself caring about them. There were a few plot elements that seemed a bit far fetched, but the pacing of the book prevents the reader from dwelling on any one piece for too long.

If you like stories about gambling on craps, you'll learn more about craps from this book than any other. If you like stories about Vegas when it was young, you'll also learn a lot. And if you want a fast moving plot invovling interesting characters, well, you'll find that as well.

Hard Case released this forgotten book on its 50th anniversary. The author was long since deceased, but one of his sons provides a lengthy afterword which helps provide context for the story.

In 1958, Joe Martin is an independent casino owner, one of the last holdouts against the Syndicate (i.e. Mob) which controls all the other casino hotels. Joe quickly learns that the Syndicate is out to bust him; into town comes Bello, a legendary gambler who embarks upon a marathon game of craps. The stakes: ownership of the casino itself. But the Syndicate isn't just content to attack Joe's empire on one front. They're also throwing other dirty tricks his way -- enough to keep Joe's head security man and top entertainer on their toes. And, of course, therge's a woman, a virginal San Francisco schoolteacher, whose arrival in Joe's life could not come at a more inopportune time.

Most of the characters are recycled from pulp novels and other period film noir. There's the fleeing felon hoping to ride Bello's side bets to increase an ill-gotten fortune; there's the grieving widow trying to explore his dark side without falling over the edge; there's the star-struck waitress with dreams of escaping to Hollywood; and then of course there are the showgirls. If you think you can guess how most of these side stories will end -- you're probably right, but getting there is more than half the fun.

In the afterword, much of the story is placed its original context. Specifically, author Fisher had written a couple of movies for Humphrey Bogart; with this in mind it's easy to picture Bogart as Joe Martin. This helps bring some of the snappy, snappish dialogue to life. Which makes it a shame that "No House Limit" never became a movie; this would likely have become a film noir gem.

Vegas in the late fifties, the setting for this novel, was a different place. Mega corporations weren't involved back then and it certainly wasn't a place for families. Instead, Vegas was a city run by the "syndicate" with all that implies and the occasional independent. The occasional independent like, Joe Martin, owner of the "Rainbow's End Hotel and Casino" who doesn't bow down to anyone, including the syndicate, even though he does run his business by syndicate rules.

Now somebody, or a group of people, has decided they want him shut down. It could be the syndicate or it could be others. Who it is doesn't really matter because for Joe and his staff they are under siege. To shut him down, a number of things have been put into play with some very obvious and others much more subtle. The most obvious one was when Bello made his first appearance and picked up a pair of dice. Bello is a professional gambler and somebody who, if he rolls the dice right and really gets going, could bankrupt the casino. His plan is to win 10 million dollars and if he does it, the casino is finished and Joe Martin will be making his own long walk out in the desert. The next 74 hours will be critical, but, Bello isn't the only one playing a game.

Through the main plot line and several secondary story lines, prolific author Steve Fisher weaves a tale of Vegas from fifty years ago. A tale that is stiff, flat and dated while also filled with numerous lectures on various aspects of Vegas and gambling. Those lectures, instead of raising the suspense level, bring the story to a dead stop.

A story that already has little action to it and instead relies on the suspense angle as well as character development to entice readers. Unfortunately, both fail to work for readers with experice in mysteries or noir. Stereotypes abound in this book with every character a caricature of what one expects in a genuine character. Then there is the issue of the extensive dialogue that doesn't ring true at least for current time ears with it coming across as unnaturally stiff and formal while saying very little. Characters in this novel talk around issues and never really say with clarity what they mean. Then there is the fact that the entire novel and therefore nearly all the various outcomes are utterly predictable with no twists much like the stereotypical cover art.

This flat read was the July section for the Hard Case Crime Book Club. Unlike many of their releases, this read is painfully dated, flat, completely predictable and thoroughly disappointing for readers with a background in the genre. What may have read well fifty years ago doesn't work at all now.

Kevin R. Tipple (copyright)2008