Gerald Butler (writer)

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Gerald Butler
BornGerald Alfred Butler
(1907-07-31)July 31, 1907
Crewe, Cheshire, England, UK[1]
DiedFebruary 1, 1988(1988-02-01) (aged 80)
Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK
OccupationNovelist, screenwriter, chemist
NationalityEnglish
Period1940–1972
GenreCrime, thriller, and pulp

Gerald Alfred Butler (July 31, 1907 – February 1, 1988) was an English crime, thriller and pulp writer and screenwriter.[2] He was born on July 31, 1907, in Crewe, Cheshire,[3] and worked as a chemist prior to becoming a novelist. He later worked as the director of an advertising firm in London.[4][5] He was sometimes referred to as the "English James M. Cain".[6][7]

He was thirty-three years old when his first novel, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, was published in April 1940, by Nicholson & Watson.[8] Butler wrote the novel while staying in air-raid shelters during World War II, to distract himself from the German bombings.[3] Kiss the Blood Off My Hands became a best-seller and led to a publishing contract with Jarrolds Publishing (which quickly reprinted the book) By 1945, it had sold over 232,000 copies in England alone (all during war-time).[9][10] The Digit Books release of Blow Hot, Blow Cold (published in 1960 under the title Choice of Two Women) stated that Kiss the Blood Off My Hands had sold in excess of 750,000 copies.[11]

In 1945, American publishers Farrar & Rinehart, were the first to publish one of Butler's novels outside of England. Their first release of Butler's work was his 1943 novel, Their Rainbow Had Black Edges, issued under the title Dark Rainbow.[12] Farrar & Rinehart went on to publish four more of his novels for the American market, between 1946 and 1951.

Following the publication of his first four novels in Britain (and first one in America), Hollywood film studio Warner Brothers Pictures bought an option to the screen rights of his fifth novel, Slippery Hitch, for £10,000.[13][14] At the time of purchase, in December 1946, the novel had yet to be published, and would be held back from publication for another year and a half, until May 1948.[13][14] By early 1949, Slippery Hitch was assigned to producer Jerry Wald at Warner Brothers Picture, but the film stalled again.[15]

In early 1947, Eagle-Lion Films bought the film rights to Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, hoping to shoot it with Robert Donat in the lead.[16] After the option expired, the novel's film rights were sold to actor-turned-producer Burt Lancaster and his business partner, producer Harold Hecht, in mid-1947. The film was the first project for Lancaster's new film production company, Norma Productions (financed by Universal-International), and hit the screens in October 1948. The film starred Joan Fontaine, Burt Lancaster and Robert Newton and was released in some markets under the names The Unafraid or Blood on My Hands, due to censor issues.

Meanwhile, producer/director Mario Zampi approached Butler in 1947 to collaborate on a film noir thriller, The Fatal Night, through his film production company Anglofilm. Butler adapted Michael Arlen's famous short story, The Gentleman From America into a screenplay for the film which was released in April 1948.[17] Butler and Zampi immediately collaborated again for another Anglofilm production, Third Time Lucky; Butler's screen adaptation of his own novel They Cracked Her Glass Slipper.[14] Butler also wrote the lyrics to the theme song, "Forgive Me for Dreaming",[18] featured in the film.[14][19] The film was released in January 1949 and was directed by Gordon Parry.[20]

In November 1949, Butler and his wife traveled to Hollywood to negotiate the screen rights to a novel.[5] A third Butler novel was turned into a film, Mad with Much Heart, released as On Dangerous Ground by RKO Radio Pictures (it was titled Dark Highway during production). It starred Ida Lupino (who was also an uncredited director) and Robert Ryan and was directed by Nicholas Ray.[21] This last film adaption was released in 1951, the same year that Butler's sixth novel, Choice of Two Women, was published (in the US it was retitled Blow Hot, Blow Cold). He withdrew from the writing industry for nearly twenty years before returning with his last novel, There Is a Death, Elizabeth, published in 1972. He died sixteen years later.

Personal life[edit]

Butler married his secretary, Beryl, in 1936.[5] They had one daughter, Julie.[5] Once Butler starting writing, his wife became his typist.[5]

Bibliography[edit]

Filmography[edit]

Title Year Credited as
Original Story Screenwriter
The Fatal Night 1948 Yes
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands 1948 Yes
Third Time Lucky 1949 Yes Yes
On Dangerous Ground 1951 Yes

Publication history[edit]

Kiss the Blood Off My Hands[edit]

  • April 1940 Nicholson and Watson, UK, first hardcover edition
  • 1940 Jarrolds Publishing, UK, hardcover edition
  • March 1946 Farrar & Rinehart, US, hardcover edition[22]
  • 1946 Presses de la Cité, France, hardcover edition under the title Les mains pures, translated in French by Jeanne Fournier-Pargoire (part of the Cosmopolis series)
  • 1946 Dell Publishing, US, paperback edition (part of the A Dell Mystery series, catalog Dell 197)
  • December 1948 Dell Publishing, US, mapback paperback edition under the title The Unafraid [Kiss the Blood Off My Hands] (part of the Dell Mapback series, catalog Dell 242)
  • 1950 Presses de la Cité, France, paperback edition under the title Du sang sur tes mains, translated in French by Jean Weil (part of the Un mystère series, catalog 4)
  • 1961 Consol Books, UK, paperback edition
  • 1961 World Distributors, UK, paperback edition
  • 1980 Presses de la Cité, France, paperback edition under the title Du sang sur tes mains, translated in French by Jean Weil (part of the Classiques du roman policier series, catalog 16)
  • 1987 Carroll & Graf Publishers, US, paperback edition
  • 1997 Éditions Omnibus, France, paperback edition (part of the book Polar années cinquante)

They Cracked Her Glass Slipper[edit]

  • December 1941 Jarrolds Publishing, UK, first hardcover edition[18]
  • May 1947 Éditions du bateau ivre, France, hardcover edition under the title Cendrillon perd au jeu, translated by Jacqueline Richard (part of the Climats series)[18]

Their Rainbow Had Black Edges[edit]

Mad with Much Heart[edit]

  • 1945 Jarrolds Publishing, UK, first hardcover edition
  • 1945 The Anchor Press, UK, paperback edition
  • August 1946 Farrar & Rinehart, US, hardcover edition[18]
  • 1947 Éditions Universitaires, France, hardcover edition under the title Le cœur et l'esprit, translated by Henri Richard (part of the Univers series, catalog 14)
  • May 1952 Lion Books, US, paperback edition under the title The Lurking Man (Mad With Much Heart) (catalog 81)
  • 1957 Albatross Books, Germany, paperback edition

Slippery Hitch[edit]

Choice of Two Women[edit]

  • 1951 Jarrolds Publishing, UK, first hardcover edition
  • July 1951 Farrar & Rinehart, US, hardcover edition under the title Blow Hot, Blow Cold[26]
  • 1953 Dell Publishing, US, paperback edition under the title Blow Hot, Blow Cold (catalog Dell 726)
  • 1960 Digit Books, US, paperback edition (catalog R381)

There Is a Death, Elizabeth[edit]

  • 1972 Robert Hale and Company, UK, first hardcover edition
  • 1974 Desch, Germany, paperback edition under the title Der Tod Kommt, Elisabeth, translated by Luise Däbritz (part of the Die Mitternachtsbücher series, catalog 654)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Lincolnshire Echo from Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England". Newspapers.com. 1949-02-22. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  2. ^ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0124926/?ref_=tt_ov_wr Gerald Butler, IMDB Credits [user-generated source]
  3. ^ a b "Lincolnshire Echo from Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England". Newspapers.com. 1949-02-22. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  4. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20160509181744/http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/d2IAAOSw9N1Vv~e-/s-l1600.jpg Back cover of Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, Rinehart Publishing, 1946
  5. ^ a b c d e "Daily Mail from Hull, Humberside, England". Newspapers.com. 1949-11-12. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  6. ^ https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/gerald-butler-3/mad-with-much-heart "Mad With Much Heart Review" Kirkus Reviews
  7. ^ https://archive.org/details/bookreviewdigest029766mbp "The Book Review Digest", The H. W. Wilson Company, 1947
  8. ^ "Daily Herald from London, London, England". Newspapers.com. 1940-04-18. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  9. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20160509181744/http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/d2IAAOSw9N1Vv~e-/s-l1600.jpg Back cover of Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, Rinehart Publishing, 1946
  10. ^ http://www.royalbooks.com/pages/books/136016/gerald-butler/mad-with-much-heart-first-uk-edition Book cover of Mad with Much Heart, Jarrolds, first publishing.
  11. ^ Butler, Gerald. "Choice of Two Women".
  12. ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sP8pAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SGgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1079%2C4816303 "Dark Rainbow", The Lewiston Daily Sun, November 30th 1945
  13. ^ a b "Evening Standard from London, Greater London, England". Newspapers.com. 1946-12-10. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  14. ^ a b c d "Middlesex Advertiser and County Gazette from Hillingdon, London, England". Newspapers.com. 1948-06-25. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  15. ^ Los Angeles Times 1949-04-12: Vol 68. Internet Archive. Los Angeles Times Communications LLC. 1949-04-12.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  16. ^ http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/80430/Kiss-the-Blood-Off-My-Hands/notes.html Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, Notes, Turner Classic Movies
  17. ^ [1] The Gentleman From America filmed versions, All Movie
  18. ^ a b c d United States Copyright Office (1946). 1946-1954 Copyright Registration Cards (A-N).
  19. ^ "The Kensington News and West London Times from Kensington and Chelsea, London, England". Newspapers.com. 1949-01-28. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  20. ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040874/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm Third Time Lucky, IMDB [user-generated source]
  21. ^ http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/85554/On-Dangerous-Ground/ On Dangerous Ground, Turner Classic Movies
  22. ^ United States Copyright Office (1946). 1946-1954 Copyright Registration Cards (A-N).
  23. ^ "Jul 06, 1943, page 2 - Western Mail at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  24. ^ Chicago Sunday Tribune 1945-10-21: Vol 104 Iss 42. Internet Archive. 1945-10-21.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  25. ^ "May 21, 1948, page 9 - The Daily Telegraph at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  26. ^ The Washington Post 1951-07-29: Iss 27436. Internet Archive. 1951-07-29.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

External links[edit]

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