tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post127318341148771952..comments2024-03-25T11:29:25.356-04:00Comments on Existential Ennui: Book Review: the Sequel to Rogue Male – Rogue Justice, by Geoffrey HouseholdNick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)http://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-31675597108464290982012-03-26T13:21:04.625-04:002012-03-26T13:21:04.625-04:00I reckon that's a fair assessment of Rogue Jus...I reckon that's a fair assessment of Rogue Justice, Matt. I must give Man Hunt a go: judging by your post, sounds like it's well worth watching.Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-67272539909960854492012-03-25T22:06:56.833-04:002012-03-25T22:06:56.833-04:00Man Hunt is hardly Fritz Lang's masterpiece, b...Man Hunt is hardly Fritz Lang's masterpiece, but I really enjoyed it nonetheless – I was surprised how closely the last portion of the film adhered to the book, and the movie was far more violent than I thought it would be. If you're interested, I wrote it up on my now-defunct blog: http://makemeasandwichgrace.blogspot.com/2009/10/lang-stalks-dictator-man-hunt-and-rogue.html<br /><br />I was very excited when I found a copy of Rogue Justice in Boston's Brattle Book Store this summer. I liked it just fine and thought it was a better-than-average thriller, but it's nowhere near the classic that Rogue Male is. Gaining all the specifics of the hero's name, life story, fiancee, etc. robs the story of some of its elemental power. And of course Rogue Justice was written more than three decades after WWII, so of course Household doesn't have the moral urgency that he did before the war.Matt Keeleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06879233228833576188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-20171765169399957392012-03-21T06:58:28.010-04:002012-03-21T06:58:28.010-04:00Heh heh. Well "Sir Robert Hunter" wasn&#...Heh heh. Well "Sir Robert Hunter" wasn't the first cinematic crack at naming the (then) nameless narrator of Rogue Male: in the 1941 Fritz Lang film adaptation, Man Hunt, the character – played by Walter Pidgeon – is named Captain Alan Thorndike.Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-15000252646575610432012-03-20T17:00:48.206-04:002012-03-20T17:00:48.206-04:00It's always interesting to see what filmmakers...It's always interesting to see what filmmakers come up with when they need to name a character who's not named in the book. There's the nameless agent from Deighton's <i>The Ipcress File</i>, who the film named Harry Palmer. (There's a funny story behind that one. Harry Saltzman asked Michael Caine to come up with a dull name, and he came up with Harry. Saltzman wasn't amused.) There was a TV miniseries of Hammett's <i>The Dain Curse</i> which named the Continental Op "Hamilton Nash," which was supposed to sound vaguely similar to "Dashiell Hammett."<br /><br />Then there's the films of <i>The Time Machine</i>. The first one named the protagonist George Wells, which I'm sure someone thought was clever. The second one named him Alexander Hartdegen. Which sounds sciencey, I guess. Same with another H. G. Wells work, <i>The War of the Worlds</i>. The narrator is nameless in the book, but depending on the film, he's Clayton Forrester, George Herbert (again, really?), or Ray Ferrier.<br /><br />Some adaptations don't bother with names, though. <i>Drive</i> didn't name the Driver any more than the book did, and Daniel Craig's character in <i>Layer Cake</i> is listed in the credits as XXXX. (There's a good quote here, from both the book and the film: "My name? If you knew that, you'd be as clever as me.")<br /><br />I wonder what the filmmakers would have come up with if Ian Fleming hadn't named James Bond. I read something once about a potential TV series based on his books, which they wanted to call James Gunn. You know, like a gun. Ugh.Craig D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02798473771333728151noreply@blogger.com