Ok , another thing I am sort of coming to later in life , this hard boiled detective genre. I wonder if any of you have recs for films or books.

I liked the Dashiell Hammett books - Maltese Falcon was my favorite, followed by The Thin Man (not hard-boiled). The rest were good but indistinguishable from each other.

Actually Thomas its the Thin Man who is leading me to this

I am not exactly sure it's something you might like but I love the series by Jean Marcy although it's only 4 books up to now. I am very into crime and these were something really different!

Oh, and Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski is hard-boiled, of course. Here's what the author said about the detective:
"I loved detective fiction, but I was troubled by the way women were traditionally portrayed in that genre — they always seemed to be either evil or powerless. I thought it was time for a tough, smart, likable female private investigator, and that’s how VI came to life" (from wikipedia)

The Thin Man is legendary!

I am a big fan of Nero Wolfe, love that series. I don't think you can find it on television anymore but you can buy the whole DVD set.

It's almost too obvious to mention, however if you've not yet read any Raymond Chandler his Philip Marlowe novels are well worth a read - Philip Marlowe is such a great character and I love Chandler's snappy, lean and often very lyrical prose.

My three favorite noir novels are-

Phantom Lady by Cornel Woolrich
3 Million Ways to Die by Lawrence Block
Postman Always Ring Twice by James M. Cain.

There's also Stephen Greenleaf (all works out of print, alas), James Ellroy (Black Dahlia is my favorite), Michael Walsh's Exchange Alley (also out of print), the early series novels by Dennis Lehane and Big City Bad Blood by Sean Chercover. Don't be put off by the out of print status of some of these books. Guys don't buy a lot of novels, unfortunately, which is why hardboiled mysteries are having such a tough time. Go to libraries and used bookstores to find out of print titles.

For movies: the greatest noir is Chinatown. Other greats: Double Indemnity, Pick Up on South Street, Body Heat, the films of Jean Pierre Melville, etc... This is perhaps the greatest genre ever invented.

You can't go wrong with any of the films featured in this series.

http://www.filmforum.org/films/essentialnoir.html

Chandlerisms

I will ask Grizz for you, of course, but one really hard boiled writer that comes to mind is this Irish guy, Ken Bruen. More later.....

Hold on! I still have to read Grizz himself.... oh yes , on the to do list


and thanks to all for suggestions

Ross Macdonald began as an exponent of hardboiled fiction before he found his own voice. The early books, ex. The Moving Target are tough as nails.

Oh, I also recommend James M. Cain. I started and finished his "Mildred Pearce" on a 8 hour flight from Belfast to Toronto. Enjoy!

Am I the only one who still think that whatever Humphrey Bogart did was great?

No, my dear, you are not the only one. I love him, too.