Gerald Butler (writer)

Gerald Butler
Butler pictured in the dust jacket of his 1951 novel Choice of Two Women
Butler pictured in the dust jacket of his 1951 novel Choice of Two Women
BornGerald Alfred Butler
(1907-07-31)31 July 1907
Crewe, Cheshire, England[1]
Died1 February 1988(1988-02-01) (aged 80)
Eastbourne, East Sussex, England
OccupationNovelist, screenwriter, chemist
Period1940–1972
GenreCrime, thriller, pulp

Gerald Alfred Butler (31 July 1907 – 1 February 1988) was an English crime, thriller, and pulp writer and screenwriter. He was sometimes referred to as the "English James M. Cain",[2][3] and his characters were noted as amoral and hardboiled.[4][5][6] His novels include the best-seller Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1940), as well as They Cracked Her Glass Slipper (1941), Their Rainbow Had Black Edges (1943), Mad with Much Heart (1945), Slippery Hitch (1948), Choice of Two Women (1951), and his late career come-back There Is a Death, Elizabeth (1972). His stories have been translated and published in multiple languages, including French, Swedish, German, and Finnish.

Four of his novels were optioned by film production companies, including Warner Brothers Pictures (Slippery Hitch, unmade), Eagle-Lion Films (Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, unmade), Charles K. Feldman Group Productions (Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, unmade), Norma Productions / Harold Hecht Productions / Universal-International Pictures (Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, 1948), Anglofilm / General Film Distributors (They Cracked Her Glass Slipper, made as Third Time Lucky, 1949), and RKO Radio Pictures (Mad with Much Heart, made as On Dangerous Ground, 1951). In addition to adapting his own novel for the screenplay of Third Time Lucky, Butler also wrote the screenplay for the Anglofilm / Columbia Pictures movie The Fatal Night (1948), adapted from Michael Arlen's short story, "The Gentleman from America." American radio program Lux Radio Theatre also broadcast an adaptation of Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, under the title The Unafraid, on Columbia Broadcast System in 1949.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Barr Mavity, Nancy (28 April 1946). "Butler Is Heralded as British James M. Cain". Oakland Tribune. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Gerald Butler's Novel of Pursuit - Author of 'Dark Rainbow' Wrestles a Creaking Plot". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 8 September 1946. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Northrop, Guy (3 March 1946). "Amoral Character Takes Hero's Role". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Gould, Ray (7 April 1946). "High Tension, Diabolical Suspense Feature This Blistering Melodrama". The Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/gerald-butler-3/mad-with-much-heart "Mad With Much Heart Review" Kirkus Reviews