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A review by saareman
The Long Take by Robin Robertson
4.0
The Long Take's Journey Into Noir
Review of the 2018 Canadian paperback edition from House of Anansi
Sometimes you have to extend the fiction writing in your own imagination in order to buy into the author's premise. I was thrown very early on in this poetry novel when it became apparent that the lead character Walker was a Canadian WWII veteran of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, called by their nickname the North Novas in the book. What I couldn't understand was why would Walker be receiving any benefits at all under the American G.I. Bill (pg. 45 "where to pick up his twenty bucks a week from the GI bill.") Otherwise the book seems immaculately researched, but that little tidbit was always in the back of my mind. Finally I just had to accept it as some sort of extension of the "Lend-Lease Act" where America is paying the veterans' benefits for other Allied nations and move on. Such are the quirks that will throw off some readers but will be completely ignored by others.
Otherwise this was a completely absorbing Dantesque descent into a noir world of post-war urban decay and gentrification primarily focussed on Los Angeles, but with some time spent in New York City and San Francisco. The veteran Walker, is shell-shocked (now we would call it Post Traumatic Stress Disorder / PTSD) by his experiences of the Second World War, about which we learn only gradually in flashback italicized portions of the text. This is the real reason for the North Novas plot-tie in, as members of that regiment were specifically the victims of war crimes committed on POWs in the post-D-Day battles in Northern France. Walker, in his turn, committed some retaliatory atrocities and is haunted by the entire experience to the point where he cannot return to a youthful love in Nova Scotia but instead goes across America while living a somewhat hobo-like existence but also working as a journalist documenting the underclass of America.
There are some terrific cameo appearances by American noir film directors as Walker encounters them during live location film shoots and watches the end results on movie screens. It is such a constant refrain throughout the book that I became quite intrigued and had to look up the films that were referred to and even watch a few of them online.
Trivia and Links
Listing and Links of the noir films mentioned in the text that I could easily find. The YouTube versions may not be permanent or available to everyone but were working for me in Canada as of January 2019. There may be other trailers/videos available but I only trusted YouTube links. These are in order of appearance in The Long Take footnotes:
pg. 12 Ride the Pink Horse (1947) dir. Robert Montgomery.
IMDb Listing at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039768/reference
Trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVcdFIWT6zA
Full film at (not found).
Pg. 12 Out of the Past (1947) dir. Jacques Tourneur.
IMDb Listing at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039689/reference
Trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saurMhQHblc
Full film at (not found).
Pg. 28 Cry of the City (1948) dir. Robert Siodmak, based on the novel [b:The Chair for Martin Rome|8594635|The Chair for Martin Rome|Henry Edward Helseth|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1281819199l/8594635._SY75_.jpg|13464316] by [a:Henry Edward Helseth|4122786|Henry Edward Helseth|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png].
IMDb Listing at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040257/reference
Trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUt6ii3z4N0
Full film at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovQNENXl5lM
Pg. 28 Brute Force (1947) dir. Jules Dassin
IMDb Listing at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039224/reference
Trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMmmVBxKWCM
Full film at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXhuaDhR4yk
Pg. 43 The Big Clock (1948) dir. John Farrow
IMDb Listing at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040160/reference
Trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tqK08N_aQU
Full movie at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSQNDZ_FBaE (Pay per View)
Pg. 43 The Naked City (1948) dir. Jules Dassin
IMDb Listing at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040636/reference
Trailer at (not available)
Full movie at (not found).
pg. 70 Criss Cross (1949) dir. Robert Siodmak.
IMDb Listing at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041268/reference
Trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCi2zPpI644
Full film at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awlJBqZXLoI (Pay per View posting)
Pg. 163 & pg. 175 The Big Combo (1955) dir. Joseph H. Lewis.
IMDb Listing at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047878/reference
Not the trailer, but Opening Credits at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QShabLiL1lA
Full film at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuWokTKOMWg
pg. 178 Kiss Me Deadly (1955) dir. Robert Aldritch, based on the novel [b:Kiss Me, Deadly|153626|Kiss Me, Deadly (Mike Hammer #6)|Mickey Spillane|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1202972869l/153626._SY75_.jpg|148301] by [a:Mickey Spillane|50948|Mickey Spillane|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1318950096p2/50948.jpg].
IMDB Listing at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048261/reference
Trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss4AF91KOFw
Full film with subtitles at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HES8eEUaBL0
Review of the 2018 Canadian paperback edition from House of Anansi
Sometimes you have to extend the fiction writing in your own imagination in order to buy into the author's premise. I was thrown very early on in this poetry novel when it became apparent that the lead character Walker was a Canadian WWII veteran of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, called by their nickname the North Novas in the book. What I couldn't understand was why would Walker be receiving any benefits at all under the American G.I. Bill (pg. 45 "where to pick up his twenty bucks a week from the GI bill.") Otherwise the book seems immaculately researched, but that little tidbit was always in the back of my mind. Finally I just had to accept it as some sort of extension of the "Lend-Lease Act" where America is paying the veterans' benefits for other Allied nations and move on. Such are the quirks that will throw off some readers but will be completely ignored by others.
Otherwise this was a completely absorbing Dantesque descent into a noir world of post-war urban decay and gentrification primarily focussed on Los Angeles, but with some time spent in New York City and San Francisco. The veteran Walker, is shell-shocked (now we would call it Post Traumatic Stress Disorder / PTSD) by his experiences of the Second World War, about which we learn only gradually in flashback italicized portions of the text. This is the real reason for the North Novas plot-tie in, as members of that regiment were specifically the victims of war crimes committed on POWs in the post-D-Day battles in Northern France. Walker, in his turn, committed some retaliatory atrocities and is haunted by the entire experience to the point where he cannot return to a youthful love in Nova Scotia but instead goes across America while living a somewhat hobo-like existence but also working as a journalist documenting the underclass of America.
There are some terrific cameo appearances by American noir film directors as Walker encounters them during live location film shoots and watches the end results on movie screens. It is such a constant refrain throughout the book that I became quite intrigued and had to look up the films that were referred to and even watch a few of them online.
Trivia and Links
Listing and Links of the noir films mentioned in the text that I could easily find. The YouTube versions may not be permanent or available to everyone but were working for me in Canada as of January 2019. There may be other trailers/videos available but I only trusted YouTube links. These are in order of appearance in The Long Take footnotes:
pg. 12 Ride the Pink Horse (1947) dir. Robert Montgomery.
IMDb Listing at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039768/reference
Trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVcdFIWT6zA
Full film at (not found).
Pg. 12 Out of the Past (1947) dir. Jacques Tourneur.
IMDb Listing at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039689/reference
Trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saurMhQHblc
Full film at (not found).
Pg. 28 Cry of the City (1948) dir. Robert Siodmak, based on the novel [b:The Chair for Martin Rome|8594635|The Chair for Martin Rome|Henry Edward Helseth|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1281819199l/8594635._SY75_.jpg|13464316] by [a:Henry Edward Helseth|4122786|Henry Edward Helseth|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png].
IMDb Listing at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040257/reference
Trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUt6ii3z4N0
Full film at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovQNENXl5lM
Pg. 28 Brute Force (1947) dir. Jules Dassin
IMDb Listing at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039224/reference
Trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMmmVBxKWCM
Full film at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXhuaDhR4yk
Pg. 43 The Big Clock (1948) dir. John Farrow
IMDb Listing at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040160/reference
Trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tqK08N_aQU
Full movie at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSQNDZ_FBaE (Pay per View)
Pg. 43 The Naked City (1948) dir. Jules Dassin
IMDb Listing at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040636/reference
Trailer at (not available)
Full movie at (not found).
pg. 70 Criss Cross (1949) dir. Robert Siodmak.
IMDb Listing at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041268/reference
Trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCi2zPpI644
Full film at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awlJBqZXLoI (Pay per View posting)
Pg. 163 & pg. 175 The Big Combo (1955) dir. Joseph H. Lewis.
IMDb Listing at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047878/reference
Not the trailer, but Opening Credits at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QShabLiL1lA
Full film at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuWokTKOMWg
pg. 178 Kiss Me Deadly (1955) dir. Robert Aldritch, based on the novel [b:Kiss Me, Deadly|153626|Kiss Me, Deadly (Mike Hammer #6)|Mickey Spillane|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1202972869l/153626._SY75_.jpg|148301] by [a:Mickey Spillane|50948|Mickey Spillane|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1318950096p2/50948.jpg].
IMDB Listing at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048261/reference
Trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss4AF91KOFw
Full film with subtitles at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HES8eEUaBL0