The Gordons were

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

s Gordon Gordon (born March 12, 1906,

Anderson, Indiana Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. The population was 54,788 at the 2020 census. It is named after Chief William Anderson. The city is the headquarters of the Church of God and its Anderson ...

– died March 14, 2002), and his wife, Mildred Nixon Gordon (born June 24, 1912,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

– died February 3, 1979,

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

). Both attended the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

where they met and later married in 1932. They wrote numerous

novels, some of which were filmed.Gordon Gordon profile
, iwp.iweb.bsu.edu; accessed November 19, 2015. Many of these feature fictional protagonist FBI agent John "Rip" Ripley (as noted below). After they learned that the screenwriter of ''

Make Haste to Live ''Make Haste to Live'' is a 1954 American film noir thriller film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Dorothy McGuire, Stephen McNally and Mary Murphy. Seiter's last feature directorial effort, the film is an adaptation of the Gordons’ ...

'' received $40,000 while they, the authors, only received $5,000, the Gordons insisted on writing the screenplays for their books being filmed. Gordon was an editor of the ''

Tucson Citizen The ''Tucson Citizen'' was a daily newspaper in Tucson, Arizona. It was founded by Richard C. McCormick with John Wasson as publisher and editor on October 15, 1870, as the ''Arizona Citizen''. When it ceased printing on May 16, 2009, the dail ...

'' newspaper and a publicist with

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

from 1935 to 1942, and later served as a

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

counter-intelligence Counterintelligence (counter-intelligence) or counterespionage (counter-espionage) is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting ac ...

agent during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

for three years. Mildred Gordon was a teacher and an editor for ''

Arizona Highways ''Arizona Highways'' is a magazine that contains travelogues and artistic photographs related to the U.S. state of Arizona. It is published monthly in Phoenix by a unit of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). Background The ...

'' magazine. She worked for

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

and wrote ''The Little Man Who Wasn't There'' (1946). Mildred can be heard as a contestant on the 21st March 1951 edition of

You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radioMake Haste to Live ''Make Haste to Live'' is a 1954 American film noir thriller film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Dorothy McGuire, Stephen McNally and Mary Murphy. Seiter's last feature directorial effort, the film is an adaptation of the Gordons’ ...

'' (1950; filmed in 1954) * ''FBI Story'' (1950; John Ripley) * ''Campaign Train'' (1952) * ''Case File: FBI'' (1953; John Ripley; also wrote the screenplay when filmed as ''

Down Three Dark Streets ''Down Three Dark Streets'' is a 1954 American film noir crime film starring Broderick Crawford and Ruth Roman. Directed by Arnold Laven, the picture's screenplay was written by Gordon Gordon and Mildred Gordon, based on their novel ''Case ...

'' in 1954) * ''The Case of the Talking Bug''/''Playback'' (title in UK; 1955) * ''The Big Frame'' (1957) * ''Captive'' (1957; John Ripley) * ''Tiger on My Back'' (1960) * ''Operation Terror'' (1961; John Ripley; also wrote the screenplay when filmed as ''

Experiment in Terror ''Experiment in Terror'' is a 1962 American neo-noir thriller film released by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by Blake Edwards and written by Mildred Gordon and Gordon Gordon based on their 1961 novel ''Operation Terror''. The film stars Gl ...

'' in 1962) * ''Menace'' (1962) * ''

Undercover Cat ''Undercover Cat'' is a novel by Gordon and Mildred Gordon, about a cat who assists the FBI in tracking down a pair of bank robbers. It was first published in 1963 by Doubleday. It has been adapted to a live-action Disney film twice, as ''Tha ...

'' (1963; also wrote the screenplay when filmed as ''

That Darn Cat! ''That Darn Cat!'' is a 1965 American thriller (genre), thriller comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson (director), Robert Stevenson and starring Hayley Mills and Dean Jones (actor), Dean Jones in a story about bank robbers, a kidnapping and ...

'' in 1965) * ''The Informant'' (1973; John Ripley – later reprinted under the title ''It Could Happen'') * ''That Darn Cat'' (1973; reprint of ''Undercover Cat'' with the movie title)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordons, The 20th-century American newspaper editors 20th-century American novelists American crime fiction writers University of Arizona alumni Married couples Writers from Anderson, Indiana Screenwriters from Indiana Screenwriters from Kansas Screenwriting duos American publicists 20th Century Studios people Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Counterintelligence United Press International people Screenwriters from Arizona 20th-century American screenwriters