Jonathan Wyatt Latimer (October 23, 1906 – June 23, 1983) was an American
crime writer known his novels and screenplays. Before becoming an author, Latimer was a journalist in
Chicago.
Early life and education
Born in
Chicago, Illinois, Latimer attended
Mesa Ranch School
The Mesa Ranch School was a ranch school in Mesa, Arizona, that was established in 1902 by H. David Evans, a British People, Briton with a University of Cambridge, Cambridge education who arrived in Arizona in 1899.Louis C. Hughes (1916): ''Arizona ...
in
Mesa, Arizona
Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...
. He then studied at
Knox College in
Galesburg, Illinois, where he graduated
Phi Beta Kappa in 1929.
During
World War II, Latimer served in the
United States Navy. After the war, he moved to
California and continued his work as a
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
, including 10 films in collaboration with director
John Farrow.
Career
Latimer became a
journalist at the ''
Chicago Herald Examiner'' and later for the ''
Chicago Tribune'', writing about
crime and meeting
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...
and
Bugs Moran, among others. In the mid-1930s, he turned to writing
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
, starting with a series of novels featuring private eye William Crane, in which he introduced his typical blend of
hardboiled crime fiction and elements of
screwball comedy.
Death
Latimer died of
lung cancer in
La Jolla, California
La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781.
La Jolla is surrounded on ...
on June 23, 1983, aged 76.
Select bibliography
The William Crane series
*''Murder in the Madhouse'' (
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* ...
)
*''
Headed for a Hearse
''Headed for a Hearse'' is a murder mystery by Jonathan Latimer, the second in the series to feature Detective Bill Crane. It was first published by Doubleday Doran as part of the Crime Club in 1935. In 1937 it served as the basis for the film, ' ...
'' (
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* ...
) filmed 1937 as ''
The Westland Case
''The Westland Case'' is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Preston Foster, Frank Jenks, and Carol Hughes.
Cast
* Preston Foster as Bill Crane
* Frank Jenks as Doc Williams
* Carol Hughes as Emily Lou Martin
...
'';
Preston Foster as Crane
*''
The Lady in the Morgue'' (
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
) filmed 1938 (aka ''The Case of the Missing Blonde'' in the UK); Preston Foster as Crane
*''The Dead Don't Care'' (
1938
Events
January
* January 1
** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...
) filmed 1938 as ''
The Last Warning''; Preston Foster as Crane
*''
Red Gardenias'' (
1939
This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1
** Third Reich
*** Jews are forbidden to ...
)
Non-series novels
*''The Search for My Great Uncle's Head'' (
1937
Events
January
* January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua.
* January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...
) (as Peter Coffin)
*''Solomon's Vineyard'' (
1941
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...
) (published in paperback in 1951 and republished in 2014 under the title ''The Fifth Grave'')
*''Sinners and Shrouds'' (
1955
Events January
* January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama.
* January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut.
* January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
)
*''
Black Is the Fashion for Dying'' (
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
)
Non-crime novels
*''Dark Memory'' (
1940
A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
*January ...
)
Short stories
*''A Joke's a Joke'' (
1938
Events
January
* January 1
** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...
)
Screenplays
*''
The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt'' (
1939
This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history.
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1
** Third Reich
*** Jews are forbidden to ...
) (based on a novel by
Louis Joseph Vance)
*''
Topper Returns'' (
1941
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...
) (
original screenplay)
*''
The Glass Key'' (
1942
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...
) (based on the
Dashiell Hammett novel)
*''
Night in New Orleans
''Night in New Orleans'' is a 1942 American crime film directed by William Clemens and loosely adapted by Jonathan Latimer from the 1940 novel ''Sing a Song of Homicide'' by James R. Langham. The film stars Preston Foster, Patricia Morison, A ...
'' (
1942
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...
) (based on a novel by
James R. Langham)
*''
Nocturne'' (
1946
Events January
* January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
* January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
)
*''
They Won't Believe Me'' (
1947
It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Events
January
* January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...
) (based on a story by Gordon McDonell)
*''
The Big Clock'' (
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
) (based on the
Kenneth Fearing novel)
*''
Night Has a Thousand Eyes'' (
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
) (based on the
Cornell Woolrich novel)
*''
Submarine Command
''Submarine Command'' is a 1951 American war film directed by John Farrow and starring William Holden, Don Taylor, Nancy Olson, William Bendix, and Darryl Hickman. It is notable for being one of the first films to touch on post traumatic stres ...
'' (
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
), screenplay from his own story, starring
William Holden
*''
Plunder of the Sun
''Plunder of the Sun'' is a 1949 novel written by David F. Dodge about a hunt for ancient Peruvian treasure. It was adapted for the November 8, 1949 episode of the radio series ''Escape'' and later into the 1953 film noir of the same title, star ...
'' (
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...
) (based on the
David F. Dodge novel)
*''
The Unholy Wife
''The Unholy Wife'' is a 1957 Technicolor film noir crime film produced and directed by John Farrow at RKO Radio Pictures, but released by Universal Pictures as RKO was in the process of ceasing its film activities. The film features Diana Do ...
'' (
1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
) (co-authored with William Durkee)
*''
The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays'' (1957) (with
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s ...
)
*''
The Unchained Goddess
''The Bell System Science Series'' consists of nine television specials made for the AT&T Corporation that were originally broadcast in color between 1956 and 1964. Marcel LaFollette has described them as "specials that combined clever story line ...
'' (
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
) (with Frank Capra)
*32 episodes of the ''
Perry Mason'' television series
*''The Greenhouse Jungle'' (from the second season of the ''
Columbo
''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...
'' television series,
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
)
Other Films Based on Stories by Latimer
*''
Phantom Raiders'' 1940, 2nd in a series of
Nick Carter
Nick or Nicholas Carter may refer to:
Athletes
* Nick Carter (athlete) (1902–1997), track and field athlete from United States, who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics
* Nick Carter (baseball) (1879–1961), Major League Baseball pitcher for t ...
movies starring
Walter Pidgeon
See also
*
Hard boiled American crime fiction for a discussion of ''Solomon's Vineyard'', the publication of which was suppressed in the United States for a long time.
References
External links
Jonathan Latimer Miscellaneous Scripts and ScreenplaysMSS 133
Special Collections & Archives UC San Diego Library.
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Latimer, Jonathan
20th-century American novelists
American male novelists
American male screenwriters
American mystery writers
1906 births
1983 deaths
Deaths from lung cancer in California
United States Navy sailors
United States Navy personnel of World War II
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American screenwriters
Writers from Chicago
Novelists from Illinois
Screenwriters from Illinois
Knox College (Illinois) alumni