Frank Vatel
@frankvatel312.bsky.social
Reader, watcher, and scribbler of noir. Also, book-cover illustrator and designer. Published @ Punk Noir Magazine, All Due Respect, Bristol Noir, and Reckon Review.
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 14: DOWN THERE (1956)
It took me a while to like David Goodis, but when he finally cracked my hard shell, tears began to flow. His most famous novel—about a dive-bar pianist haunted by his past—has been wrecking readers for generations.
Day 14: DOWN THERE (1956)
It took me a while to like David Goodis, but when he finally cracked my hard shell, tears began to flow. His most famous novel—about a dive-bar pianist haunted by his past—has been wrecking readers for generations.
November 14, 2025 at 9:45 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 14: DOWN THERE (1956)
It took me a while to like David Goodis, but when he finally cracked my hard shell, tears began to flow. His most famous novel—about a dive-bar pianist haunted by his past—has been wrecking readers for generations.
Day 14: DOWN THERE (1956)
It took me a while to like David Goodis, but when he finally cracked my hard shell, tears began to flow. His most famous novel—about a dive-bar pianist haunted by his past—has been wrecking readers for generations.
#NoirvemberChallenge
Mount Rushmore of noir?
Limiting this to lead actors:
Barbara Stanwyck is automatic.
Mitch and Bogie, too.
Who, then, is the final member of Stanwyck’s reverse harem: Robert Ryan, Richard Widmark, or Burt Lancaster?
@ladykdesigns.bsky.social
Mount Rushmore of noir?
Limiting this to lead actors:
Barbara Stanwyck is automatic.
Mitch and Bogie, too.
Who, then, is the final member of Stanwyck’s reverse harem: Robert Ryan, Richard Widmark, or Burt Lancaster?
@ladykdesigns.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 4:38 PM
#NoirvemberChallenge
Mount Rushmore of noir?
Limiting this to lead actors:
Barbara Stanwyck is automatic.
Mitch and Bogie, too.
Who, then, is the final member of Stanwyck’s reverse harem: Robert Ryan, Richard Widmark, or Burt Lancaster?
@ladykdesigns.bsky.social
Mount Rushmore of noir?
Limiting this to lead actors:
Barbara Stanwyck is automatic.
Mitch and Bogie, too.
Who, then, is the final member of Stanwyck’s reverse harem: Robert Ryan, Richard Widmark, or Burt Lancaster?
@ladykdesigns.bsky.social
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 13: THE SNOW WAS BLACK (1948)
Frank Friedmaier isn’t the only fictional sociopath highlighted in this series, but his destiny—a collision with totalitarianism—truly sets him apart. Noir meets dystopia, to devastating effect.
Day 13: THE SNOW WAS BLACK (1948)
Frank Friedmaier isn’t the only fictional sociopath highlighted in this series, but his destiny—a collision with totalitarianism—truly sets him apart. Noir meets dystopia, to devastating effect.
November 13, 2025 at 11:19 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 13: THE SNOW WAS BLACK (1948)
Frank Friedmaier isn’t the only fictional sociopath highlighted in this series, but his destiny—a collision with totalitarianism—truly sets him apart. Noir meets dystopia, to devastating effect.
Day 13: THE SNOW WAS BLACK (1948)
Frank Friedmaier isn’t the only fictional sociopath highlighted in this series, but his destiny—a collision with totalitarianism—truly sets him apart. Noir meets dystopia, to devastating effect.
Northern Lights over Chicago yesterday. I regret not knowing about this while it was happening.
November 13, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Northern Lights over Chicago yesterday. I regret not knowing about this while it was happening.
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 12: DOG SOLDIERS (1974)
If you liked Cutter and Bone, you’ll love this sprawling novel about a doomed drug-smuggling caper. A work of pure seventies zeitgeist—bleak, existential, and brimming with quirky social observation.
Day 12: DOG SOLDIERS (1974)
If you liked Cutter and Bone, you’ll love this sprawling novel about a doomed drug-smuggling caper. A work of pure seventies zeitgeist—bleak, existential, and brimming with quirky social observation.
November 12, 2025 at 10:22 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 12: DOG SOLDIERS (1974)
If you liked Cutter and Bone, you’ll love this sprawling novel about a doomed drug-smuggling caper. A work of pure seventies zeitgeist—bleak, existential, and brimming with quirky social observation.
Day 12: DOG SOLDIERS (1974)
If you liked Cutter and Bone, you’ll love this sprawling novel about a doomed drug-smuggling caper. A work of pure seventies zeitgeist—bleak, existential, and brimming with quirky social observation.
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 11: THE BLUNDERER (1954)
Once again, Highsmith mines her greatest obsession: the tenuous moral difference between wanting someone’s murder and actually carrying it out. A follow-up to Strangers on a Train, and an improvement on it.
Day 11: THE BLUNDERER (1954)
Once again, Highsmith mines her greatest obsession: the tenuous moral difference between wanting someone’s murder and actually carrying it out. A follow-up to Strangers on a Train, and an improvement on it.
November 11, 2025 at 11:34 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 11: THE BLUNDERER (1954)
Once again, Highsmith mines her greatest obsession: the tenuous moral difference between wanting someone’s murder and actually carrying it out. A follow-up to Strangers on a Train, and an improvement on it.
Day 11: THE BLUNDERER (1954)
Once again, Highsmith mines her greatest obsession: the tenuous moral difference between wanting someone’s murder and actually carrying it out. A follow-up to Strangers on a Train, and an improvement on it.
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 10: DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1935)
Admittedly, the film’s ending is better. But the trio of Walter, Phyllis, and Keyes were fully realized in James M. Cain’s original text and their grubby lives still enthrall us ninety years after its first publication.
Day 10: DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1935)
Admittedly, the film’s ending is better. But the trio of Walter, Phyllis, and Keyes were fully realized in James M. Cain’s original text and their grubby lives still enthrall us ninety years after its first publication.
November 11, 2025 at 12:13 AM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 10: DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1935)
Admittedly, the film’s ending is better. But the trio of Walter, Phyllis, and Keyes were fully realized in James M. Cain’s original text and their grubby lives still enthrall us ninety years after its first publication.
Day 10: DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1935)
Admittedly, the film’s ending is better. But the trio of Walter, Phyllis, and Keyes were fully realized in James M. Cain’s original text and their grubby lives still enthrall us ninety years after its first publication.
“Every seven seconds, a Nazi soldier dies in Russia.”
—Radio Moscow, winter 1942
—Radio Moscow, winter 1942
November 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM
“Every seven seconds, a Nazi soldier dies in Russia.”
—Radio Moscow, winter 1942
—Radio Moscow, winter 1942
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 9: SLEEP WITH THE DEVIL (1954)
Day Keene is nobody’s favorite author, but this nasty little potboiler—about a loan-shark enforcer who swindles an Amish family—is a must-read for vintage paperback fans. Pulpy, sordid bliss.
Day 9: SLEEP WITH THE DEVIL (1954)
Day Keene is nobody’s favorite author, but this nasty little potboiler—about a loan-shark enforcer who swindles an Amish family—is a must-read for vintage paperback fans. Pulpy, sordid bliss.
November 9, 2025 at 11:06 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 9: SLEEP WITH THE DEVIL (1954)
Day Keene is nobody’s favorite author, but this nasty little potboiler—about a loan-shark enforcer who swindles an Amish family—is a must-read for vintage paperback fans. Pulpy, sordid bliss.
Day 9: SLEEP WITH THE DEVIL (1954)
Day Keene is nobody’s favorite author, but this nasty little potboiler—about a loan-shark enforcer who swindles an Amish family—is a must-read for vintage paperback fans. Pulpy, sordid bliss.
November 9, 2025 at 10:24 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 8: VANITY ROW (1952)
W.R. Burnett’s most underrated novel involves a shady police captain, the murder suspect he’s boinking, and the media storm threatening to devour them. A shrewd urban chronicle that anticipates both Ed McBain and Tom Wolfe.
Day 8: VANITY ROW (1952)
W.R. Burnett’s most underrated novel involves a shady police captain, the murder suspect he’s boinking, and the media storm threatening to devour them. A shrewd urban chronicle that anticipates both Ed McBain and Tom Wolfe.
November 8, 2025 at 9:57 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 8: VANITY ROW (1952)
W.R. Burnett’s most underrated novel involves a shady police captain, the murder suspect he’s boinking, and the media storm threatening to devour them. A shrewd urban chronicle that anticipates both Ed McBain and Tom Wolfe.
Day 8: VANITY ROW (1952)
W.R. Burnett’s most underrated novel involves a shady police captain, the murder suspect he’s boinking, and the media storm threatening to devour them. A shrewd urban chronicle that anticipates both Ed McBain and Tom Wolfe.
#NoirvemberChallenge
Favorite line of dialogue?
Quoted endlessly, and for good reason:
“I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.”
Favorite line of dialogue?
Quoted endlessly, and for good reason:
“I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.”
November 8, 2025 at 9:39 PM
#NoirvemberChallenge
Favorite line of dialogue?
Quoted endlessly, and for good reason:
“I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.”
Favorite line of dialogue?
Quoted endlessly, and for good reason:
“I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.”
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 7: THE END OF THE NIGHT (1960)
In the sixties, many authors got hysterical about the violent threat posed by druggy youth, churning out alarmist crime novels that have aged like milk. This John D. MacDonald stunner is the brutal, haunting exception.
Day 7: THE END OF THE NIGHT (1960)
In the sixties, many authors got hysterical about the violent threat posed by druggy youth, churning out alarmist crime novels that have aged like milk. This John D. MacDonald stunner is the brutal, haunting exception.
November 7, 2025 at 11:13 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 7: THE END OF THE NIGHT (1960)
In the sixties, many authors got hysterical about the violent threat posed by druggy youth, churning out alarmist crime novels that have aged like milk. This John D. MacDonald stunner is the brutal, haunting exception.
Day 7: THE END OF THE NIGHT (1960)
In the sixties, many authors got hysterical about the violent threat posed by druggy youth, churning out alarmist crime novels that have aged like milk. This John D. MacDonald stunner is the brutal, haunting exception.
Literary fiction requires no plot. In fact, plot is an embarrassment to the literary writer. Being caught plotting is like walking out of a restroom with toilet paper stuck to your shoe.
November 7, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Literary fiction requires no plot. In fact, plot is an embarrassment to the literary writer. Being caught plotting is like walking out of a restroom with toilet paper stuck to your shoe.
#NoirvemberChallenge
Coolest Film Noir Character?
In his bulky, middle-aged way, Bob le flambeur is *very* effing cool.
Coolest Film Noir Character?
In his bulky, middle-aged way, Bob le flambeur is *very* effing cool.
November 7, 2025 at 12:20 AM
#NoirvemberChallenge
Coolest Film Noir Character?
In his bulky, middle-aged way, Bob le flambeur is *very* effing cool.
Coolest Film Noir Character?
In his bulky, middle-aged way, Bob le flambeur is *very* effing cool.
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 6: KISS TOMORROW GOOD-BYE (1948)
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is everyone’s favorite Horace McCoy novel, but the disturbed, strangely erudite prison escapee who narrates this outlaw tale deserves his own place in noir immortality.
Day 6: KISS TOMORROW GOOD-BYE (1948)
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is everyone’s favorite Horace McCoy novel, but the disturbed, strangely erudite prison escapee who narrates this outlaw tale deserves his own place in noir immortality.
November 6, 2025 at 11:25 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 6: KISS TOMORROW GOOD-BYE (1948)
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is everyone’s favorite Horace McCoy novel, but the disturbed, strangely erudite prison escapee who narrates this outlaw tale deserves his own place in noir immortality.
Day 6: KISS TOMORROW GOOD-BYE (1948)
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is everyone’s favorite Horace McCoy novel, but the disturbed, strangely erudite prison escapee who narrates this outlaw tale deserves his own place in noir immortality.
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 5: THE ICE HARVEST (1999)
The hero of this late-nineties classic has a lot to answer for: embezzled funds, double-crossed mobsters, angry exes, disappointed children. It’s a Christmas miracle that we still find him so endearing.
Day 5: THE ICE HARVEST (1999)
The hero of this late-nineties classic has a lot to answer for: embezzled funds, double-crossed mobsters, angry exes, disappointed children. It’s a Christmas miracle that we still find him so endearing.
November 5, 2025 at 10:49 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 5: THE ICE HARVEST (1999)
The hero of this late-nineties classic has a lot to answer for: embezzled funds, double-crossed mobsters, angry exes, disappointed children. It’s a Christmas miracle that we still find him so endearing.
Day 5: THE ICE HARVEST (1999)
The hero of this late-nineties classic has a lot to answer for: embezzled funds, double-crossed mobsters, angry exes, disappointed children. It’s a Christmas miracle that we still find him so endearing.
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 4: A RAGE IN HARLEM (1957)
The main story about a funeral-home worker who falls prey to conmen is absorbing, but the real genius of Chester Himes’ magnum opus lies in its depiction of Harlem. A teeming, vibrant, often hilarious crime novel.
Day 4: A RAGE IN HARLEM (1957)
The main story about a funeral-home worker who falls prey to conmen is absorbing, but the real genius of Chester Himes’ magnum opus lies in its depiction of Harlem. A teeming, vibrant, often hilarious crime novel.
November 4, 2025 at 11:20 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 4: A RAGE IN HARLEM (1957)
The main story about a funeral-home worker who falls prey to conmen is absorbing, but the real genius of Chester Himes’ magnum opus lies in its depiction of Harlem. A teeming, vibrant, often hilarious crime novel.
Day 4: A RAGE IN HARLEM (1957)
The main story about a funeral-home worker who falls prey to conmen is absorbing, but the real genius of Chester Himes’ magnum opus lies in its depiction of Harlem. A teeming, vibrant, often hilarious crime novel.
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 3: THE BIG BITE (1956)
For some reason, this book involving an amoral ex-jock who tries to blackmail a couple of killers never gets the love it deserves. But it’s top-tier Charles Williams, darkly ironic and white-knuckle tense.
Day 3: THE BIG BITE (1956)
For some reason, this book involving an amoral ex-jock who tries to blackmail a couple of killers never gets the love it deserves. But it’s top-tier Charles Williams, darkly ironic and white-knuckle tense.
November 3, 2025 at 10:44 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 3: THE BIG BITE (1956)
For some reason, this book involving an amoral ex-jock who tries to blackmail a couple of killers never gets the love it deserves. But it’s top-tier Charles Williams, darkly ironic and white-knuckle tense.
Day 3: THE BIG BITE (1956)
For some reason, this book involving an amoral ex-jock who tries to blackmail a couple of killers never gets the love it deserves. But it’s top-tier Charles Williams, darkly ironic and white-knuckle tense.
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 2: THE EXPENDABLE MAN (1963)
A lone traveler makes a rash decision that begets his doom. Sounds like familiar noir territory, right? Well, not exactly. In her final novel, Dorothy Hughes employs ambiguity and surprise like a virtuoso.
Day 2: THE EXPENDABLE MAN (1963)
A lone traveler makes a rash decision that begets his doom. Sounds like familiar noir territory, right? Well, not exactly. In her final novel, Dorothy Hughes employs ambiguity and surprise like a virtuoso.
November 2, 2025 at 11:08 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 2: THE EXPENDABLE MAN (1963)
A lone traveler makes a rash decision that begets his doom. Sounds like familiar noir territory, right? Well, not exactly. In her final novel, Dorothy Hughes employs ambiguity and surprise like a virtuoso.
Day 2: THE EXPENDABLE MAN (1963)
A lone traveler makes a rash decision that begets his doom. Sounds like familiar noir territory, right? Well, not exactly. In her final novel, Dorothy Hughes employs ambiguity and surprise like a virtuoso.
Harry Lime is the right call, of course. But another late villain intro also deserves mention:
William Hurt in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005)
#NoirvemberChallenge
William Hurt in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005)
#NoirvemberChallenge
November 2, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Harry Lime is the right call, of course. But another late villain intro also deserves mention:
William Hurt in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005)
#NoirvemberChallenge
William Hurt in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005)
#NoirvemberChallenge
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 1: THE BRIDE WORE BLACK (1940)
My friend Garth flogged me for excluding Cornell Woolrich last year, so I’ll open this series with noir’s greatest revenge novel. Each of its five murder scenes is a small masterpiece of dread and sorrow.
Day 1: THE BRIDE WORE BLACK (1940)
My friend Garth flogged me for excluding Cornell Woolrich last year, so I’ll open this series with noir’s greatest revenge novel. Each of its five murder scenes is a small masterpiece of dread and sorrow.
November 1, 2025 at 8:11 PM
~ Thirty (More) Novels for #Noirvember ~
Day 1: THE BRIDE WORE BLACK (1940)
My friend Garth flogged me for excluding Cornell Woolrich last year, so I’ll open this series with noir’s greatest revenge novel. Each of its five murder scenes is a small masterpiece of dread and sorrow.
Day 1: THE BRIDE WORE BLACK (1940)
My friend Garth flogged me for excluding Cornell Woolrich last year, so I’ll open this series with noir’s greatest revenge novel. Each of its five murder scenes is a small masterpiece of dread and sorrow.
One of the great moments in cinematography—when Conrad Hall, between shots, noticed the rain streaming down the prison window was reflected on Robert Blake’s face, resembling tears. They were about to shoot Blake’s monologue about his brutal father. The “tears” stayed. #TCMParty #InColdBlood
November 1, 2025 at 2:14 AM
One of the great moments in cinematography—when Conrad Hall, between shots, noticed the rain streaming down the prison window was reflected on Robert Blake’s face, resembling tears. They were about to shoot Blake’s monologue about his brutal father. The “tears” stayed. #TCMParty #InColdBlood
This little shit showed up at my door and told my wife:
“Make with the Snickers, doll face.”
“Make with the Snickers, doll face.”
October 31, 2025 at 11:59 PM
This little shit showed up at my door and told my wife:
“Make with the Snickers, doll face.”
“Make with the Snickers, doll face.”
