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lasted until about 1950. In 1955, now living in Europe and suffering from poor health, Sims married again, this time to a young
Virginia woman named Peggy Gregson who was 30 years younger than him; the couple had two sons. They moved to California and then Virginia, where she stayed; he moved on to Cuba and Los Angeles again, and she remarried in 1962.
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predecessor
Hammett: "Cain wasn't any good. His prose is pitched, page after page, at exactly the same volume: a shrill, pounding staccato that can barely spare time for conjunctions." Genre historian David E. Wilt called Cain's prose "competent though not outstanding", with the exception of the five
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The events of Sims' life have been difficult for later biographers to verify, in part because of his obscurity and in part because during his life, he frequently embellished his story with colorful and even outlandish statements, such as that he "wandered over South
America, Europe, northern Africa
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Sims married
Virginia Maxine Glau in 1939, changing her name to Mechel Ruric; she was nearly 20 years his junior. The marriage dissolved in 1943 due to his alcoholism. He married again in 1945 or 1946 to writer Virginia Radcliffe, with whom he collaborated on several radio scripts; that marriage
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called Cain's style "lean, stripped-down prose, affectless narrative voice" leavened by touches of "wry humor". He noted that "The narrative's point of view is nearly always external: People talk, actions are starkly described, no explanations are given, and we can only guess what Kells or other
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in
October 1933. The story follows gangster Gerry Kells as he navigates, and instigates, a bloody gang war in Los Angeles. Sims dedicated the novel to Michael, who probably inspired the character of the alcoholic girlfriend of the protagonist. The 1933
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Boris
Dralyuk's extensive introduction to Cain, which includes a wealth of newly discovered biographical material; published in PAUL CAIN: THE COMPLETE STORIES and THE PAUL CAIN OMNIBUS (Mysterious Press/Open Road Media/Black Mask Library),
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called the lead character, gangster Gerry Kells, "so ferocious a hoodlum ... a sot, drug addict, two-gun deadshot." Rather than traditional detectives, most Cain protagonists were gangsters or at least on the wrong side of the law.
245:, probably in 1921 (some sources say 1918), joined by Sims' father several years later. Sims himself seems to have been less settled; he apparently lived in Detroit and Chicago during part of this time. He also enlisted in the
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In the field of hardboiled noir fiction, a genre already known for its starkness and cynicism, Sims' writing as Paul Cain was notable for its cold, brutal nihilism. Comparing Cain with other masters of the genre such as
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In the mid-1920s, Sims began using the pseudonym he'd use for the rest of his life, "Peter Ruric" (beginning first as "George Ruric"). He also began his career in
Hollywood, including working as an assistant on the
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sold poorly and received mixed critical reviews, and Sims never wrote another novel. However, its reputation has grown increasingly over time, and it is now considered a classic of the genre. In 2016,
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comes off like a flabby, eccentric chatterbox." Dralyuk has also noted that Cain's work often features "fits of misogyny" and "laconic indications of buried trauma, resentment, and addiction."
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He called himself Peter Ruric, rather than George Sims, for most of his life. The friend who settled his affairs after his death, in fact, did not know that his original name was George Sims.
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described it as “a ceaseless welter of bloodshed and frenzy, a sustained bedlam of killing and fiendishness, told in terse staccato style.” Sims and
Michael broke up in 1933.
273:(born Myrna Williams) gave credit in her autobiography to Sims, who she apparently knew as "Peter Rurick, a wild Russian writer of free verse”, with inventing her stage name.
184:"a cold-hearted, machine-gun-paced masterwork" and his other writings "gemlike, stoic and merciless vignettes that seemed to come direct from the bootlegging front lines."
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Cain's protagonists were unsentimental, brooding, compulsive antiheroes capable of remarkable levels of violence. The 1933 New York Times review of
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as five novelettes in 1932, "Fast One", "Lead Party", "Velvet", "The Heat", and "The Dark". He then rewrote them into a single novel, which became
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part of "a protean time for crime fiction", and praised the novel as "one hell of a twisty, tough nihilistic story set in 1932-’33 Los
Angeles."
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was published by Saint
Enterprises. Sims wanted to change his listed name to Ruric but the publisher insisted on sticking with the name Cain.
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Sims continued to work as a screenwriter in Hollywood under the name "Peter Ruric", contributing not only the script for 1934's
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stories. Nevertheless, Cain has been rediscovered and critically praised in recent years, with his complete works collected in
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The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps: The Best Crime Stories from the Pulps During Their Golden Age--The '20s, '30s & '40s
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432:, Boris Dralyuk said that, "Stacked pound-for-pound against Cain’s lean and war-hardened antihero Gerry Kells, Chandler’s
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He lived in New York circa 1930, where he had become an alcoholic in a dysfunctional relationship with actress
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842:"Latest Works of Fiction: Gangsters Gone Mad; FAST ONE. By Paul Cain. 304 pp. New York: Doubleday. $ 2."
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322:. Sims left the magazine when Shaw was fired in 1936. Additionally, Sims had stories published in
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that he had been a professional balloonist, as well as a gambler, painter, sailor, and editor.
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Ulin, David L. (2006-09-06). "You know it's noir ... If desperation and desire are the fuel".
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The Paul Cain Omnibus: Every Crime Story and the Novel Fast One As Originally Published
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Dirda, Michael (2012-03-29). "'The Complete Slayers': A nod to tough crime fiction".
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in 1917, but was discharged in 1921 (more than two years early) for “inaptitude.”
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Cain's noir stories were among the first in the genre to be set in Los Angeles.
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considered him one of the magazine's strongest contributors, and a successor to
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Boris Dralyuk's review article on The Complete Slayers (Centipede Press, 2012)
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644:. Facts on File library of American literature. Facts On File, Incorporated.
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Danger Is My Business: An Illustrated History of the Fabulous Pulp Magazines
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The Black Mask Boys: Masters in the Hard-Boiled School of Detective Fiction
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for the actress' new name, and that his own pseudonym came from Russians
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869:"The Unacknowledged: Black Crime Fiction, the Roaring '20s to the 1930s"
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reviewer Lee Sandlin was more negative, calling him derivative of his
821:. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press.
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as a screenwriter during the 1930s and 1940s, including writing the
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Sandlin, Lee (2012-03-24). "Books: The Grace of a Shadowy Street".
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included a scene set at the iconic restaurant and writer hangout
900:. Vintage Crime/Black Lizard. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
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Hardboiled in Hollywood: Five Black Mask Writers and the Movies
573:. Black Mask Series. Open Road Integrated Media, Incorporated.
285:) suggests that Ruric was inspired by the name of British poet
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at HARD-BOILED site (Comprehensive Bibliographies by Vladimir)
148:(May 30, 1902 – June 23, 1966), better known by his pen names
686:. Bowling Green State University Popular Press. p. 98.
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In 1946, a paperback collection of his best stories called
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Nolan, Tom (1933-10-29). "Martinis & Mythology".
308:. Here, he became involved in pulp magazines such as
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Hypersensualism: A Practical Philosophy for Acrobats
314:, for which he wrote a total of 17 stories. Editor
226:, none of which is true. He claimed in a letter to
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214:and the Near East" and had published books titled
478:characters are thinking. The prose is similar to
976:. Gutter Books classic crime. Gutter Books LLC.
513:Sims died of cancer in North Hollywood in 1966.
1036:"Latest Works of Fiction: Gangsters Gone Mad".
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743:Loy, Myrna; Kotsilibas-Davis, James (1987).
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281:(who wrote the introduction to 2013's
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641:Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers
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178:Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers
1199:20th-century American screenwriters
1120:at the Los Angeles Review of Books.
716:Dralyuk, Boris (January 26, 2012).
1204:American detective fiction writers
1179:20th-century American male writers
1009:(in German). Black Curtain Press.
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1169:American male short story writers
867:Phillips, Gary (April 25, 2016).
164:. He is best known for his novel
1077:(Proquest Historical Newspapers)
1059:(Proquest Historical Newspapers)
1041:(Proquest Historical Newspapers)
957:(Proquest Historical Newspapers)
804:(Proquest Historical Newspapers)
781:(Proquest Historical Newspapers)
1159:20th-century American novelists
609:(Chronicle Books, 1993) (p.70).
545:Boris Dralyuk (10 April 2018).
377:The Los Angeles Review of Books
187:Sims enjoyed a brief career in
1209:American crime fiction writers
1100:IMDb listing for "Peter Ruric"
1:
1189:Screenwriters from California
1154:Writers from Des Moines, Iowa
746:Myrna Loy: Being and Becoming
547:"Paul Cain: An Introduction"
350:, published in book form by
176:. Lee Server, author of the
1149:American male screenwriters
931:. New York: Mystery Press.
894:Penzler, Otto, ed. (2008).
874:Los Angeles Review of Books
723:Los Angeles Review of Books
365:is based on those stories.
275:Los Angeles Review of Books
69:North Hollywood, California
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1111:Paul Cain: An Introduction
927:Nolan, William F. (1985).
330:, and several articles in
776:"Books Published Today".
1144:American mystery writers
324:Detective Fiction Weekly
1194:Screenwriters from Iowa
1164:American male novelists
683:Hardboiled in Hollywood
680:Wilt, David E. (1991).
491:Musso & Frank Grill
328:Star Detective Magazine
1105:Paul Cain bibliography
482:'s, but even leaner."
393:Affairs of a Gentleman
224:Seven Men Named Caesar
78:Paul Cain, Peter Ruric
1094:Essay about Paul Cain
749:. Knopf. p. 42.
718:"The Incomplete Cain"
451:The Paul Cain Omnibus
283:The Paul Cain Omnibus
260:The Salvation Hunters
1214:Pulp fiction writers
817:Wilt, David (1991).
638:Server, Lee (2014).
399:Grand Central Murder
1184:Novelists from Iowa
1003:Cain, Paul (2018).
970:Cain, Paul (2013).
955:Wall Street Journal
857:, October 29, 1933.
567:Cain, Paul (2013).
438:Wall Street Journal
255:Josef von Sternberg
854:The New York Times
368:The New York Times
266:A Woman of the Sea
216:Young Man Sees God
156:, was an American
92:short story writer
18:Paul Cain (author)
1075:Los Angeles Times
1057:Los Angeles Times
1016:978-1-5154-2565-6
983:978-0-9826887-8-6
938:978-0-892-96931-9
907:978-0-307-49416-0
828:978-0-879-72525-9
756:978-0-394-55593-5
693:978-0-87972-525-9
651:978-1-4381-0912-1
619:William Marling.
580:978-1-4804-5689-1
409:Mademoiselle Fifi
404:Guy de Maupassant
297:, founder of the
247:U.S. Navy Reserve
237:Sims was born in
146:George Caryl Sims
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473:literary critic
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269:(1926). Actress
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174:Raymond Chandler
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95:screenwriter
64:(1966-06-23)
50:May 30, 1902
1139:1966 deaths
1134:1902 births
621:"Paul Cain"
406:adaptation
316:Joseph Shaw
263:(1925) and
243:Los Angeles
232:Joseph Shaw
172:manner" by
170:hard-boiled
160:author and
154:Peter Ruric
103:Nationality
1128:Categories
1022:2023-06-06
989:2023-06-06
913:2023-06-06
880:2023-06-04
762:2023-06-06
729:2023-06-04
699:2023-06-06
657:2023-06-08
607:Lee Server
586:2023-06-06
517:References
442:Black Mask
357:Cary Grant
340:Black Mask
311:Black Mask
228:Black Mask
193:screenplay
115:hardboiled
83:Occupation
46:1902-05-30
480:Hemingway
396:, 1942's
352:Doubleday
271:Myrna Loy
189:Hollywood
180:, called
150:Paul Cain
973:Fast One
847:via the
845:Archived
487:Fast One
466:Fast One
455:Fast One
447:Fast One
381:Fast One
373:Fast One
348:Fast One
344:Fast One
287:Mina Loy
199:vehicle
195:for the
182:Fast One
166:Fast One
132:Fast One
106:American
89:Novelist
75:Pen name
379:called
333:Gourmet
277:editor
230:editor
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257:films
209:Career
139:(1946)
134:(1933)
1114:2013.
605:, by
509:Death
359:film
295:Rurik
111:Genre
1011:ISBN
978:ISBN
933:ISBN
902:ISBN
823:ISBN
751:ISBN
688:ISBN
646:ISBN
575:ISBN
457:and
326:and
293:and
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