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The Blonde Cried Murder

113 statements
21 feature instances
2 referencing feature instances

The Blonde Cried Murder	type	TVTItem
The Blonde Cried Murder	label	The Blonde Cried Murder
The Blonde Cried Murder	page	TheBlondeCriedMurder
The Blonde Cried Murder	comment	The Blonde Cried Murder is a 1956 detective thriller by Brett Halliday (actually the pen name of a writer named Davis Dresser).The operator at a Miami hotel gets a frantic phone call from a woman, who claims that she has found her brother, murdered in one of the rooms. The hotel detective investigates, but no corpse is found—and the woman is gone as well. The woman is gone because she fled in terror from a man with a scar on his face, who chased her out of the hotel. She dives into a taxi that is already occupied by another woman and asks the taxi driver who she can go to for help.Enter Michael Shayne, a hardboiled private detective who at that moment is canoodling with his sexy secretary Lucy in Lucy's apartment. The distress call put through to Lucy's phone leads Shayne to meet the blonde, who tells him her story of finding her brother with his throat cut and running from the scar-faced man. Then the man shows up, and claims that his name is Bert Paulson, the frightened woman is his sister Nellie, and Nellie is mentally unstable. Before Shayne can check with the woman who may be Nellie Paulson, he finds that she has run away again. Shayne then spends the next 2 1/2 hours investigating a bizarre mystery that includes a pair of con artists, multiple cases of mistaken identity, and eventually, another murder.The character of Michael Shayne is almost completely forgotten today, but in the 1940s and '50s was a franchise, with books and short stories, a B-Movie film series, a radio show, and a short-lived TV show. This was one of the last Michael Shayne books that Dresser, who created the character in 1939, wrote before he handed the "Brett Halliday" name off to ghost writers.
The Blonde Cried Murder	fetched	2023-08-09T20:29:13Z
The Blonde Cried Murder	parsed	2023-08-09T20:29:13Z
The Blonde Cried Murder	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_146f4e0	type	Blind Without 'Em
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_146f4e0	comment	Blind Without 'Em: It turns out that the scar-faced man, Bert Paulson, has recently broken his glasses and is quite nearsighted without them. So in the confrontation in the poorly-lit hotel hallway, he mistakes the terrified young blonde who ran from him, Mary Barnes, for his sister Nellie Paulson. This causes a lot of confusion when Shayne and the cops try and figure out what happened.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_146f4e0	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_146f4e0	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_146f4e0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_1ba17583	type	The Ghost
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_1ba17583	comment	The Ghost: Nellie Paulson's partner-in-crime Lanny, who was the other half of their "badger game" con but wasn't there when she murdered Charles Barnes. He never appears on the page, but at the very end Lucy gets a phone call from him and is listening while Lanny is arrested on the other end of the line.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_1ba17583	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_1ba17583	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_1ba17583
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_281de59f	type	Extremely Short Timespan
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_281de59f	comment	Extremely Short Timespan: The entire story takes place over 2 1/2 hours, with chapters titled by what time they take place. The book begins with the call about a murder at 9:32 pm, and ends with Shayne catching Nellie Paulson in Lucy's apartment at midnight.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_281de59f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_281de59f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_281de59f
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_33029735	type	Dies Wide Open
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_33029735	comment	Dies Wide Open: Both the unfortunate Charlie Barnes and his sister Mary are described that way when their bodies are found, both killed by having their throats cut and their eyes staring sightlessly.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_33029735	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_33029735	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_33029735
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_37ac98df	type	"Burly Detective" Syndrome
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_37ac98df	comment	"Burly Detective" Syndrome: The Michael Shayne series is the Trope Namer and was notorious for this. In fact, this book never once refers to Shayne this way, but there are a lot of references to Shayne's red hair, like when a cabbie suggests he's a Fiery Redhead, or when Lucy thinks of him as "her red-headed employer", or Bert thinks of the man he just met as "the red-headed private detective" and then "that damned redhead" on the very next page, or the narration just calls him "the redhead" as he approaches a bar to talk to the bartender.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_37ac98df	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_37ac98df	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_37ac98df
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_51dc66f6	type	Hardboiled Detective
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_51dc66f6	comment	Hardboiled Detective: Michael Shayne. Checks many of the boxes—tough guy, carries a gun, is unafraid to punch someone out, cynical. Subverted to an extent as he does have some emotions, and is contemplating marriage to his lovely Sexy Secretary.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_51dc66f6	featureApplicability	-0.3
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_51dc66f6	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_51dc66f6
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_71027471	type	Perfumigation
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_71027471	comment	Perfumigation: A woman tries to get Shayne to go out on a job immediately, using an obvious sexual come-on as motivation. Shayne is only annoyed, put off in part by her "too blatant perfume."
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_71027471	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_71027471	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_71027471
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_74d46396	type	OrphanedPunchLine
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_74d46396	comment	Orphaned Punch Line: Shayne enters a room only to hear Rourke the reporter telling a joke.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_74d46396	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_74d46396	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_74d46396
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_7b3ebb57	type	Buxom Beauty Standard
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_7b3ebb57	comment	Buxom Beauty Standard: Several times, in the usual pulp fiction style. The mysterious woman who shows up in the lobby of Shayne's hotel wanting to hire him (who turns out to be the real Nellie Paulson, and the killer) is "extremely well filled-out." A cop on the beat thinks happily of the "lush breasts" of his girlfriend, before his reverie is interrupted by finding a corpse. Towards the end Shayne meets a hat check girl, who doesn't even get a name but is described as "a big-breasted girl wearing an evening gown that had been carefully cut to accentuate her bigness."
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_7b3ebb57	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_7b3ebb57	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_7b3ebb57
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_8d8cfcf1	type	Dame with a Case
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_8d8cfcf1	comment	Dame with a Case: A good-looking and absolutely terrified young woman tracks down Michael Shayne, begging for his help after she found her brother murdered.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_8d8cfcf1	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_8d8cfcf1	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_8d8cfcf1
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_a5a24920	type	Big Breast Pride
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_a5a24920	comment	Big-Breast Pride: The anonymous, busty hat check girl, who is wearing a low-cut dress that accentuates her breasts. She giggles when Shayne stares at her cleavage, giggles with pride and shakes her breasts at him when he calls her a "well-stacked gal", and giggles again when he "accidentally" brushes an arm against her rack as he turns to leave.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_a5a24920	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_a5a24920	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_a5a24920
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_b41b9606	type	Never One Murder
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_b41b9606	comment	Never One Murder: The unfortunate eponymous blonde, who is eventually revealed to be Mary Barnes, is met by the killer and gets her throat slit on a park bench.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_b41b9606	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_b41b9606	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_b41b9606
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_b707726f	type	Hypocritical Humor
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_b707726f	comment	Hypocritical Humor: Evelyn, the operator on the telephone exchange at the hotel, is annoyed that Miss Payne and Mr. Drood are "circumspect" in their phone conversation. She's offended that they are acting like they think someone is listening in, when that's exactly what Evelyn was doing, listening in.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_b707726f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_b707726f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_b707726f
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_c0689dff	type	HoneyPot
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_c0689dff	comment	Honey Pot: Nellie Paulson and her unseen partner Lanny were playing the "badger game", a con in which a woman lures a man into a compromising situation and her partner, pretending to be either an angry husband or brother, barges in and gets the sucker to pay out some money. But something went wrong, and she wound up slitting the throat of her target, Charles Barnes, and throwing the body out the window.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_c0689dff	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_c0689dff	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_c0689dff
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_c0d32460	type	Sexy Secretary
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_c0d32460	comment	Sexy Secretary: Lucy Hamilton, Michael Shayne's "prim and proper secretary" during working hours and his lover after dark. Shayne wonders why she never makes a pass at him in the office.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_c0d32460	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_c0d32460	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_c0d32460
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_dcbe8a6e	type	Chekhov's Gunman
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_dcbe8a6e	comment	Chekhov's Gunman: The other woman in the cab, who seems to enjoy the frightened woman's tale of having found a body in a hotel room and cheerfully agrees to let the cab driver take the frightened woman wherever she wants. She is the real Nellie Paulson, and she is the killer, having slit the throat of the man that the frightened woman found in the room.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_dcbe8a6e	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_dcbe8a6e	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_dcbe8a6e
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_dfb71617	type	Male Gaze
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_dfb71617	comment	Male Gaze: Much attention is given to the physical charms of the various female characters.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_dfb71617	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_dfb71617	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_dfb71617
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_e3847ee8	type	Cigarette of Anxiety
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_e3847ee8	comment	Cigarette of Anxiety: Rather than just call the cops about the terrified blonde crying murder, Shayne sent her off to Lucy's while he investigated. Unfortunately she never made it, as the murderer found her on the way and killed her too. Shayne is called to the crime scene, and the awful realization hits home as he looks at Mary Barnes' body. He pulls out a cigarette.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_e3847ee8	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_e3847ee8	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_e3847ee8
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_e9269f72	type	It Was Here, I Swear!
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_e9269f72	comment	It Was Here, I Swear!: The terrified woman telling Shayne her story says that she saw her brother dead, jumped into an open room to call the front desk, then went back to find he had disappeared. It turns out the killer threw the body out the window, and since the hotel was poised directly over the ocean at high tide, the body was washed out to sea.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_e9269f72	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_e9269f72	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_e9269f72
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_ece6f910	type	Moment Killer
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_ece6f910	comment	Moment Killer: Shayne follows Lucy up to her room and she fixes him a drink, with sex clearly about to follow. It's an oddly emotional moment and, all of a sudden, he finds himself about to ask her to marry him—and then the phone call comes about the frightened blonde begging for help. Lucy is pissed when Shayne leaves.
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_ece6f910	featureApplicability	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_ece6f910	featureConfidence	1.0
The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_ece6f910
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_name	type	ItemName
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_name	comment
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
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The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	The Blonde Cried Murder / int_name
The Blonde Cried Murder / int_name	itemName	The Blonde Cried Murder

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

	The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	"Burly Detective" Syndrome / int_c3677632
	The Blonde Cried Murder	hasFeature	Extremely Short Timespan / int_c3677632

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