Iron Man

by W.R. Burnett

1930. From the author of Little Caesar, the world's first gangster novel, comes Iron Man, which Coke sat up, pushed back his hat, took his feet off the bed, and, getting up, stood yawning and rubbing his fists in his eyes. Across the room Regan was playing solitaire on a writing-desk, and Coke's sparring partner, Jeff Davis, was sitting in a big chair by the window turning the pages of a magazine. Coke walked over to Regan and stood looking over his shoulder. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

Genres: Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

About the author

William Riley "W. R." Burnett was an American novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for the crime novel Little Caesar, the film adaptation of which is considered the first of the classic American gangster movies. Burnett was born in Springfield, Ohio. He left his civil service job there to move to Chicago when he was 28, by which time he had written over 100 short stories and five novels, all unpublished.

Burnett kept busy, producing a novel or more a year and turning most into screenplays (some as many as three times). Thematically Burnett was similar to Dashiell Hammett and James M. Cain but his contrasting of the corruption and corrosion of the city with the better life his characters yearned for, represented by the paradise of the pastoral, was fresh and original. He portrayed characters who, for one reason or another, fell into a life of crime. Once sucked into this life they were unable to climb out. They typically get one last shot at salvation but the oppressive system closes in and denies redemption.

Burnett's characters exist in a world of twilight morality — virtue can come from gangsters and criminals, malice from guardians and protectors. Above all his characters are human and this could be their undoing.

Burnett worked with many of the greats in acting and directing, including Raoul Walsh, John Huston, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Nicholas Ray, Douglas Sirk, Michael Cimino, John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, Paul Muni, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Steve McQueen and Clint Eastwood.

He received an Oscar nomination for his script for "Wake Island" (1942) and a Writers Guild nomination for his script for "The Great Escape". In addition to his film work he also wrote scripts for television and radio.

On his death in 1982, in Santa Monica, California,Burnett was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California

Reviews

[Girard Bowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second half of the Stark House edition, paired with It's Always Four O'clock [o'Clock? O'Clock?]. 4 O'clock centered on jazz life, and Iron Man is concerned with the boxing world. Though this is part of Stark's Noir Classics series, neither book has any real crime. Nonetheless, Burnett is a good writer and I enjoyed reading both books, though I favor 4 O'clock a bit more. Iron Man went on a bit too long at times. The title character reminded me a bit of Mountain Rivera, and that's all I'm going to say about that.

[Qt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by the author of "Little Caesar," and I was hoping for another gangster story when I got it (there was no dust jacket and I had no idea what kind of story it would be). It turned out to be on boxing, something I know nothing about. That didn't detract from my enjoyment, as I eagerly submerged myself in the same semi-terse style of "Little Caesar."
The ending seems awfully abrupt, and W.R. Burnett, the author, doesn't really seem to be into happy endings--still, it was very enjoyable for me, and provides an interesting glimpse into 1930s life!