Crime on My Hands: A George Sanders Mystery

by Craig Rice

“ The Dorothy Parker of detective fiction” (William Ruehlmann) ghostwrites for silver-screen sleuth George Sanders in this “thriller with laughs on the side” ( New York Herald-Tribune ).
 
The snarky and debonair actor George Sanders (who would go on to win an Academy Award for his performance in All About Eve ) has had enough of playing a B-movie detective in the Falcon film series. He’s thrilled to land a role against type in an epic historical adventure opposite the hottest bombshell in Hollywood. Then, as the shooting begins . . . the shooting begins. During an all-too-authentic action scene, a background sap in a glue-on beard takes a real bullet. A tragic accident, or something more sinister?
 
Everyone now expects the big-screen sleuth to draw on his detection skills. But those murders were scripted. Being a pro, he’s tempted to improvise—especially when he learns the victim was much more than some hapless extra. Unfortunately, the slug is traced back to Sanders’s gun, a key reel of evidence disappears, and the gentleman rogue himself becomes the star suspect. For Sanders, finding the real culprit in a world of illusion is going to be the most exacting performance of his life—right up until the killer fadeout.
 
Having written two films in the Falcon series— The Falcon’s Brother and The Falcon in Danger —Craig Rice was a natural ghostwriter for capturing George Sanders’s trademark tone, a stiff dry cocktail of snark and sophistication. The result? “Lots of fun” ( The New York Times ).
 

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

246 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1944

About the author

Pseudonym for Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig aka Daphne Sanders and Michael Venning.

Known for her hard-boiled mystery plots combined with screwball comedy, Georgiana 'Craig' Rice was the author of twenty-three novels, six of them posthumous, numerous short stories, and some true crime pieces. In the 1940s she rivaled Agatha Christie in sales and was featured on the cover of Time Magazine in 1946. However, over the past sixty years she has fallen into relative obscurity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Ri...

Reviews

[Bobby Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

While readers might be tempted to dismiss this one as one of those lightweight novelty mysteries due to the cover and its “written by an old film star” origins, that would be a terrible mistake. First of all, though there is some hokum about George Sanders writing this, it has Craig Rice’s fingerprints all over it. While he may have “helped” with some movie-set ambiance and other details, there is no doubt in my mind after reading this breezy and incredibly entertaining murder mystery that Rice not only penned it, but she gave it the full monty in regard to her talent. While the grittier aspects of her delightful Malone series are softened a bit, the story and the surroundings, and the dialog all sparkle like champagne. Even more astounding is how perfectly Rice has captured George Sanders, from his voice to his keen wit and droll humor.

The murder mystery itself is well done, and nothing to sneeze at. Sanders, as himself, is finally getting a break from playing The Falcon and The Saint films by making a Western. Someone is shot during a scene, despite all the guns supposedly being loaded with blanks. When it’s quickly discovered it may have been Sanders’ gun that did the killing, he removes the evidence. He’s suspected anyway, yet can’t reveal what he’s done because it will only make him look more guilty. So Sanders must use everything he’s learned playing The Falcon and The Saint in order to find the real killer.

What transpires is a delicious mystery with a likable protagonist in the “real” George Sanders — just as you remember him from the movies. The supporting cast of personal assistants, actors, directors, producers and other movie-related people, and Sanders’ interaction with them as he seeks to ferret out a killer among them, make for an entertaining murder mystery. A missing piece of film comes into play for a while, and there are people attempting to cover for other people, even confessing at one point. There is tons of atmosphere in this humorous — yet slightly deadly — mystery; Sanders himself has more than one close call, and a couple more murders occur before our suave hero can figure it all out.

There is a completely different listing for Crime On My Hands under Craig Rice's name which is the same book, and it may eventually be merged with these editions. Rice and Sanders could easily have mailed this in way back when, but they did anything but, making it a breezy delight to read. Great fun!

[Richard Derus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Real Rating: 3.5* of five

There is nothing new under the sun. The George Sanders of this book is an actor playing a part; the author George Sanders is that actor in real life, writing with ghostwriter Craig Rice, thus proving that speaking words written by others is a powerful draw to actors.

Ms. Rice had quite a career in Golden Age Hollywood. Sanders did, too. Many excellent movies; many dreary ones too. No career is without low points. But the Sanders of this novel isn't low, he's rising in a rare (fictionally and factually, Sanders was a supporting actor/B lead) starring A-list film turn. That's what he has longed for while he racked up thousands of hours playing detectives in popular but unrewarding serials (today he'd be a TV star). So now he's got it, what happens but there's a murder committed in front of him! And it's not the last!

How "Sanders" solves the crime is nice and twisty, thanks to Craig Rice. It was a pleasant read, it felt warmly nostalgic in its tone (Sanders-the-narrator giving what amounts to a behind the scenes tour of a location shoot), and the proceedings are wrapped up with a resounding bang.

Rainy weekend? Here's you a pacey, twisty, attention-holding read.

[Laura Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the screwball atmosphere and how ghostwriter Craig Rice captured Sanders's droll voice. Although it was a bit stretched out: every time it felt like it was wrapping up, there'd be another murder.

[Jacqueline Vick]

I enjoyed this book, because I loved the idea of actor George Sanders starring in his own mystery. My copy showed it was written by Sanders, and I hadn't realized there was a Ghostwriter involved. Another illusion bites the dust.

His character is written in a believable manner, with all the arrogance of an actor at contrast with his many mistakes as a detective. It was fun being onset and watching the behind-the-scenes manipulations, which were probably pretty accurate for the time.

My mother, an avid mystery reader, did not enjoy the book, but I gave it more leeway and enjoyed the characters.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ghostwritten by Craig Rice (also the subject of the dedication, heh-heh), this actually does manage to capture the voice and attitude of actor George Sanders. Which is probably more important than the actual plot. Good fun!

[Sanjay Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

C L Grace

I read somewhere that it was ghost-written by c l grace and you can feel her writing touch here and there - but it is not as good as her Malone mysteries - which are all 5 stars -all 13 of them.

[Ronald Koltnow · Rating 3 out of 5]

A jolly farce written by actor Sanders (and his friend Craig Rice) about murder on a film set. Silly but great fun.

[Julian Davies]

In “The Life of Raymond Chandler” (1976), author Frank MacShane writes: “Moving to Los Angeles from some older, more settled place, you think it’s absurd. But every morning you wake up and you’re still there. It’s funny, but it’s also your life.”

NOVELIST CRAIG RICE DEAD IN L.A. MYSTERY
Aug. 29-30, 1957
Los Angeles
The poor thing died as hardboiled as she had lived: Renting a junky room in an old house that had been cut up into apartments. The landlord said she'd been sick for the last week. He was another writer, like her, and I wonder if he took her in because he felt sorry for her.
She got her long line of names from a long line of husbands: Georgiana Ann Randolph Fallows Ferguson Lipton De Mott Bishop. She met the last one, another writer, on her second trip to Camarillo, where her daughter put her to see if they could boil her out.
Everybody knew her as Craig Rice, author of "Having a Wonderful Crime," "Trial by Fury" and "The Lucky Stiff." Sometimes she used another pen name, Daphne Sanders.
The landlord of the house at 457 S. Serrano, R. DeWitt Miller, said she had been sick in bed for about a week and had taken a bad fall earlier in the day. She told him she was having an attack of malaria and asked him to get some quinine from the drugstore. He told her she should call a doctor, but she refused.
Two tenants found her sprawled across the bed and frothing at the mouth. James McNamara, a news editor at a radio station, and Richard Terry, an ad man, said they tried to revive her after calling an ambulance but she was dead when it arrived.
The whole place was strewn with cigarette butts and burned-out kitchen matches, and her purse was in a wicker hamper near the door, spattered with blood, The Times said. A globe of the world had fallen to the floor along with an open book: "A Family Treasury of Children's Stories."
Her pink eyeglasses were lying on a copy of her latest book, "Knocked for a Loop," next to her portable typewriter on a desk cluttered with more junk: A stuffed rabbit, Madonna and Child, and an empty vodka bottle. Beneath her ashtray were two bad checks, one for $60, the other for $410, returned for insufficient funds.
There was a wobbly pile of books on her nightstand and a painting of her mother on the wall, hanging above a fake mantel. "A somber oil portrait of a lovely woman of another era," The Times said.
She showed an early flair for drama, having been born in a carriage at Michigan Avenue and 12th Street in Chicago. She began writing poetry when she was 9 and got her first newspaper job when she was 18. Along the way, she wrote songs, publicity, a gardening column (she won a prize for her petunias), movie scenarios and had three children.
Dr. Frederick Newbarr, the medical examiner, said more tests were needed to determine the cause of death. The Times never reported on the results.
Georgiana Ann Randolph Fallows Ferguson Lipton De Mott Bishop, author of "My Kingdom for a Hearse," was 49.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/theda...

Craig Rice ghost-wrote the novel "Crime On My Hands" which starred real-life persona George Sanders (who worked with Rice on the Falcon series). In the novel, actor Sanders solves a murder on a film set.
The "Author's Dedication" of the novel she ghost-wrote for George Sanders is "For Craig Rice, without whom it would not have been possible."

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0723385/bio

George Sanders told David Niven in 1937, that he intended to commit suicide when he got older. In 1972, he fulfilled his promise, leaving this note: "Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool. Good luck."

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001695/bio

[CQM · Rating 4 out of 5]

A jolly romp of a book ghostwritten by Craig Rice.
It's a murder mystery "starring" George Sanders as himself on the set of one of the Falcon movies from the forties.
George has to use all the skills of the characters he was playing on screen around this time to solve a murder.
If you have read any Craig Rice before you will know the score, jaunty, wisecracking people follow leads and clues in amusing style before wrapping everything up nice and neat. Doesn't sound too appealing but she gets the light tone just right pretty much every time and this has the added bonus/novelty for old film fans of featuring George.

Now if only I knew how to add pictures I'd show you the rather excellent cover of the 40's edition I have.

[Mike O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novelty mystery written in the first person as popular golden age actor George Sanders, though actually ghostwritten by Leigh Brackett (who would later co-write EMPIRE STRIKES BACK of all things). This kind of inside Hollywood fun murder mystery was later perfected by Stuart Kaminsky is his excellent Toby Peters series.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read. I really liked George Sanders as the "Saint" in the movies, so I was overjoyed to see this book in a bookstore. Sadly, I learned later that it was actually ghostwritten by Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig, who had written scripts for "The Falcon" movies in which Sanders appeared. Still, an enjoyable read.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I though this was a suspenseful and highly entertaining backstage crime novel, which perfectly captures the wit and charm of George Sanders, especially his quintessentially polished, sardonic dialogue. This is in reprint by Dean Street Press because you can't find a copy otherwise!

[Puzzle Doctor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quirky mystery starring George himself. Well worth a look, full review at classicmystery.wordpress.com