The Black Dahlia (novel)

infobox Book |
name = The Black Dahlia
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = First edition cover
author = James Ellroy
illustrator =
cover_artist = Jacket design by Paul Gamarello
Jacket illustration by Stephen Peringer
Art direction by Barbara Buck
country = United States
language = English
series = L.A. Quartet
genre = Novel, crime fiction
publisher = The Mysterious Press
release_date = September 1987
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (hardcover & paperback), audio cassette, audio CD, and audio download
pages = 325 pp (first edition, hardcover)
isbn = ISBN 0-89296-206-2 (first edition, hardcover)
preceded_by =
followed_by = The Big Nowhere

"The Black Dahlia" is a neo-noir crime novel by James Ellroy, taking inspiration from the true story of the murder of Elizabeth Short. It is widely considered to be the book that elevated Ellroy out of typical genre fiction status, and with which he started to garner critical attention as a serious writer of literature Fact|date=March 2008. "The Black Dahlia" is the first book in Ellroy's L.A. Quartet, a cycle of novels set in 1940s and 1950s Hollywood, which is portrayed as a hotbed of corruption and depravity. The Quartet continues with "The Big Nowhere", "L.A. Confidential", and "White Jazz".

Plot summary

* The Road to Partnership

Set during the inter-war and post World War II years in Los Angeles, Officer Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert is a former boxer and a member of the Los Angeles Police Department. The prologue segment begins during the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943 where Bleichert comes to the rescue of Officer Lee Blanchard, who is caught up in the middle of the rampage between American servicemen and Mexican zoot suit gangs. They apprehend a wanted criminal and take refuge in an abandoned home while waiting out the riot. Here they size each other up as boxers and cops. Afterwards Bleichert reflects on how Blanchard is eventually promoted to Sergeant while he continues his mundane job as a radio car patrolman in the Bunker Hill section of L.A.

* Fire and Ice

In November of 1946 Bucky is offered a promotion if he agrees to an inter-departmental boxing match against Lee in hopes it will help raise support for a political bond issue increasing pay for the LAPD but with a slight tax increase. After realizing that his fathers' health is failing and in need of constant care he decides to take up the offer. Bucky also meets Kay Lake, an former artist who lives with Lee, and the two form a relationship. After the fight he is transferred to Warrants Officer as a reward and partnered with Lee Blanchard. Although Bucky shows interest in Kay he doesn't proceed further due to his friendship with Lee.

* 39th and Norton

On January 15th, 1947 while Bucky and Lee are on a stakeout they see a commotion on the corner lot of 39th street and South Norton Avenue. There they witness the discovery of the mutilated body of aspiring actress Elizabeth Short. Dubbed "The Black Dahlia" by the press the case shocks the public and overwhelms the LAPD, hitting Lee especially hard. Meanwhile, Bucky feels that the large number of detectives and policemen on the case are adequate, and requests reassignment back to Warrants but the request is denied by Ellis Lowe, Deputy Los Angeles D.A. Acting on a hunch while canvassing for clues he meets the mysterious and alluring Madeleine Sprague, a wealthy and promiscuous socialite who resembles the Dahlia. Bucky soon makes a proposition to Madeleine who agrees to a relationship and in return Bucky suppresses a potential connection to the Dahlia. While the case rolls on, Lee, becoming more and more detached, begins to act erratically, and eventually disappears after a confrontation with their superiors and with Bucky.

While simultaneously juggling a relationship with Kay, Madeleine, and looking for Lee, Bucky works closely with Russell Millard, an immediate superior and a honest cop with a genuine heart to find the killer of Beth Short. Under pressure from Ellis Loew, Bucky is temporarily paired with veteran detective Fritz Vogel, a brutal and self-serving cop also on the case. However, Bucky intentially blows his assignment with Vogel and is retaliated against by Loew. In an act of revenge Bucky uncovers a scandal involving Fritz and some evidence he was suppressing. This results in him being sent back to the grind of foot patrolman in a dangerous section of South Central L.A. He then breaks up with Madeleine.

After the incident with Vogel Bucky sets out for Tijuana searching for Lee. Upon his return he only then marries Kay.

*Kay and Madeleine

Two years pass, and with Bucky's detective career destroyed he transfers to S.I.D and becomes a lab technician. While working on the QT with Russ Millard he begins dwelling on the murder of Elizabeth Short after uncovering some overlooked clues and people associated with her. However, his marriage ends up in jeopardy after a suicide investigation of a wealthy businessman piques his curiosity about the Sprague family. He quickly reignites his relationship with Madeleine Sprague. He also develops a deeper obsession with Beth Short and her murder.

*Elizabeth

With his marriage to Kay in ruins, and the uncovering of more clues Bucky finally discovers who is responsible for the murder of Elizabeth Short. The novel ends with possible hope for Bucky's future with Kay.

Film adaptation

"The Black Dahlia" was adapted for a film by director Brian De Palma in 2005 and released in 2006. It was, however, a critical and commercial failure, with the consensus being that it had been poorly made, acted and at times appeared in-cohesive. The latter fault may have been caused by DePalma's dramatic editing of the finished product, which initially ran for three hours and eventually cut down to two.

Differences between the novel and film

* In the novel, Bleichert loses the fight to Blanchard legitimately despite having arranged with gamblers to throw the match in exchange for cash with which to place his senile father in a nursing home. In the film, he appears to actually take the dive by dropping his defenses in the corner, allowing Blanchard to deliver the ferocious knockout combination.
* The romance between Bleichert and Lake is dramatically streamlined in the film; in the novel, they are married and eventually separated during the time that the case comes to a resolution.
* In the novel, Bleichert succumbs more explicitly to an obsession with the Dahlia that previously Blanchard had exhibited. This is understated in the film, though suggested in several scenes. At one point in the novel, Bleichert hires a prostitute and has her dress up as the Black Dahlia; this scene is absent from the film.
* In the film, the Sprague family is renamed Linscott.
* A subplot involving Fritz Vogel (who appears as a bit character in the film) and his son Johnny Vogel (absent from the film) is entirely excised. The corresponding subplot involving the false confessors and Bleichert's brief suspicion of Johnny Vogel as the Dahlia killer is missing as well.
* Due in part to the removal of the Vogel subplot, Bleichert's relationship with police captain Russ Millard is diminished in the film. In the novel, Millard assists Bucky during the resolution of the case toward the end; in the film, Millard never appears during this period.
* In the novel, Blanchard's confrontation with Bobby DeWitt occurs in Mexico, while in the film, it occurs in Los Angeles. The culmination of this conflict is discovered later by Bleichert when he tracks Lee's movements to Mexico. In the film, Bleichert is present for this incident, which occurs in Los Angeles. Georgie Tilden (who wanted to kill Lee) and Lee fall over the railing and die.
* In the novel, Bleichert's recognition of the significance of "The Man Who Laughs" painting occurs because the painting is located at a neighbor's house, Jane Chalmers, who is not present in the film. In the film, the painting is in the Linscott residence. As such, the manner in which Bleichert deduces the identity of the killer is markedly different in the film.
* In the novel, Bleichert confronts and kills Georgie Tilden at the murder site, but never directly confronts him in the film.
* In the film, Ramona Linscott commits suicide; she does not in the novel.
* In the novel, the incident between Bleichert and Ramona occurs when they are alone together; the film combines this confrontation with Bleichert's questioning of Emmett and Madeleine.
* In the novel, Bleichert arrests Madeleine; in the film, he kills her.

ee also

* Black Dahlia - Details of the murder.

External links

* [http://wikisummaries.org/The_Black_Dahlia Full summary of "The Black Dahlia"]