Noir Quote by Charles Willeford

Which would you part with first -- your tobacco, your whiskey, or your religion?

— Brigham Young

“The lady in the liquor store sold me a fifth of whiskey and the landlord’s name without taking her eyes off the book she…

— Andrew Cotto

“The viewpoint character in each story is usually someone trapped in a living nightmare, but this doesn't guarantee that we and the protagonist are…

— Francis M. Nevins

“Inevitably, his vision verged toward the fantastic; he published a scattering of stories - most included in this volume - which appeared to conform…

— Barry N. Malzberg

“The remaining chain swung down, he wrenched the door out and he was free. The last thing he heard behind him was the oncoming…

— Cornell Woolrich

“His fear-inflamed mind sent the control-signal to his finger-joint to fold back. The trigger sliced back. The blast seemed to lift the booth clear…

— Cornell Woolrich

“I wasn't that good you know. What I was was a guy who could write a little, publishing in magazines surrounded by people who…

— Cornell Woolrich

“One of the two owners, the man who had been sitting in the front room, was stretched out in there asleep, stockinged-toes pointed at…

— Cornell Woolrich

“All we can do about this nightmare we live in is to create, if we are very lucky, a few islands of love and…

— Francis M. Nevins

“The hallmarks of the noir style are fear, guilt and loneliness, breakdown and despair, sexual obsession and social corruption, a sense that the world…

— Francis M. Nevins

“But suspense presupposes uncertainty. No matter how nightmarish the situation, real suspense is impossible when we know in advance that the protagonist will prevail…

— Francis M. Nevins

“His most characteristic detective stories end with the realization that no rational account of events is possible, and his suspense stories tend to close…

— Francis M. Nevins