And the second reason is...

 

Una O'Connor and Claude Rains in The Invisible Man (1933)

While the first reason I love writing the Matinee Classics Cozy Mystery Series is because I love vicarious snooping, the other is:

2. I love classic Hollywood trivia!

With every book in the series I choose a few old movies to spotlight. One of those lucky films gets a nod in the title. This time, it's the 1933 classic The Invisible Man starring Claude Rains. It's a terrific excuse to read up on the actors' lives, learn the details about how the film was made, and make connections. For instance, young and beautiful Gloria Stuart, who plays the Invisible Man's former fiancé, is well-known for her portrayal as the elderly Rose in Titanic. That kind of trivia makes me giddy.

And don't get me started on Claude Rains's life story. It's fascinating.

While only a few paragraphs about the movies appear in each book, my research always turns up so much more. I will stop and watch the Hollywood greats every time. Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Jimmy Stewart, Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, and so many more.

Una O'Connor
By DVD (Selznick Studio - United Artists) - Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936 film), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=159012208

I'll write more next time, but here's a quick note on Una O'Connor, who played the part of Jenny Hall the innkeeper in The Invisible Man. You may recognize the actress as she appeared in nearly a hundred supporting roles in her career, which ranged from 1929-1957. A Belfast, Ireland native, O'Connor played mostly humorous characters, such as the hysterical townsperson in Bride of Frankenstein, and a string of servants, crones, spinster chaperones, and nagging wives.

A Wikipedia article quotes a 1959 post humorous description of O'Connor:

... a frail little woman, with enormous eyes that reminded one of a hunted animal. She could move one to tears with the greatest of ease, and just as easily reduce an audience to helpless laughter in comedies of situation. She was mistress of the art of making bricks without straw. She could take a very small part, but out of the paltry lines at her disposal, create a real flesh-and-blood creature, with a complete and credible life of its own. (Eric Johns)

O'Connor never married or had children, but her legacy continues in her memorable screen presence. I think she steals the show in every scene she's in.

A new book in the Matinee Classics Cozy Mystery Series!

I'm delighted to share that The Invisible Corpse is out in the world!

This book is 2nd in the series. The mystery is a complete standalone, though Stevie, Melanie, Roddy, and the crew have their own lives going on, so I recommend starting the series with book 1, Here's Looking at Murder, Kid.

I have two favorite things about writing this series:

1. I love being with Stevie as she tiptoes somewhere she isn't supposed to go. I remember as a kid wanting to be like Nancy Drew, and sometimes venturing to those forbidden places.

We had a neighbor across the street who lived down a long driveway that disappeared into the trees. We couldn't even see his house, and we never saw him. (Why am I assuming it's a him? Hm.) The only sign of life there was every night around midnight, he backed down his driveway, the headlights shining up into my bedroom window. When he left again was a mystery.

One night around ten o'clock, we knew he wouldn't be home for a few hours and decided to venture down his driveway. We even had a reason in case we got caught, something to do with a school fundraiser. I didn't think to come up with an answer to the obvious question, why we were fundraising that late at night.

I also can't remember who I'd talked into taking this adventure with me, but considering how it ended, I can guess. It wasn't my try-anything friend, and it wasn't my rule-following little sister. It might have been my brother who for some reason trusted me, or my if-you-think-it's-a-good-idea friend. Because once we crossed the street and took a few steps toward that gaping black hole where the trees swallowed the driveway, I knew in my bones that it was a terrible idea to go down there. I told whoever was with me--I'm thinking it was my brother--and we decided to go home.

Nancy Drew would have been so disappointed in me, but we lived to tell the tale.

With Stevie's story, I find that she has no such qualms. She doesn't purposely put herself in danger, but she does venture to places where I never would. Stevie is Nancy Drew in her forties.

2. The second reason I love this series? I'll write about that next time.

Happy reading!

Della