Max talks about the history behind "Visiting Hours."
About the series ...
HISTORY BEHIND THE MYSTERY is a series of video shorts featuring Mystery Writers’ of America GrandMaster, Max Allan Collins, as he walks us through the research he did into the events, historical figures, and conflicts that form the foundation of TRUE NOIR: The Assassination of Anton Cermak.
Max also gives us some insights into the decisions he made as the author and creator of the Nathan Heller Casebooks.
Widely recognized as a grandmaster of detective fiction, author Max Allan Collins shares his thought process behind developing private detective Nathan Heller to be a little more “real” than other fictional detectives of the noir genre. That’s just one of several topics Max covers as he discusses historical events and characters found in the episode “Visiting Hours.”
In this and every episode of the “History Behind The Mystery” series, Creator/Producer Max Allan Collins provides some context to the events that take place in the 10-episode, immersive audio drama, TRUE NOIR: The Assassination of Anton Cermak.
In this video:
00:15 – How did you come to create Nathan Heller?
01:38 – How does Nate Heller differ from other classic, fictional private eyes like Mike Hammer or Sam Spade?
03:24 – Why is this story set in Chicago?
04:14 – What characters in this chapter are real?
05:53 – Will Eliott Ness return in future Nathan Heller stories?
The nearly 5-hour audio drama stars Michael Rosenbaum (SMALLVILLE, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2) as Detective Nathan Heller, David Strathairn (LINCOLN, GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK) as Frank Nitti, and a host of other actors from television and film.
TRUE NOIR is produced by Imagination Connoisseurs Unlimited, LLC, in association with M.A.C. Productions. TRUE NOIR was created by Mike Bawden, Robert Meyer Burnett, and Max Allan Collins.
For more information about Imagination Connoisseurs Unlimited, please visit our website: www.icu.co
Check out more episodes of this series ...
Assassins, executions, show trials and TRUE NOIR!
Max Allan Collins takes aim at the trials of Cermak’s killer, Giuseppe Zangara, and noted Chicago mobster Frank Nitti. He also provides insights into how this chapter of Nathan Heller’s first mystery defines the heroic detective in the future.
Assassination gone wrong? Things get wild in Miami.
Max Allan Collins explains why he takes Nate Heller in a direction so often avoided by other noir detectives – into the arms (and bedroom) of a virgin paramour.
Things get a little “spicy” when Nate goes to Tower Town.
Max Allan Collins explains why he takes Nate Heller in a direction so often avoided by other noir detectives – into the arms (and bedroom) of a virgin paramour.
Max takes a deep dive into TRUE NOIR’s 4th chapter.
Creator Max Allan Collins provides some background on how “The Outfit” operated during the Prohibition Era in Chicago and gives us a deeper look into “Tower Town”