There's an urban legend in Lawrence that claims Jimmy Cagney modeled some of his 1930s screen characters after Lawrence boxer, Andy Callahan. I haven't been able to verify that, but through the course of my research I discovered this excellent book by T.J. English called Paddy Whacked. Sometimes historical non-fiction reads like a novel: smooth, well-written, almost visual - all of which would describe Paddy Whacked. The book tells the story of link between politics and crime and how the Irish immigrant, shut out of decent society by the ruling gentry, exploited and developed that link like no other group.While reading the book I came across reference to the Brando movie, On the Waterfront and had no idea that the movie was based on newspaper articles. I rented it yesterday and made the 14 yr olds watch it, I swear that generation doesn't have the ability to sit through older movies. No matter how cliche Brando's coulda-been-a-contender, it's still brilliant.
It must be Irish gangster week because the Globe had an article about the upcoming release of the 1973 Boston crime noir The Friends of Eddie Coyle. We rented it from Amazon and enjoyed this dark portrait of a grubby, thuggish city and the sad, two-bit criminals trying to get by. My husband came to Boston for college in 1974 and remembers the city looking much the same as the movie.
Which leads me to an overlooked novel and an overlooked genre, Lawrence-noir. Author and former local crime reporter Andrew Coburn wrote Goldilocks in 1989 about the Lawrence crime world. This book does for Lawrence what Eddie Coyle did for Boston. Here's a brief review from Publisher's Weekly:
Publishers Weekly
Corruption, betrayal, the Mafia and ties that go back to childhood provide the underpinnings of this gloomy but well-written entry from veteran Coburn ( Off Duty ; The Babysitter ). Louise Baker, child of the slums, has worked her way to the top of a Mafia loan operation, meanwhile having married the mentally unstable scion of an old New England family and established herself in a small, affluent town near her birthplace, Lawrence, Mass. She still keeps in touch with, and helps, friends from her youth, and she calls on one of them, lawyer Barney Cole, to find employment for a young man whom she had briefly taken as a lover but now wants to get rid of. He is Henry Witlo (the Goldilocks of the title), a psychotic Vietnam War veteran who now proceeds to terrorize a recently widowed client of Cole's. This subplot moves in tandem with the main plot, chronicling the downfall of Louise and the network of people who owe her favors. The feds are after her, and when they start putting pressure on her associatesCole, his lawyer mistress, the police captain who kills for herit all ends in death and betrayal, with only Cole standing firm to his principles. ( Jan. )
