"TV Noir: Dark Drama on the Small Screen" by Allen Glover is the meticulously researched and brilliantly detailed account of how our small screens were overtaken by writers who took their inspiration from classic detective noir authors such as Dashiel Hammet and Raymond Chandler, serving up some of the first televised dramatisations back at a time when TV was in its infancy.
As the small screen began to take its cues from the direction cinematic productions were going in, mang writers such as Rod Serling got their first taste of writing for television, producing one-off or serialised dramas as dark as a cup of black coffee. Beginning in earnest in the 1940s, pausing for the 2nd world war but reigniting in 50s America, shows began appearing worldwide that contained those essential elements of noir. Big coats, dark suits, guns, dames and quite often a nefarious murderous plot.
Allen Glover writes with enthusiasm and authority, producing something of a go-to bible for TV enthusiasts, and covering a wide range of US and international programmes such as Dragnet, 77 Sunset Strip and through to some of my favourites like The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The X-Files and Twin Peaks.
Lavishly illustrated with tons of black and white (and some colour) photos from productions, it's an absolute must for TV fans who love darker thrills.
Sum this book up in a sentence: A superb slice of televisual history dancing with the darker side of human nature.
"TV Noir" by Allen Glover is out now, published by Abrams Books (kindly supplied for review).