Whispering Smith: Facsimile of Original 1906 EditionSunstone Press, 2008 - 456 páginas There were two Whispering Smiths, one the fictional railroad detective in Frank Hamilton Spearman's novel, and the other a historic westerner whose real name was James L. Smith. The fictional character was the hero in this best-selling novel of 1906, and the book's popularity made it the prototype for Western fiction. Spearman became fascinated by railroad lore through his contacts with the Union Pacific while a Nebraska banker. He had previously authored several stories with railroad plots and by 1904 had his "Strategy of Great Railroads" adopted as a textbook at Yale University. Determined to write about railroad detectives Spearman visited Cheyenne, Wyoming, to interview two of the most famous, Timothy Keliher and Joe LeFors. Based on their stories and with a fascination for the nickname Whispering Smith, Spearman crafted his exciting novel. His heroic character was a composite of Keliher and LeFors and the adventures found in the novel had their source in the stories of these two railroad detectives. Hollywood pounced on the long term success of the novel and its colorful title. Filming rights were obtained as early as 1916 and more than five motion pictures were made plus a television series in 1961. The most famous production was filmed in 1948. Alan Ladd starred in this Technicolor film and credited it with launching his career. Frank Hamilton Spearman continued to write but none of his subsequent novels achieved the success of "Whispering Smith." His later years were spent in Hollywood where he turned to writing screenplays. It will never be known if Spearman had any knowledge about James L. Smith, known as "Whispering Smith" in the West, nor is it known if that westerner knew of Spearman's novel although he was still alive when it was published. The true story of James L. Smith is recounted in "Whispering Smith: His Life and Misadventures" by Allen P. Bristow from Sunstone Press. |
Conteúdo
THE SUNDAY MURDER | 271 |
INTO THE NORTH | 293 |
THe Death of Du Sang | 305 |
McCLOUD AND DICKSIE | 313 |
The Laugh of a Woman | 320 |
A MIDNIGHT VISIT | 327 |
THE CALL | 334 |
A SYMPATHETIC | 373 |
WOMAN | 200 |
A TALK WITH WHISPERING Smith | 207 |
At the River | 217 |
BETWEEN GIRLHOOD | 225 |
The Man on the FrenchmaN | 242 |
TOWER | 256 |
PURSUIT | 262 |
DICKSIES RIDE | 379 |
AT THE DOOR | 389 |
CLOSING | 395 |
CRAWLING STONE WASH | 403 |
Back TO THE Mountains | 413 |
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Termos e frases comuns
ahead answered asked Bill Dancing Bob Johnson Bob Scott Bucks caboose canyon cattle cigar Cloud cousin cowboy Crawling Stone cross Deep Creek Dicksie Dunning Dicksie looked Dicksie's division door Du Sang engine exclaimed eyes face fight fire George McCloud Glover Goose River Gordon Smith grade hand head heard horse Karg Kennedy kill knew Lance Dunning laughed Marion Sinclair Medicine Bend miles minutes Miss Dunning morning mountain Murray never night o'clock Oroville Peace River pering Smith Point of Rocks pull Puss railroad ranch-house Rebstock ride rifle river rode Rooney saddle Sang Seagrue shoot shot Sleepy Cat spoke Stone Ranch stood story talk tell There's thing threw to-night told track trail train trouble turned valley waiting walked watch Whispering Smith Wickiup Wickwire Williams Cache wreck