The study of Hollywood detectives has often overlooked the B-Movie mystery series in favour of hard-boiled film. Hollywood's Detectives redresses this oversight by examining key detective series of the 1930s and 1940s to explore their contributions to the detective genre.

Preface Exploring Detective Films in the 1930s and 1940s: Genre, Society and Hollywood 'Such Lovely Friends': Class and Crime in 'The Thin Man' Series Between Law and Crime: The Chivalric 'Criminal' Detective Englishness and America: Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes Ordering the World: The Uncompromising Logic of Charlie Chan and Mr Moto The Rise of the Hard-boiled Detective Conclusion: Noir Detectives, Rogue Cops, Undercover Men and Police Procedurals Notes Bibliography Index

FRAN MASON Lecturer in Film and American Studies at the University of Winchester, UK, where he teaches in Film Studies and American Studies. He teaches and researches in film and culture with particular interests in Classical Hollywood Cinema, Crime Films and Postmodernism, and is currently researching Assassin Films and representations of the city on film.