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The Kendrick Connection

posted 2 years ago by CarolTheDabbler (516)
3 replies | jump to latest

If you've ever watched Longstreet, you've seen this in the opening credits:

Based Upon Characters Created By
BAYNARD KENDRICK

Because Kendrick, a prolific novelist of the 1930s through '60s, wrote a number of stories about Duncan Maclain, a blind private investigator, many people assume (and even assert) that Mike Longstreet, also an independent investigator and also blind, is based on Maclain. Other people state that other than their blindness and their line of work, there is very little resemblance between the two characters (and those people may therefore assume that Sterling Silliphant was just making sure he wouldn't be sued by Kendrick).

While all of the above is fairly logical, it may be overlooking that "s" at the end of "Characters" in the credits. Kendrick also wrote a novel called Lights Out, in which Larry Nevins, a US soldier, is blinded by an enemy sniper during World War II, and must re-learn how to function in the world. We just finished watching the 1951 movie adaptation, Bright Victory, and thought it was very good. Its overall theme and tone remind me considerably of the Longstreet pilot, even though the details are largely different.

I have not yet read or watched any of the Maclain novels (there's a list on Kendrick's Wikipedia page) or their filmed adaptations, but am willing to believe that Mike Longstreet was inspired by or (loosely) based on a combination of Nevins and Maclain.

Comments, arguments, and questions are all welcome!

* * * * * *

If you're interested in reading the novel Lights Out, it's available on Amazon in either hardback or paperback form. It's currently also available in text form on the internet. Such things tend to come and go, so rather than supplying a link, I'll just suggest that you do a search on

"Lights Out" Kendrick text

... and see what comes up.

The 1951 movie adaptation, Bright Victory, is available from Amazon (US or UK) as a Region 2 DVD. Note that this will not play on most North American DVD machines, but can be viewed on some computers or on any Region 0 or region-free player. The movie does not currently seem to be available for viewing online.

[–] CarolTheDabbler (516) 2 years ago

I have now read Lights Out, and in some ways found it not as much like Longstreet as the movie is (mostly because some of the less-alike aspects are fleshed out more), but there's one detail that's surprisingly like the show. In the movie, Sgt. Nevin decides that once he's discharged from the Army, he'll become a lawyer -- whereas in the novel, he hopes to go into some as-yet-unspecified area of the insurance business.

I'm also about halfway through reading the first Duncan Maclain novel, The Last Express, and am finding it less unlike Longstreet than online comments had led me to expect. They mentioned his lavish penthouse apartment and his large staff. But come to think of it, isn't a penthouse roughly the New York equivalent of a big house in New Orleans' French Quarter? And Maclain's staff is only a bit larger than Mike's: Maclain's partner is his equivalent of Duke. His chauffeur (who has so far been merely mentioned) and his secretary combine to the equivalent of Nikki. And his as-yet-silent housekeeper equates, of course, to the much-more vocal Mrs. Kingston. Admittedly, Maclain has two dogs: a guide dog and a guard dog -- but then Pax sometimes forgets that he has *not* been trained to threaten or attack.

[–] CarolTheDabbler (516) 2 years ago

Have now finished reading The Last Express, and even though I'm still not quite sure who the murderer was (because I have a horrible memory for names), found it interesting. There were some scenes where I'd swear Maclain and his partner "sounded" just like Mike and Duke. And there was a scene where Maclain fired a gun under what I interpreted as inadvisable circumstances, though all's well, etc. (I consider Mike's use of a pistol in "A World of Perfect Complicity" to be an absolute model of good judgment, especially in comparison.)

I've now started watching "Eyes in the Night" (on YouTube), which is the movie version of "The Odor of Violets," the third Maclain novel. It opens with Maclain demonstrating a judo-type throw to a police friend. I must say, Maclain is reminding me more or Mike (or should I say vice-versa?) every day!

Again, if you have information, opinions, questions, etc. please feel free to post them!

[–] CarolTheDabbler (516) 2 years ago

From my comments on Kendrick's first Maclain novel ("The Last Express"):

Admittedly, Maclain has two dogs: a guide dog and a guard dog -- but then Pax sometimes forgets that he has *not* been trained to threaten or attack.

I'm now about halfway through watching the movie based on the third Maclain novel, and have decided it makes more sense to compare television dogs to movie dogs, rather than to novel dogs. In "Eyes in the Night," Maclain has only one dog, but it not only combines the qualities of a guide dog and a guard dog, it also throws in a sizable helping of Lassie and Rin-Tin-Tin. Pax is downright modest by comparison!