Ron K. (WhidbeyIslander) -
A product of its time (1940), this was an okay read that started out to confuse me, settled in, then re-confused me near the end. Since it's about Nazi spies trying to destroy US infrastructure, a lot of the characters aren't what they claim to be and after a while I gave up trying to keep up with who was who. The ending was a bit too melodramatic and didn't fit the mold of a golden age whodunit. The edition I read contained a Foreword by the author on how he developed his blind detective which was more interesting than the book.
After reading this, I searched out the film based on it, called Eyes In the Night. A strange casting decision was using actor Edward Arnold to play Captain Maclain, who is described in the book as "tall, dark, strikingly handsome..." where Arnold was portly and not tall. The film definitely fits the "loosely based " category, with none of the sleuthing by the blind detective in evidence, reducing the cast of characters by one dog, and abandoning any pretense of hiding the killers until the end. And not one mention of violets, which permeated the book (and was another thing that confused me throughout it.)
After reading this, I searched out the film based on it, called Eyes In the Night. A strange casting decision was using actor Edward Arnold to play Captain Maclain, who is described in the book as "tall, dark, strikingly handsome..." where Arnold was portly and not tall. The film definitely fits the "loosely based " category, with none of the sleuthing by the blind detective in evidence, reducing the cast of characters by one dog, and abandoning any pretense of hiding the killers until the end. And not one mention of violets, which permeated the book (and was another thing that confused me throughout it.)
