Raymond Chandler, on writing:

The most durable thing in writing is style,

and style is the most valuable investment a writer can make with his time.

It pays off slowly,

your agent will sneer at it,

your publisher will misunderstand it,

and it will take people you have never heard of to convince them by slow degrees that the writer who puts his individual mark on the way he writes will always pay off.

- Raymond Chandler.

Recommended reading - Four Novellas of Fear

 

Four Novellas of Fear

by Cornell Woolrich.
 
Paperback.
First published 2010.
Published by A. J. Cornell Publications.

ISBN-10: 0972743987
ISBN-13: 978-0972743983
 
Contents: Eyes That Watch You, The Night I Died, You'll Never See Me Again, Murder Always Gathers Momentum.
 
Description:
 

Cornell Woolrich, best known as the author of "Rear Window," is unsurpassed in his ability to create and sustain sheer suspense. In his tales of terror, ordinary people find themselves in the most extraordinary circumstances and, as readers, we share their spine-tingling tension every step of the way. Here, collected for the first time, are four of his most nail-biting novellas.

 

Eyes That Watch You

Greedy Vera Miller plots her husband’s murder right under the nose of her mute, paralyzed mother-in-law. After all, the old lady won’t be able to tell anyone about the crime. Or will she?

 

The Night I Died

Nice guy Ben Cook, goaded by his scheming common-law wife, fakes his own suicide and moves to another town all to trick his life insurance company into making a large payout. No one en route or at the new address will recognize him, will they?

 

You’ll Never See Me Again

Ed Bliss’s new bride, miffed by her husband’s insults about her biscuits, promises that Ed will never have to see her again and storms out! When she doesn t return within a few days, Ed begins to suspect foul play but when he reports the crime to the police, he’s the first one they suspect!

 

Murder Always Gathers Momentum

For his wife’s sake, Dick Paine approaches a former employer for back wages he is owed but things go terribly wrong and the old boss ends up dead. Now the guilt-ridden Paine, who’d never before committed a crime, is convinced that people will figure out what happened. As his paranoia gathers momentum, anyone he meets is at risk of becoming his next victim.

Born on this day – Lloyd Bacon:

Lloyd Bacon

Actor

Director

December 4, 1889 – November 15, 1955

Credits:

3 Cheers for the Irish (1940); 42nd Street (1933); 50 Million Frenchmen (1931); 6 Day Bike Rider (1934); A Child Is Born (1939); A Christmas Revenge (1915); A Dark Room Secret (1917); A Hotel Disgrace (1917); A Jitney Elopement (1915); A Night in the Show (1915); A Notorious Affair (1930); A Playwright's Wrong (1918); A Prodigal Bridegroom (1926); A Quiet Little Game (1915); A Rainy Knight (1925); A Safe Proposition (1916); A Sailor's Sweetheart (1927); A Sea Serpent's Desire (1918); A Slight Case of Murder (1938); A Very Honorable Guy (1934); A Waiting Game (1916); Action in the North Atlantic (1943); Affectionately Yours (1941); Afraid to Be False (1917); Alias the Doctor (1932); An Innocent Affair (1948); Behind the Screen (1916); Boy Meets Girl (1938); Brass Knuckles (1927); Broadway Gondolier (1935); Broken Hearts of Hollywood (1926); Broncho Billy and the Card Sharp (1915); Broncho Billy and the Land Grabber (1915); Broncho Billy and the Lumber King (1915); Broncho Billy and the Posse (1915); Broncho Billy Begins Life Anew (1915); Broncho Billy Evens Matters (1915); Broncho Billy Misled (1915); Broncho Billy Steps In (1915); Broncho Billy's Brother (1915); Broncho Billy's Cowardly Brother (1915); Broncho Billy's Greaser Deputy (1915); Broncho Billy's Love Affair (1915); Broncho Billy's Marriage (1915); Broncho Billy's Protégé (1915); Brother Orchid (1940); Butter Fingers (1926); Cain and Mabel (1936); Call Me Mister (1951); Captain Eddie (1945); Cowboy from Brooklyn (1938); Crooner (1932); Devil Dogs of the Air (1935); Don't Fail (1924); Easy Street (1917); Empty Heads (1924); Espionage Agent (1939); Ever Since Eve (1937); Extra! Extra! (1923); F.O.B. (1923); Finger Prints (1927); Fireman, Save My Child! (1932); Footlight Parade (1933); Footsteps in the Dark (1941); Frisco Kid (1935); Give My Regards to Broadway (1948); Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936); Gold Dust Gertie (1931); Golden Girl (1951); Good Morning (1924); Good Morning, Madam! (1925); Good Morning, Nurse (1925); Hands Off! (1921); He Was Her Man (1934); He Who Gets Smacked (1925); Hearts and Masks (1921); Her Lesson (1916); Here Comes the Navy (1934); His Fatal Move (1917); His Regeneration (1915); His Taking Ways (1917); His Thankless Job (1917); Home, Sweet Homicide (1946); Honeymoon for Three (1941); Honky Tonk (1929); Honor of the Family (1931); Hurry, Doctor! (1925); I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now (1947); In Caliente (1935); In the Park (1915); Indianapolis Speedway (1939); Invisible Stripes (1939); Isn't Love Cuckoo? (1925); It Happened in Snakeville (1915); It Happens Every Spring (1949); Kill the Umpire (1950); Killing Time (1924); Knute Rockne All American (1940); Larceny, Inc (1942); Love's Languid Lure (1927); Manhattan Parade (1931); Marked Woman (1937); Mary Stevens, M.D. (1933); Meet My Girl (1926); Merrymakers (1925); Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949); Miss Nobody (1920); Miss Pinkerton (1932); Moby Dick (1930); Mother Is a Freshman (1949); Navy Blues (1941); No Defense (1929); No Luck (1923); Pay as You Enter (1928); Pearls and Perils (1917); Picture Snatcher (1933); Private Izzy Murphy (1926); Racket Busters (1938); Radio Romeo (1923); San Quentin (1937); Say It with Songs (1929); She Couldn't Say No (1930); She Couldn't Say No (1953); Silver Queen (1942); Sit Tight (1931); Smith's Customer (1927); Smith's Vacation (1926); Smudge (1922); Snakeville's Champion (1915); So Long Letty (1929); Son of a Sailor (1933); Sons o' Guns (1936); Square Deal Sanderson (1919); Stark Mad (1929); Submarine D-1 (1937); Sunday Dinner for a Soldier (1944); Take Your Time (1925); Taking the Count (1916); The Bachelor's Burglar (1915); The Bank (1915); The Blue Bonnet (1919); The Book Agent's Romance (1916); The Broken Gate (1920); The Burglar's Godfather (1915); The Champion (1915); The Convict's Threat (1915); The Educator (1922); The Escape of Broncho Billy (1915); The Famous Ferguson Case (1932); The Feud (1919); The Fighting Sullivans (1944); The Fireman (1916); The Floorwalker (1916); The French Line (1953); The Frogmen (1951); The Fuller Brush Girl (1950); The Funnymooners (1926); The Girl in the Rain (1920); The Good Humor Man (1950); The Grave Undertaking (1917); The Great Sioux Uprising (1953); The Greater Profit (1921); The Heart of Maryland (1927); The Host (1923); The House of Intrigue (1919); The I Don't Care Girl (1953); The Irish in Us (1935); The Kentucky Colonel (1920); The Lion and the Mouse (1928); The Midlanders (1920); The Mills Brothers in Broadway Gondolier (1935); The Night That Sophie Graduated (1915); The Office Wife (1930); The Oklahoma Kid (1939); The Optimist (1923); The Optimist (1923); The Other Tomorrow (1930); The Question of Today (1928); The Raspberry Romance (1925); The Rink (1916); The Road Demon (1921); The Singing Fool (1928); The Speeder (1922); The Tramp (1915); The Vagabond (1916); The Wild Goose Chaser (1925); The Window Dummy (1925); There He Goes (1925); Two Laughs (1917); Two Lips in Holland (1926); Uneasy Feet (1923); Vagabond Luck (1919); Versus Sledge Hammers (1915); Wagon Tracks (1919); Wake Up and Dream (1946); Walking My Baby Back Home (1953); Wedding Showers (1924); When Snakeville Struck Oil (1915); White Flannels (1927); Wide Open Faces (1926); Wine, Women and Song (1915); Wings for the Eagle (1942); Wings of the Navy (1939); Women They Talk About (1928); Wonder Bar (1934); You Said a Mouthful (1932); You Were Meant for Me (1948). 

Born on this day – Vedah Bertram:

Vedah Bertram

Actress

December 4, 1891 – August 26, 1912

Born on this day – Cornell Woolrich:

Cornell Woolrich

Writer

December 4, 1903 – September 25, 1968

Credits:

Books:

Cover Charge (1926); Children of the Ritz (1927); Times Square (1929); A Young Man's Heart (1930); The Time of Her Life (1931);  Manhattan Love Song (1932); The Bride Wore Black (aka Beware the Lady) (1940); The Black Curtain (1941); The Black Alibi (1942); Phantom Lady (1942); The Black Angel (1943); The Black Path of Fear (1944); Deadline at Dawn (1944); Night has a Thousand Eyes (1945); Waltz into Darkness (1947); I Married a Dead Man (1948); Rendezvous in Black (1948); Fright (1950); Savage Bride (1950); Marihuana (1951); Strangler's Serenade (1951); You'll Never See Me Again (1951); Hotel Room (1958); Death is my Dancing Partner (1959); The Doom Stone (1960); Into the Night (1987); Nightmare (1956); Violence (1958); Beyond the Night (1959); The Ten Faces of Cornell Woolrich (1965); The Dark Side of Love (1965); Nightwebs (1971); Angels of Darkness (1978); The Fantastic Stories of Cornell Woolrich (1981); Four by Cornell Woolrich (1983); Rear Window (1984); Vampire's Honeymoon (1985); Blind Date With Death (1985); Darkness at Dawn (1985); Night and Fear (2003); Tonight Somewhere in New York (2005); Love and Night (2011); Death in the Air (2020); Senor Flatfoot (2020); All at Once, No Alice (2020); The Drugstore Cowboy (2020); Hot Water (2020); Dilemma of the Dead Lady (2020); The Cornell Woolrich Omnibus (1998); Four Novellas of Fear (2010); Speak to Me of Death (1935); The Screaming Laugh (1938); Through a Dead Man's Eye (1939); Somebody's Clothes-Somebody's Life (1958).

Movies and television:

A Intrusa (1962); Aa bakudan (1964); Actor's Studio (1949); Akai shisen (1980); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1956–1958); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1986); Arde, María, arde (1978); Armchair Theatre (1959); Bire on vardi (1963); Black Angel (1946); Children of the Ritz (1929); Climax! (1956); Cloak & Dagger (1984); Colgate Theatre (1950); Convicted (1938); Corsa in discesa (1989); Darkroom (1982); Deadline at Dawn (1946); Die Unschuld der Krähen (1998); Dro itsureba gantiadisas (1965); El ojo de cristal (1956); El pendiente (1951); Escapade (1957); Fall Guy (1947); Fallen Angels (1993–1995); Fear in the Night (1946); Fearful Dream (1966); Ficciones (1974); Four Star Playhouse (1956); General Electric Theater (1957); Gran Teatro (1960); Grande Teatro Tupi (1956); Gun Moll (1975); Hanayome wa nemurenai: Gôu no naka no shussan (1987); Histoires insolites (1979); Hit List (2009); House of Horror (1929); I Married a Shadow (1983); I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes (1948); If I Should Die Before I Wake (1952); I'm Dangerous Tonight (1990); Intrigues (1985); Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre (1956); Journey to the Unknown (1968); Kamen no hanayome - Kurayami e no waltz (1981); Kuroi kâten (1982); La huella de unos labios (1952); La noche al hablar (1964); Les yeux qui hurlent (1973); Lights Out (1952); Lux Video Theatre (1954–1957); Manhattan Love Song (1934); Manhunt (1951); Martha (1974); Mississippi Mermaid (1969); Moment of Fear (1960); Mrs. Winterbourne (1996); Nash Airflyte Theatre (1950); Never Open That Door (1952); Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948); Nightmare (1956); No Man of Her Own (1950); Obsession (1954); Original Sin (2001); Phantom Lady (1944); Playhouse 90 (1956); Polis 3 (2001); Primera fila (1965); Rear Window (1954 / 1998); Rendez-vous en noir (1977); Robert Montgomery Presents (1950–1951); Schlitz Playhouse (1958); Seven Blood-Stained Orchids (1972); Seven Footprints to Satan (1929); She's No Angel (2002); Shisha to no kekkon (1960); Sít na bludicku (1983); Stage 7 (1955); Street of Chance (1942); Studio 57 (1957); Suspense (1949–1950); Suspicion (1957); The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962); The Best in Mystery (1954); The Boris Karloff Mystery Playhouse (1949); The Boy Cried Murder (1966); The Bride Wore Black (1968); The Chase (1946); The Ford Television Theatre (1955); The George Sanders Mystery Theater (1957); The Guilty (1947); The Haunted House (1928); The Hunger (1997–2000); The Leopard Man (1943); The Mark of the Whistler (1944); The Mask (1954); The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse (1953); The Return of the Whistler (1948); The Revlon Mirror Theater (1953); The Silver Theatre (1949); The Web (1957); The Window (1949); Théâtre d'une heure (1966); Thriller (1961); Tras la puerta cerrada (1964–1965); TV de Vanguarda (1954); TV Teatro (1959); Union City (1980); Vikno navproti (1991); Yoru no wana (1967); You'll Never See Me Again (1973 / 1986); Your Play Time (1954).

Born on this day – Andréa Parisy:

Andréa Parisy

Actress

December 4, 1935 – April 27, 2014

Born on this day – Tony Todd:

Tony Todd

Actor

Producer

Director

December 4, 1954 – November 6, 2024

Credits:

21 Jump Street (1987); 24 (2004–2009); 24 in 24 (2009); 24: Redemption (2008); 84 Charing Cross Road (1987); A Night at the Silent Movie Theater (2012); Actors Entertainment (2015); Adam Green's Scary Sleepover (2016); Agoraphobia (2015); All Gone Wrong (2021); American Conjuring (2016); Andromeda (2002); Angel (2000); Are You Scared 2 (2009); Army of the Damned (2013); Artifact (2018); Babylon 5: A Call to Arms (1999); Back 4 Blood (2021); Bad Manners (2020); Badland (2019); Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2009); Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! (2017); Be My Victim (2018); Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus (1996); Beg (2011); Behind the Monsters (2021); Beverly Hills, 90210 (1996); Beyond the Game (2016); Bird (1988); Bitch Ass (2022); Bizarre Transmissions from the Bermuda Triangle (2016); Black Fox (1995); Black Fox: Good Men and Bad (1995); Black Fox: The Price of Peace (1995); Bleeding Hearts (2015); Boogeymen: The Killer Compilation (2001); Boston Legal (2007); Boston Public (2000); Bravest Warriors (2014); Broken Cross (2016); Bryan Loves You (2008); Bulletproof 2 (2020); Burnzy's Last Call (1995); Butter (1998); Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012); Candy Corn (2019); Candyman (1992 / 2021); Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999); Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995); Catfish Christmas (2022); Caught Up (1998); Celebrity Chatter and Things that Matter with Elijah (2023); Celluloid Wizards in the Video Wasteland: The Saga of Empire Pictures (2024); Central Bark (2020); Changing the Game (2012); Charmed (2002); Checking Out (2005); Chicago Massacre: Richard Speck (2007); Chiller 13: The Decade's Scariest Movie Moments (2010); Chuck (2007–2011); Cold Case (2008); Colors (1988); Contamination: A Convention Story (2012); Control Factor (2003); Cop Rock (1990); Cowboy's Girl (2016); Criminal Justice (1990); Criminal Minds (2005); Crossing Jordan (2002); CSI: Miami (2002); Dark Assassin (2005); Dark Reel (2008); Dead in Love (2009); Dead Meat Horror Awards 2022 (2022); Dead of Summer (2016); Dead of the Nite (2013); Death House (2017); Destination Marfa (2021); Devilreaux (2023); Digging Up the Marrow (2014); Disciples (2014); Dixieland (2023); Dockweiler (2008); Dota 2 (2013); Dota Underlords (2020); Dota: Dragon's Blood (2021–2022); Double Toasted (2022); Dream in American (2011); Drive Me to Vegas and Mars (2018); Driven (1996 / 2015); Dust of War (2013); Eli Roth's History of Horror (2018); Enemy Territory (1987); Entertainment Tonight (2022); Excessive Force (1993); Falling Away (2012); Fatal Confession: A Father Dowling Mystery (1991); Fate Upside Down (2019); Film Pigs (2014); Final Destination (2000); Final Destination 2 (2003); Final Destination 3 (2006); Final Destination 5 (2011); First Look: Hatchet II (2011); Frankenstein (2015); FRO Thizzle Reviews (2022); From Jennifer (2017); Game Shop (2012); GeekRockTV (2019); Greatest Ever 80s Movies (2007); Greatest Ever Disaster Movies (2007); Greatest Ever Scary Movies (2006–2007); Groovey.TV's Celebration of Badassery Interview Series (2014); H.P. Lovecraft's Celephaïs (2023); Half-Life 2: Episode Two (2007); Half-Life: Alyx (2020); Halloween Wars (2013); Hatchet (2006); Hatchet II (2010); Hatchet II: Behind the Screams (2011); Hatchet II: Meet the FX Team (2011); Hawaii Five-0 (2012); Heads Will Roll (2019); Heart of the Beholder (2005); Hell Fest (2018); Hellblazers (2022); Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995–1998); Holliston (2012); Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story (2022); Homicide: Life on the Street (1994); Horror Noire (2021); Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019); Horrors of the Zone (2009); House of Grimm (2005); HypaSpace (2005); I Am Fear (2020); I.O.U (2005); Immortal (2019); IMTK (2018); iMurders (2008); Inglorious Treksperts (2023); Insight (2021); Invisible Threads - From Wireless to War (2021); Ivory Hunters (1990); Jack the Reaper (2011); Jake and the Fatman (1990–1991); Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater (1995); Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020); Karma's a Bitch (2024); Kate & Allie (1989); Keeper of the City (1991); Kill Her, Not Me (2013); Law & Order (1994); Layers of Fear 2 (2019); Lean on Me (1989); Leap of Faith (2019); Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League (2015); Lego DC Super Heroes: Justice League - Attack of the Legion of Doom! (2015); Live Evil (2015); Love and Curses... And All That Jazz (1991); MacGyver (1989); Made in Hollywood (2018); Marvel Super Hero Squad Online (2011); Masters of Horror (2006); Masters of the Universe: Revelation (2021); Masters of the Universe: Revolution (2024); Matlock (1990); Mercy Street (2006); Minotaur (2006); Murder, She Wrote (1996); Murder-Set-Pieces (2004); New York Undercover (1996); Night Court (1989); Night Night (2021); Night of the Living Dead (1990); Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn (2015); Night Stalker (2005); Nite Tales: The Movie (2008); No me olvidaré de ti (2019); Norman's Corner (1988); NYPD Blue (1997); One for the Fire: The Legacy of 'Night of the Living Dead' (2008); Overdue Rentals (2022); Penance (2009); Peng! Du bist tot! (1987); Platoon (1986); Platoon: Brothers in Arms (2018); Prelude to Axanar (2014); Psych (2009); Radio Nowhere (2024); Realm of Shadows (2024); Red Carpet Report (2012); Reign of the Supermen (2019); Requiem (2018); Riverdale (2017); Room 104 (2017); Sabotage (1996); Sabotage: A Conversation with Tony Todd (2024); Sam Dew: Gone (2020); Scarecrow Slayer (2003); Scary Stories: Dark Web (2020); Scream at the Devil (2015); Scream Awards 2006 (2006); Scream Awards 2007 (2007); Scream Queen Stream (2016–2017); Scream: The TV Series (2019); Shadow Builder (1998); Shadow Puppets (2007); Shadow: Dead Riot (2006); Sidney J. Furie: Fire Up the Carousel! (2024); Silence (2002); Simon & Simon (1987); Sky Sharks (2020); Sleepwalk (1986); Smallville (2001); Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini (2015); Só Visto (2009); Soldier of Fortune, Inc. (1997); Spider-Man 2 (2023); Splatter (2009); Standing in the Shadows of Shadow (2006); Star Trek Online (2010); Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1995–1996); Star Trek: Elite Force II (2003); Star Trek: The Next Generation - Klingon Honor Guard (1998); Star Trek: The Next Generation (1990–1991); Star Trek: Voyager (1995); Stargate SG-1 (2005–2006); Stir (1997); Stoker Hills (2020); Stream (2024); Sunset Heat (1992); Sushi Girl (2012); Sushi Girl: A Documentary (2013); Svengoolie (2006); Sweets to the Sweet: The Candyman Mythos (2004); Sym-Bionic Titan (2010); Tales from the Hood 3 (2020); Ten Dead Men (2008); Terrordrome: Rise of the Boogeymen (2015); The 100 Scariest Movie Moments (2004); The 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time (2022); The Absence of Light (2006); The Activated Man (2023); The Angry Geeks Show (2016); The Bride in Black (1990); The Bunker (2024); The Candyman Legacy with Tony Todd (2015); The Changed (2021); The Crow (1994); The Debt Collector (2018); The District (2002–2003); The Dogwalker (1999); The Eden Formula (2006); The Event (2010); The Eyes of Samir (2007); The Family (2011); The Final Wish (2018); The Flash (2015–2023); The Graves (2009); The Horrorhound (2007); The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2 (2021); The Legend of Dragoon (1999); The Lockdown Hauntings (2021); The Man from Earth (2007); The Mannsfield 12 (2007); The Nana Project (2023); The Oath: Outbreak (2024); The Orange Box (2007); The Orville (2019); The Pandora Project (1998); The Prophecy: Forsaken (2005); The Quiet Ones (2010); The Reenactment (2021); The Rock (1996); The Secret (2000); The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2006); The Sun Devil and the Princess (2014); The Thirst: Blood War (2008); The X-Files (1994); The Young and the Restless (2013); Them (1996); Three Chris's (2010); Tom Cool (2009); Tournament of Dreams (2007); Transformers Prime (2012); Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009); Traveling Light (2021); True Women (1997); Turntable (2005); Two Faced (2017); UC: Undercover (2001); Underground Entertainment: The Movie (2011); Univers'l (1997); Vampire in Vegas (2009); VANish (2015); VH-1 Where Are They Now? (1999); Victor Crowley (2017); Voodoo Dawn (1990); Werewolf (1987); West of Hell (2018); Winnie Taylor's 4th & Inches (2024); Wishmaster (1997); Without a Trace (2007); Without Your Head (2020); Worth (2018); Xena: Warrior Princess (1997); Young Justice (2012–2013); Zombie Family (2012); Zombies (2016).

On this day in movie history - Armored (2009)

Armored

directed by Nimród Antal,

written by James V. Simpson,

was released in the United States on December 4, 2009.

Music by John Murphy.

Cast:

Matt Dillon, Jean Reno, Laurence Fishburne, Amaury Nolasco, Fred Ward, Milo Ventimiglia, Skeet Ulrich, Columbus Short, Andre Jamal Kinney, Andrew Fiscella, Nick Jameson, Glenn Taranto, Lorna Raver, Garry Guerrier, Robert Harvey, Shawn Devorse, Gerry Carbajal, Mike Cochrane, Rebeca Cristian, Paul Grace, Elizabeth Rivera, Richie Varga.

Born on this day – Deanna Durbin:

Deanna Durbin

Actress

Singer

December 4, 1921 – April 17, 2013