BEING AN AVID reader of the wonderful action-escapism-adventure fiction which had its vintage years from the mid-1930s to the late 1950s, I could not help noticing how small a part was allocated to what my generation could refer respectfully to as the ‘gentle sex’ without arousing screams of ‘male chauvinist pig’ from over-reacting supporters of Women’s Lib. In fact, with very few exceptions, 1 action-escapism-adventure fiction in books and movies tended to be a masculine domain. 2 Heroines were expected to be beautiful, shapely and virtuous—this being in the days before sexual promiscuity was turned into an apparently essential virtue—but meek, mild and dependent upon the hero for protection when danger threatened. So, on embarking upon my career as a writer, 3 I decided to try to remedy the situation.
My heroines would be beautiful, shapely, even virtuous.
However, they would not need to be dependent upon anybody, except themselves, when in a perilous situation!
Martha ‘Calamity Jane’ Canary was the first of my ‘Ladies’ to take a ‘starring’ role and, so far, is the only one to have attained the status of a series of her own. 4 However, the lady outlaw, Belle Starr, 5 had preceded her into print by making a ‘guest’ appearance in my second published work, Part Four, Mark Counter In ‘A Lady Known As Belle’, THE HARD RIDERS. She had also made another guest appearance in Case One, ‘The Set-Up’, SAGEBRUSH SLEUTH and paved the way for Calamity to appear by there being a reference to a scar on her hand which was acquired when they had fought with one another on their first meeting.
As my editor and secretary can tell you, writers do not function in the same way as normal human beings. Or, at least, I don’t. This is proved by the fact that Calamity’s first appearance in print, which took place in Part One, ‘Better Than Calamity’, THE WILDCATS, came before the episode in which her first meeting with Belle Starr and Mark Counter was published in Part One, ‘The Bounty On Belle Starr’s Scalp’, TROUBLED RANGE. So, as both books are in the Floating Outfit series and ‘star’ Mark Counter, we have the somewhat peculiar state of affairs wherein Calamity had already had her first printed meeting with him before she had met him chronologically.
I have already described how Calamity developed the status of having her own series in the Introduction to her section of J.T.’s HUNDREDTH. I also explained in the same volume how I brought Belle ‘the Rebel Spy’ Boyd’s adventures into print. 6 Although Belle has not yet attained her own series, she has played a major role in several volumes. In fact, she was the ‘star’ in her own right in TO ARMS! TO ARMS! IN DIXIE! and THE REMITTANCE KID, with the respective heroes supporting her. However, these titles are listed for convenience in the Floating Outfit and Calamity Jane series.
In spite of having been mentioned several times since the first of my books, TRAIL BOSS, appeared in 1961, Betty Hardin did not come on the scene in person until 1963. Her appearance is another example of how the mind of this particular writer functions. Although Betty is married to Johnny Raybold in GUNSMOKE THUNDER, 7 her original meeting with him was not described until THE RIO HONDO WAR was published in 1964. Nor were her talents at ju-jitsu and karate, learned from Tommy Okasi, 8 the Japanese ‘valet’ of her ‘grandfather’, General Jackson Baines ‘Ole Devil’ Hardin ,9 exploited to any great extent until THE BAD BUNCH in 1968. What is more, considering her status as a leading member of the Hardin, Fog and Blaze clan, I confess that I have neglected her somewhat. Her section in this volume will, I hope, make amends for my having been so remiss in the past.
Woman Deputy Alice Fayde fared far better than Betty Hardin. Except for in THE SIXTEEN DOLLAR SHOOTER and THE SHERIFF OF ROCKABYE COUNTY, numbers one and two in chronological sequence, although both were written after the other titles in the series, Alice has had full ‘staring’ status ever since THE PROFESSIONAL KILLERS ushered her, her partner Deputy Sheriff Bradford Counter and the other members of the Rockabye County Sheriffs’ Office on to the printed page in 1968. 10 While she and Brad are not yet partners at the period of the incident, she plays an active role in the Rockabye County series’ section, ‘Preventive Law Enforcement’, J.T.’s HUNDREDTH. She is, in fact, the senior partner in their investigation team and is involved in a greater share of the action than any other female peace officer with whom I have come into contact via books, movies, or television series.
Hollywood in particular seems to have a mental block where the employment of their lady detectives in physical action is concerned. To me, this reached its highest point in one episode of POLICEWOMAN. Having been pushed and locked in a closet by a professional killer, who then set fire to the room, ‘Sergeant Pepper Anderson’ (Angie Dickinson) the policewoman of the title, did nothing more constructive than bang on the door and shout for the man to let her out. As Alice demonstrated in the past and will continue to do, she is fully capable of protecting herself and would have taken much more positive action for her salvation if she had been in Sergeant Anderson’s position.
I have covered the background of the creation of the Bunduki series in my Introduction to its section in J.T.’s HUNDREDTH and there is no point in repeating it verbatim. 11 However, although I regard Edgar Rice Burroughs as the greatest action-escapism-adventure writer of all time, I must confess I feel he never exploited his heroines to their full potential. This is especially true of Tarzan of the Apes’ wife, Jane. Except in TARZAN’S QUEST, when she made a bow and arrows with which to hunt for food after she and several friends were stranded by a plane crash in the jungle, she rarely demonstrated whatever survival techniques she had learned from her husband.
On being granted permission by Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. to introduce Dawn Drummond-Clayton 12 and James Allenvale ‘Bunduki’ Gunn, adoptive great-granddaughter and adopted son of Tarzan of the Apes, I followed my usual habit of allowing the former to be as self-reliant as any of my other Ladies. I considered that, with her background—based upon Philip Jose Farmer’s magnificent TARZAN ALIVE, A Definitive Biography Of Lord Greystoke and the family tree he supplies therein—Dawn would be able to cope without needing to scream for help the moment any danger threatened; although, particularly in every ‘Tarzan’ movie I have seen, this appeared to be all Jane was capable of doing. 13
Amanda ‘the School Swot’ Tweedle came into being after I saw BLUE MURDER AT ST TRINIANS. In this film, the well-endowed actress Sabrina was shown sitting in bed and reading a very thick book despite various distractions going on about her, being referred to as ‘the school swot’. That was all she was required to do, but I could see how she could be put to far greater use. On writing to the production company and outlining my idea, I was informed that no more St Trinians movies would be made. Two more have been, but my plot was never used. Nor, considering the format adopted by the producers, would I have wanted it to be.
However, I never forget a good idea for a story.
A few years later, when my name as a successful writer of ‘Westerns’ was established, hearing various people connected with the British film making business complaining they could not obtain suitable plots for family movies, I unearthed my basic plot and, in collaboration with Peter Clawson, turned out a screen play. To avoid this being a waste of time, as my agent had informed me that—despite the claims we had heard—selling it to the British film producers would be exceedingly difficult if not impossible, I also worked upon the manuscript of what became BLONDE GENIUS. I had altered the basic idea a little and Amanda also was subjected to a change. She was still to be the beautiful, curvaceous kind of ‘Mr. Belvedere’ character as portrayed by the actor, Clifton Webb, in the movies, SITTING PRETTY, MR. BELVEDERE GOES TO COLLEGE and MR. BELVEDERE RINGS THE BELL, apparently knowing and being able to do practically everything exceptionally well. However, Sabrina had been supplanted as the model for Amanda by the delectable and, I considered, far more suitable Aimi Macdonald.
BLONDE GENIUS was one of the few books I have written to receive the attention of a literary critic. L. F. Lampitt commented most favorably on it in the EVENING NEWS, suggesting it would make a suitable movie for the family market. 14 So I hoped this might induce somebody to turn it into a film, but the hope did not materialize. Apparently one has to have a certain social and political background, which I am pleased to say I lack, before one’s work is regarded as acceptable by the British film industry. Although disappointed at the time, I am now pleased it was refused as I doubt whether the story would have been adhered to. I would have refused to allow it to be changed to contain the kind of one-sided iconoclastic socio-political diatribe, filled with specious irony and glorifying promiscuity, infidelity, or sexual deviation, which forms the content of most entertainment put out by British film and television production companies. While these are always filled with a ‘message’, or ‘social significance’, they rarely offer a single character in whom the audience can take any interest as a person, or feel any concern over what happens to him or her.
While Amanda has previously only appeared in one volume, I have an idea for a second and, as I mentioned elsewhere, I never forget a plot. However, as I explained in the Introduction to Waco’s section of J.T.’s HUNDREDTH, my experiences with the DOG LEROY, MD. syndrome have taught me never to refer to a proposed book by its title until work upon the manuscript has at least been commenced.
Anyway, enough of the explanation.
Let’s meet J.T.’s LADIES.