MYSTERY READERS JOURNAL The Journal of Mystery Readers International® Murder in Transit: Supplement Vol. 29, No. 3 • Fall 2013
from Smithsonian National Postal Museum blog Just the Facts: Cents-Less Killing (continued) by Jim Doherty
Further Reading from the 50th anniversary of the crime. At least three books devoted exclusively to the Eugene R. Block, a former police reporter for D’Autremont case were published in the 1970s. both the San Francisco Post and the San Francisco The first of these three to appear was Oregon’s Call-Bulletin, has perhaps made the most frequent Great Train Hold-Up (Ye Galleon, 1974) by Bert use of the case in his true crime publications. His Webber. A slender book, less than 100 pages long, first book, The Wizard of Berkeley (Coward- it was bulked up somewhat in a revised edition McCann, 1958) was a biography of Edward Oscar published by Webb Research in 1988, on which Heinrich, the pioneering scientific investigator Bert Webber collaborated with Margie Webber. whose forensic examination of Roy D’Autremont’s All for Nothing (BLS, 1976), by Larry Sturholm overalls eventually led to the identification of the and John Howard, was written with some coopera- Tunnel 13 bandits. tion from Ray D’Autremont, who was befriended Block’s next book, the Edgar-nominated Great by Howard in 1960. Train Robberies of the West (Coward-McCann, Tunnel 13 (Pine Cone, 1977) by Art Chipman 1959), includes a detailed chapter on the Siskiyou rounds out the trio of D’Autremont books, all put robbery, stressing the contributions to the case out by local Oregon publishers, possibly to take made by both Daniel “Hardrock” O’Connell and advantage of growing interest in the case arising Edward “The Edison of Crime Detection” Hein- MRJ Fall 2013 rich. Famous Detectives (Doubleday, 1967) is a mont case I’ve been able to find was a two-part collection of thirteen chapter-length biographies episode of the long-running cops-and-robbers of well-known investigators, including one each on radio drama Gangbusters. Chapter One of “The Heinrich and O’Connell; it also includes informa- Capture of the D’Autremont Brothers” was first tion on the D’Autremont case. Science vs. Crime broadcast on April 22, 1936, and the conclusion a (Cragmont, 1979), a history of forensic criminal week later on April 29. investigation, also discusses Heinrich and his part Milton M. Raison’s Tunnel 13 (Murray & Gee, in solving the Siskiyou robbery. 1948), not to be confused with Art Chipman’s Other books that contain accounts of the case non-fiction account, is described as a “powerful include Bandits and the Southern Pacific (Stokes, suspense novel,” clearly based on the D’Autremont 1929) by C.G. Glasscock; Southern Pacific—The case, in which the number of brothers involved in Roaring Story of a Fighting Railroad (McGraw- the crime is lowered to two, and the number of Hill, 1952) by Neill C. Wilson and Frank J. Taylor; murder victims increased to seven. Raison is better The Railroad Police (Thomas, 1955) by H.S. De- known for a series of lighter-hearted mysteries whurst; Train Robbery by Richard Patterson featuring a crime-solving New York drama critic (Johnson, 1981); and those two closest friends of named Tony Woolrich. the true-crime researcher, The Encyclopedia of A year later, a film version of Raison’s novel was American Crime (Facts on File, 1982) by Carl released. Special Agent (Paramount, 1949), di- Sifakis and The Encyclopedia of World Crime rected by William C. Thomas from a screenplay by (CrimeBooks, 1990) by Jay Robert Nash. Whitman Chamber and Lewis R. Foster, was made Shorter articles on the case include “The Great in the semi-documentary style popularized in Siskiyou Train Robbery” by Fred E. Green, found such post-war police films as The House on 92nd in the Summer 1994 issue of The Dogtown Territo- Street (20th/Fox, 1945), T-Men (Eagle-Lion. 1947), rial Quarterly; “The Last Great Train Robbery” by and The Naked City (Universal, 1948). It starred Paul Fattig, first published in the October 11, 1998, William Eythe as Railroad Detective Johnny issue of the Medford, Oregon, Mail-Tribune, and Douglas, hot on the trail of the two “Deveraux” since reproduced on several different Internet brothers, one of whom is played by George Reeves, sites; and “The Siskiyou Outrage” by J.D. Chandler, who, in two years, would achieve his greatest suc- found on his internet site, www.jdchandler.com. cess as TV’s Superman. Filmed on a limited budget “Murder on the Gold Special” is a particularly (which perhaps accounts for the fact that most of interesting article by M. Constance Guardino III , the actual train robbery takes place off-screen), it who knew Ray D’Autremont when they both is, nonetheless, a solid, entertaining movie bou- worked as part-time custodians at the University quet to cinder cops. Interestingly, in the film, and of Oregon, and was flabbergasted to find that this the novel from which it derives, the two brothers apparently gentle soul was “the most infamous actually get away with their loot, though they man on campus.” The article can be found on a never get to actually spend it. website Guardino operates with her companion, That same year, White Heat (Warner Brothers, Rev. Marilyn A. Reidel, at 1949), perhaps the greatest of all American gang- http://users.wi.net/~maracon/, and includes a ster films, was released. James Cagney, in one of poem about the case by Guardino and Reidel. his most powerful performances, starred as The D’Autremont Manhunt In Fiction mother-fixated criminal mastermind Cody Jarrett. The film opens with the hold-up of a Southern The earliest fictional treatment of the D’Autre- Pacific train. In almost all respects, this robbery 2 Murder in Transit: Supplement parallels the D’Autremont crime. fisted filmmaker who directed the film with his The trainmen are forced at gunpoint to stop the usual nuts-and bolts expertise; but I’m certain the train just as it’s emerging from a tunnel, so that the similarities are not just coincidental. Whoever engine, tender, and part of the mail car have ex- came up with the idea, the sequence, like the rest ited, but most of the train is still in the tunnel. The of the film, is pure gold. tunnel is seen to be just a bit north of the Califor- In a JTF column some years ago, I suggested nia border. The State of Oregon is not specifically that the famous British forensics investigator, Sir mentioned, but we are told that the robbery oc- Bernard Spilsbury, might have been the prototype curred roughly 300 miles north of Lake Tahoe, for R. Austin Freeman’s pioneering scientific which, as the crow flies, is just about where Siski- sleuth, Dr. John Thorndyke. In this chapter, I’m you is. tempted to speculate that Professor Heinrich The mail clerk, the engineer, the fireman, and might have been the inspiration for Thorndyke’s another trainman are all ruthlessly murdered, ob- American counterpart, Professor Craig Kennedy. viously replicating the murders committed during Little-remembered by contemporary readers, the Tunnel 13 robbery. And the robbers are identi- Kennedy, the creation of journalist Arthur B. fied by the analysis of forensic clues reminiscent, Reeve, was once the most popular fictional detec- deliberately reminiscent, of the analysis provided tive in the country. by Heinrich in real life. There are also some paral- Reeve first conceived the character, who de- lels between Cody Jarrett, who is depicted as a buted in the short story collection The Silent Bul- mentally deteriorating psychotic who has a nerv- let (Dodd, Mead, 1912), after writing a series of ous breakdown in prison, and Roy D’Autremont, articles about “scientific crime detection.” It seems who was transferred from prison to a mental hos- likely that Reeve would at least have heard of pital after a real-life nervous breakdown just a year Heinrich while preparing those articles. Certainly prior to the film’s release. there are a number of parallels. Both were profes- The major difference between the actual train sors at major universities (the real-life Heinrich at robbery, and the film version, and it’s quite a major UC Berkeley and the fictional Kennedy at Colum- difference, is that in White Heat (as in the novel bia), both were masters of a variety of scientific Tunnel 13 and the movie Special Agent), the bad disciplines useful in criminal investigations, and guys get away with a substantial haul. both operated private crime labs which they put at As far as I’ve been able to determine, no one the disposal of official law enforcement. Interest- else has ever made a connection between the ingly, both were known by the same sobriquet, Siskiyou robbery and the opening scene of White “The American Sherlock Holmes.” As I say, this is Heat. Perhaps that’s because, once the train rob- all speculation, and whether or not those parallels bery is completed, there are no further parallels are deliberate or coincidental we’ll probably never (aside from Jarrett’s mental illness) between the know for sure. D’Autremont case and the plot of the film. I don’t Note: This is a very slightly revised version of an article know whether the idea for basing the movie’s be- that first appeared in Jim’s collection of true-crime ginning on the D’Autremont crime originated with articles Just the Facts—True Tales of Cops & Criminals Virginia Kellogg, who wrote the original, Oscar- (Deadly Serious, 2004), which reprinted many of his nominated screen treatment; with Ivan Goff and “Just the Facts” columns from MRJ, as well as several Ben Roberts, who developed that treatment into a original chapters, of which this was one. full-fledged script; or with Raoul Walsh, the two-
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Cops in Training – the Decalogue (continued) by Jim Doherty
Short Stories cialty pulp that published articles and fiction for rail buffs. 1. “The Second Challenge” (Real Detective Tales 4. “Tramps’ Christmas Eve” (Thrilling Detective, and Mystery Stories, Feb. 1929) by MacKinlay Kan- Dec. 1948) by Johnston McCulley. tor. A hard-nosed railroad detective is looking to Years before winning a Pulitizer Prize for An- celebrate Christmas Eve by busting a hobo, or dersonville (World, 1955), Kantor honed his craft maybe even several. He comes upon a group of in the pulps. In this early story, set in a small rail- four enjoying a modest holiday party over a camp- road town south of Chicago, Illinois Central R/R fire on railroad property. Will he have a change of Special Agent Chuck Noel has gotten a bulletin to heart and let himself be guided by the spirit of be on the lookout for a fugitive cop-killer possibly Christmas, or will he follow his hard-nosed cop’s headed his way from Omaha. When he spots a instincts? Shamelessly sentimental, but I’m Irish trespasser on the yards he patrols who fits the de- and we’re partial to that. scription, he winds up in a murderous shoot-out. McCulley, best known for creating the immortal Action, tough talk, and irony, the three hallmarks swashbuckling avenger Zorro, was a railroad buff, of pulp crime fiction, are all present in this expert and he used train settings quite a bit in a career yarn, since reprinted in The Fantastic Pulps (St. lasting almost six decades. In 1908 he wrote five Martin’s, 1979) edited by Peter Haining. short stories for Railroad Men’s Magazine featuring 2. “You Pays Your Nickel” (Argosy, 22 Aug. Richard Hughes, Railroad Detective. From 1918 to 1936) by Cornell Woolrich. 1960, he wrote dozens of stories for various maga- When a murderous robber takes it on the lam zines about a pickpocket with a lisp named inside of a subway tunnel, one lone transit cop “Thubway Tham,” who stalked victims in New figures out where he’s going and tries to chase him York’s transit stations. And railroads often figured down. All the suspense, action, pace, and (amaz- in his many westerns. ingly for a man who never rode the subway) sense 5. “Red Over Yellow” (Short Stories, June 1949) of place one expects of the haunted figure who by William Rhode. practically invented noir. Reprinted as “Subway” in “Mohawk” Daniels, top sleuth for the A&N Woolrich’s own collection The Blue Ribbon (Lip- Railroad, takes a rookie under his wing as he pur- pincott, 1949) under his William Irish pseudonym, sues a gang of freight car thieves. The rookie’s the and, as “The Phantom of the Subway,” in the an- son of an executive in the railroad, and he thinks thology Midnight Specials (Bobbs-Merrill, 1977) he’s got something to prove to the Old Man. Dan- edited by Bill Pronzini. iels thinks the kid has the makings of a decent cop, 3. “Bull Trouble” (Railroad Magazine, Aug. if he dials back the attitude a few degrees. Could 1947) by Edmund E. Pugsley. be if the kid takes Daniels’s advice, he’ll get his Another “railroad cop chases a criminal in the wish and prove himself to his dad. yards” story, this time from the point of view of 6. “Complete Results” (Short Stories, Nov. 1949) the criminal who’s trying to avoid bull trouble. by William Rhode. Pugsley was a frequent contributor to this spe-
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“Mohawk” Daniels returns in a short, tight yarn and her mom. that manages, in less than 5000 words, to combine Walsh had a standard recipe, tough but senti- elements of both the murder of Martha Virginia mental cops, classy but sweet “girl next door” types James on the Southern Pacific’s West Coast Limited for the cop to lose his heart to, helpless but appeal- in 1943, and the robbery of the SP’s Gold Special by ing victims, and vicious villains, but, like a great the D’Autremont brothers in 1923. I know I’m cook, he turned that recipe into a splendid dish breaking a self-imposed rule by including two over and over again. works by the same author in a single list, but 9. “Ghost Station” (A Woman’s Eye, Delacorte, Rhode’s a writer who deserves to be better known. 1991, edited by Sara Paretsky) by Carolyn Wheat. 7. “Yard Bull” (Manhunt, Aug. 1954) by Frank Sgt. Maureen Gallagher, a recovering alcoholic Selig. who’s returning to duty with the NYC Transit Po- The titular railroad cop in this short-short is lice after taking a medical leave to dry out, wants not exactly the hero. The product of an abused to be put on the task force searching for a serial childhood, he has no children that allow him to killer, or killers, who are setting homeless people pass the abuse along to the next generation, so he on fire in the labyrinthine tunnels of the City’s passes it on to the kids he finds trespassing on the subway system. Instead, she’s taking a rookie who yards he patrols. Grim and depressing, but tre- “can’t stand lady drunks” with her to hunt graffiti mendously effective. artists in the system’s “ghost stations,” long- 8. “Manhattan Castaway” (Saturday Evening abandoned passenger platforms that no one but Post, 28 Sep. 1957) by Thomas Walsh. bums and taggers use anymore. But, as she discov- The hard-nosed Irish lieutenant who stood ers, if you’re a serial killer trolling for derelicts to guard over Manhattan Central Depot (i.e. Grand burn to death, a ghost station’s a pretty good place Central Station) in Nightmare in Manhattan re- to find them. Excellent portrayal of a cop fighting turns in this superb novelette, only now he’s Rob- a compulsion that can derail her career, who’s ert “Rowdy Robbie” McTiernan instead of William given a chance to redeem herself. “Tough Willie” Calhoun. But we won’t let a li’l ol’ 10. “The Right Track” (Women’s World, 26 Oct. name change fool us, will we? Coming upon an 2009) by R.T. Lawton. apparently abandoned little girl in the station, he An AMTRAK detective gets a rare opportunity questions her as gently as a guy with McTiernan’s to investigate a murder, when a passenger is ap- imposing demeanor can, and learns that the kid’s parently pushed out of a moving long-haul train. mom may be in the clutches of a pair of murder- Both a police procedural and a fair-play whodunit, ous con artists who’ve been bilking and killing this short-short was nominated for a Short young widows all over the country (clearly mod- Mystery Fiction Society Derringer award. I think it eled on real-life “Loney Hearts” killers Raymond should have won. Lawton, by the way, was never a Fernandez and Martha Beck). The kid disappears railroad detective, but he was a cop, having spent when McTiernan’s back is turned, and now he’s got over thirty years as a federal narcotics agent. to race against that proverbial clock to save her Movies Despite its title, this is not a war picture, but the story of a vet who returns from military service, 1. The Flying Ace (Norman Film, 1926), written hoping to get his old job as a railroad detective and directed by Richard Norman. back. He is immediately rehired, and put on the trail of a gang who stole a payroll from a railroad
5 MRJ Fall 2013 depot. This film, years before 1970s “blaxploita- The House on 92nd Street (20th/Fox, 1945). Wil- tion,” was a “race” picture, a film made with an all- liam Eythe, who played the FBI undercover infor- black cast deliberately pitched at black audiences. mant in 92nd Street, plays the main railroad cop in “Race” films were, in their day, about the only this one, while George Reeves, a few years away kinds of movies in which blacks could play non- from enduring fame as TV’s Superman, plays one stereotyped characters. Surprisingly sophisticated of the Devereauxs. silent film, with, lots of flying action, notwith- 5. Western Pacific Agent (Lippert Pictures, standing its railroad background. 1950), screenplay by Fred Myton, story by Milton 2. Midnight Limited (Monogram, 1940), written R. Raison, directed by Sam Newfield. by Harrison Carter and Charles Williams, directed Another B programmer, but nicely done, as by Howard Bretherton. Kent Taylor, playing the titular Western Pacific A crook dubbed the “Phantom Bandit” has been Agent, goes on the trail of the guy who murdered robbing trains of jewelry, cash, and other valu- two railroad employees in the course of robbing a ables. One of his victims has actually seen him, station. Enjoyable, but Sid Melton’s comic relief though masked, so she agrees to work with the role is entirely dispensable. railroad detective hero to track him down. Enter- 6. Union Station (Paramount, 1950), written by taining despite its “Poverty Row” origins. Sidney Boehm, based on the novel Nightmare in 3. The Great Train Robbery (Republic, 1941), Manhattan by Thomas Walsh, directed by Ru- written by Olive Cooper, Robert T. Shannon, and dolph Maté. Garnett Weston, directed by Joseph Kane. The little boy kidnap victim becomes a beauti- A gang of bandits hijacks an entire train, skill- ful (well, at least uncommonly pretty), blind, teen- fully hiding it so they can rob the gold locked in its aged girl. New York City becomes (apparently) vaults at leisure. The bandit leader’s brother is a Chicago. And Grand Central Station becomes crack detective for the railroad, and he’s got the Chicago’s Union Station (although Los Angeles’s family honor to uphold. Plus both he and his Union Station was actually used as the location), criminal brother are in love with the same woman, but all in all, this is a very faithful adaptation of and right now she’s in the bad guy’s clutches. Fast- Walsh’s novel, and perhaps my single favorite rail- moving action film with expert model sequences road cop picture. William Holden is “Tough Wil- provided by the legendary Lydecker brothers. Old lie” Calhoun. Barry Fitzgerald is Inspector Don- pro Milburn Stone (Doc on Gunsmoke) registers nelly of the City Police, channeling his Lt. Mul- strongly as the bandit brother, while B-movie doon characterization from The Naked City. cowboy star Bob Steele holds his own as the cop. Nancy Olson is the girl Calhoun finds himself The gimmick for hiding the train was lifted, with- falling for. Allene Roberts is the victim. And, in a out credit, from the short story “The Lost Special” chilling performance, Lyle Bettger is the chief kid- by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. napper. 4. Special Agent (Paramount, 1949), written by Best scene? The rail cops have got one of the Whitman Chambers and Lewis R. Foster, based on kidnappers in custody, but he refuses to talk. the novel Tunnel 13 by Milton R. Raison, directed Fitzgerald, looks at the scumbag, shakes his head by William C. Thomas. sadly, and in that charming, kindly Irish brogue The real-life D’Autremonts, who became the says, “Make it look like an accident.” The cinder Darcys in Raison’s novel, change their names one cops act as though they’re going to throw him in more time, to Devereaux, as railroad police get the the path of a passing train when he starts to sud- semi-documentary treatment that the FBI got in denly spills his guts. Ah, those were the days. 6 Murder in Transit: Supplement
7. The Narrow Margin (RKO, 1952), screenplay tor Charlie Norman (Mark Stevens). Armstrong by Earl Felton, story by Martin Goldsmith and and Norman are old friends who’ve worked to- Jack Leonard, directed by Richard Fleischer. gether before, but this time it’s different. Norman Stretching a point again, because, though it was actually the mastermind behind the timed-to- takes place on a passenger train going from Chi- the-second heist, so now he’s in a position to sabo- cago to Los Angeles, the main cop (Charles tage the investigation if Joe seems to be getting too McGraw) is not a railroad special agent, but an close. Will plodding, patient Joe figure out that his LAPD detective, guarding a mobster’s widow who’s old buddy is the man he’s hunting? Expertly made set to testify before a Grand Jury in California. film noir by an actor-director who’s something of a There is a railroad cop in the movie, though he’s noir icon. only a supporting character. But he’s an important 10. The Taking of Pelham One-Two-Three supporting character. This is probably the best (United Artists, 1974), written by Peter Stone, crime film set on a train ever made, and, filmed as based on the novel by John Godey, directed by it was on a limited budget, it’s a primer on how to Joseph Sargent. get the most out of your money. A film noir clas- An armed gang of hoods, led by “Mr. Blue” sic. (Robert Shaw) hijack a New York subway train, 8. Terror on a Train (MGM, 1953), written by take eighteen passengers and crew members hos- Kem Bennett, directed by Ted Tezslaff. tage, and demand a ransom of a million dollars When railway police in Birmingham, England, from the already financially strapped city. Mean- discover that a bomb has been planted in a load of while Transit Police Lieutenant Zac Garber (Wal- sea mines bound for the Navy Yard in Portsmouth, ter Matthau), sitting behind the mike at the Transit a local resident, former Canadian Army Major Authority’s control center, is trying to negotiate Peter Lyncott (Glenn Ford) is approached. He was the hostages’ release. It’s a classic suspense situa- a bomb disposal expert in the war. Would he be tion, but it has seldom worked better. Matthau and willing to disarm the device if it can be found? He Shaw are terrific, and they get great support from a agrees to help. Meanwhile, the Transport Police try splendid cast that includes Martin Balsam, Hector to track down the saboteur. Suspenseful, well- Elizondo, Jerry Stiller, and in a small but memora- made, well-acted. A fine job on all levels. Released ble part, Doris Roberts as the mayor’s wife. It’s in Britain under the title Time Bomb. been remade twice, once as a TV-movie (ABC, 9. Time Table (United Artists, 1956), written by 1998) with Edward James Olmos as the cop and Aben Kandel, directed by Mark Stevens. Vincent D’Onofrio as the gang leader, and as a A carefully planned robbery on board a train theatrical release (Columbia/MGM, 2009) with relieves the railroad of $500,000 in payroll cash. Denzel Washington in the cop role (only he’s a Assigned to find the robbers are railroad cop Joe train dispatcher rather than a cop in this version), Armstrong (King Calder) and insurance investiga- and John Travolta as the senior hijacker.
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