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James M. Cain

ジェームズ・M・ケイン

James M. Cain

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1892-07-01 （Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.）
Died
1977-10-27 （University Park, Maryland, U.S.） age 85
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Irish Catholic (background)
Residence History
Chestertown, Maryland → Baltimore, Maryland → Annapolis, Maryland → New York City, New York → Los Angeles (Hollywood), California

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Journalist, Screenwriter
Active Years
1917-1976
Memberships
United Mine Workers (joined during investigative reporting)
Influenced By
H. L. Mencken, Walter Lippmann, Ring Lardner
Influenced
Film-noir writers and screenwriters (e.g. Billy Wilder), Subsequent generations of hardboiled crime writers

Education

Washington College
Drama / Literature
Degree: A.B.; M.A.（Drama）
Period: c.1908–1914
Year of Graduation: 1910
Country: United States
Reported to have taken an Artium Baccalaureus before age 18 and later acquired a master's degree in drama (years approximate).

Awards

Edgar Award — Grand Master
1970
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Postman Always Rings Twice

1934 Crime fiction / Hardboiled

A first-person confessional novel about adultery and murder, depicting working-class characters consumed by desire and betrayal.

adulterymurderdesirebetrayal
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946 film) / Tay Garnett (1946)

Double Indemnity

1936 Crime fiction / Noir

A story of insurance fraud and murder; notable for its cold first-person narrator. Originally serialized and later published in longer form.

fraudconspiracycorruptionmoral decline
Adaptations
  • [Film] Double Indemnity / Billy Wilder (1944)

Mildred Pierce

1941 Drama / Crime fiction

The story of a single mother who attains business success while her relationship with her daughter deteriorates and crime intrudes into their lives.

mother-daughter conflictambitionclass mobility
Adaptations
  • [Film] Mildred Pierce (1945 film) / Michael Curtiz (1945)
  • [TV miniseries] Mildred Pierce (2011 HBO miniseries) / Todd Haynes (2011)

Serenade

1937 Literary fiction / Drama

An opera-themed psychological novel addressing artistic creativity, sexuality, and cultural conflict.

artsexual identityalienation
Adaptations
  • [Film] Serenade (1956 film) / Anthony Mann (1956)

The Butterfly

1947 Literary fiction / Social novel

A novel incorporating issues of labor and class conflict in a narrative with social concerns.

laborclasshuman relationships
Adaptations
  • [Film] Butterfly (1982 film) / Matt Cimber (1982)

Bibliography

  • The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934)
  • Double Indemnity (1936/1943)
  • Serenade (1937)
  • Mildred Pierce (1941)
  • The Butterfly (1947)
  • Cain X 3 (1969)
  • Rainbow's End (1975)
  • The Institute (1976)
  • The Cocktail Waitress (posthumous, edited 2012)

Adaptations

  • Double Indemnity (film, 1944)
  • Mildred Pierce (film, 1945)
  • The Postman Always Rings Twice (film, 1946)
  • Mildred Pierce (HBO miniseries, 2011)

Translations of Works

  • The Postman Always Rings Twice — Japanese translation

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Terse, direct first-person narrationHardboiled toneColloquial expressions derived from journalism and editorial writing
Recurring Motifs
crimes of passiondesire and downfallmusic / opera (performing arts)working-class life

Health

  • Tuberculosis
    1924（入院・療養）
    Required sanatorium treatment in 1924; temporary interruption to his work but he recovered and continued writing.
  • Poison gas exposure (World War I)
    1918
    Experienced a poison gas attack in 1918; survived and later used aspects of the experience in his fiction.

Legacy

James M. Cain is regarded as a progenitor of hardboiled crime fiction; his terse, vivid first-person narration heavily influenced film noir and subsequent crime writers. Many of his works were adapted into acclaimed films and remain embedded in American popular culture.

Academic Societies

  • Mystery Writers of America (associated)

Archives

  • University of Maryland Special Collections (related materials)

In Popular Culture

  • Numerous adaptations into film and television (e.g. Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce, The Postman Always Rings Twice)

Quotes

  • I make no conscious effort to be tough, or hard-boiled, or grim, or any of the things I am usually called. I merely try to write as the character would write...
    Source: Preface to Double Indemnity (1943)

Trivia

  • Although he worked in Hollywood for many years, he has relatively few on-screen writing credits.
  • Double Indemnity was serialized in 1936 and later published and adapted into a celebrated film.