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William Riley Burnett

ウィリアム・ライリー・バーネット

William Riley Burnett

Aliases: W. R. Burnett / W.R. Burnett
Pen Names: Lincoln MacVeagh（Pseudonym used for some early novels/publications）, John Monahan（Pseudonym used on some paperback publications）, James Updyke（Another pseudonym used on certain works）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1899-11-25 （Springfield, Ohio, U.S.）
Died
1982-04-25 （Santa Monica, California, U.S.） age 82
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Springfield, Ohio, U.S. → Chicago, Illinois, U.S. → Hollywood (Los Angeles), California, U.S. → Santa Monica, California, U.S.

Career

Occupations
novelist, screenwriter
Active Years
1931-1972
Influenced By
Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain

Education

Miami Military Institute
Country: United States

Awards

O. Henry Award
1930
Work: "Dressing-Up" (short story)
Organization: O. Henry Award (organization)
Result: 受賞
Academy Award for Writing (Nomination)
1943
Work: Wake Island (screenplay)
Category: 脚本（オリジナル／寄稿）
Organization: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Result: ノミネート

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Little Caesar

1929 Crime novel (gangster)

A story of the rise and fall of a gangster set in Chicago's underworld; Burnett's best-known novel, adapted into a landmark early American gangster film.

crime and ambitionurban corruptionloss of redemption
Adaptations
  • [Film] Little Caesar / Mervyn LeRoy (1931)

High Sierra

1941 Crime novel

Centers on Roy Earle, a criminal seeking one last chance; explores human weakness and the possibility of redemption. Adapted into a film starring Humphrey Bogart.

last chancebetrayal and camaraderiesalvation and downfall
Adaptations
  • [Film] High Sierra / Raoul Walsh (1941)

The Asphalt Jungle

1949 Crime novel

Depicts a meticulously planned jewel heist that unravels due to the flaws of its participants; adapted into a film regarded as a film-noir classic.

plan and collapsefate and flawsurban crime
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Asphalt Jungle / John Huston (1950)

Bibliography

  • Little Caesar (1929)
  • Iron Man (1930)
  • Saint Johnson (1930)
  • The Silver Eagle (1931)
  • The Beast of the City (1932)
  • The Giant Swing (1932)
  • Dark Hazard (1933)
  • Goodbye to the Past (1934)
  • King Cole (1936)
  • The Dark Command (1938)
  • High Sierra (1941)
  • The Quick Brown Fox (1943)
  • Nobody Lives Forever (1943)
  • Tomorrow's Another Day (1946)
  • Romelle (1947)
  • The Asphalt Jungle (1949)
  • Stretch Dawson (1950)
  • Little Men, Big World (1952)
  • Adobe Walls (1953)

Adaptations

  • Little Caesar (film adaptation, 1931)
  • High Sierra (film adaptation, 1941)
  • The Asphalt Jungle (film adaptation, 1950)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Hard-boiled, realist prose with concise, forceful description
Recurring Motifs
urban corruption and crimeloss of redemption and last chancesmasculine pride and downfall

Health

  • Vision decline/vision loss
    晩年（執筆活動停止の要因）
    Led to stopping original writing and focusing on promoting earlier works

Legacy

Burnett is regarded as a writer who bridged gangster fiction and Hollywood screenwriting. Works like Little Caesar significantly influenced early American crime cinema.

Archives

  • Interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)

In Popular Culture

  • Regarded as a source for early American gangster films

Quotes

  • 'Goodbye to the Past' is written with all the excitement of 'Little Caesar', and ten times the skill.
    Source: Review by Heywood Broun (quoted) (1934)

Trivia

  • Used several pen names including Lincoln MacVeagh, John Monahan, and James Updyke.
  • Won the 1930 O. Henry Award for the short story 'Dressing-Up'.
  • Late-life vision decline led to largely stopping new writing; died in Santa Monica in 1982 and was interred at Forest Lawn.