WORLD PREMIERE
Goodis film probes 'dark tendencies' and hidden lives
David Goodis...To A Pulp, a biography of noir writer David Goodis, has its world premiere, March 5 in Philadelphia.
For filmmaker Larry Withers making the movie was a peak into the once-hidden life of his mother Elaine Astor who had previously been married to Goodis.
The project began three years ago, at the suggestion of Goodis biographer Louis Boxer. Withers, 55, interviewed friends and family of David Goodis, including Harold "Dutch" Silver who taught Goodis how to shoot pool, cousins April Feld-Sandor and Bernie Shapiro, and friends Len Cobrin, and Frank Ford (Ed Felbin), writer Bill Sherman, English professor David Schmid, film critic Mike White, and cultural historian Jay Gertzman.
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Withers gathered photos from the Philadelphia City Archives thru www.phillyhistory.org, There Withers found a photo of the now demolished Toddle House, where Goodis' pals gathered after his funeral 43 years ago. Withers found archive film on the web, such as period color movies of Dock Street and Delaware Avenue, setting of Goodis' biggest seller, Cassidy's Girl.
Withers learned that his mother had been married to Goodis, only after her death in 1986, when he went through her papers. Her second husband was Robert Withers.
"On a personal level, the film resolves a lot of parental things. It helps me understand the relations between my parents," Withers said. "I probably know more about David Goodis than my own mother, since many of Goodis' friends and cousins are still around. None of my mother's family are alive."
"A lot of my mother, I do not know. There are many aspects of her past even my father isn't aware of." Withers said. WIthers explained that his parents divorced when he was in his 20's. However, they had separated two or three years earlier.
Elaine Astor, David Goodis, and unidentified friend. Photo courtesy of Larry Withers.
Withers said he got to know Goodis by reading his books and making the movie.
"I think David Goodis was basically a gentle, caring person, very family oriented. The interesting thing is that he kept secret other parts of his life. He used his writing to play out his desires and dark tendencies," Withers said.
"Goodis could never reconcile the different parts of his life. His writing is psychological therapy. It's like sitting on a therapist's couch. His way to resolve things was to write about them," Withers said.
"His stories and novels are about people coming to terms with their lives. They do not get out of their troubles, but they reconcile with them," Withers said.
Withers said that "Goodis played out his dark tendencies through his excursions." Withers referred to Goodis' legendary night time visits to ghetto clubs and dangerous sites in the netherworld of Philadelphia.
Goodis was a screenwriter for Warner Brothers in Hollywood in the late 1940's.
"I could see how my mother could have been a temptress, but I agree with my father that she was a gold digger. She saw herself as a movie star. She had aspirations and David Goodis was the quickest way to those aspirations," Withers said.
Larry Withers. Photo by Louis Boxer.
As for Goodis' attraction to Elaine, Withers said, "A lot of it was physical, but intellectually they might have had something in common. My mother took writing classes and could write herself. She was well read. She read a lot of classics. Intellectually, they were on equal footing."
Goodis was legendarily cheap. Withers said, that his mother and Goodis were a match in that respect. "My mother was incredibly stingy. She would salvage old envelops and reuse stamps which had missed the post mark. She never went to fancy stores. She made her own clothes and my brothers and sisters and I wore hand-me-downs."
The movie premieres March 5, at 8:30 p.m. at the Society Hill Playhouse, 507 South 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-923-0210. $10 at the door.
David Goodis...To A Pulp is available on DVD through Withers' company, On Air Video, onairvideo@mac.com and at amazon.com If you order directly from On Air Video, shipping will be free.
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David Goodis
Philadelphia's Noir Prince
“After a while it gets so bad that you want to stop the whole business. You figure that there’s no use in trying to fight back. Things are set dead against you and the sooner you give up the better. It’s like a mile run. You’re back there in seventh place and there isn’t a chance in the world. The feet are burning, the lungs are bursting, and all you want to do is fall down and take a rest.”
----First paragraph of David Goodis’ first novel Retreat from Oblivion (1939).
David Goodis surrounded by Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart. Notice the lines of B&B's clothing and Bogart's real hairline. Photo courtesy of April Feld Sandor.
So began the writing career of David Goodis. Typical Goodis. A statement of frustration, introducing a tale of gloom, depression and despair. Noir at its blackest.
David Goodis was Philadelphia’s noir prince. After graduating from Temple University in 1938, Goodis moved to New York where he wrote advertising copy, radio scripts and thousands of words for pulp magazines. In the mid-1940’s he was in Hollywood as a screenwriter. He crashed and returned to his parents’ home in Philadelphia, where he churned out novels and short stories, depicting the bleakness and darkness of lives in free fall.
Who was David Goodis and why did he write as he did?
A mile outside the City Between Two Rivers, January Cold came in, formed four walls around them and closed in on the Thirteen. Gathered to remember the Prince of Noir, they read from his works, told tales, and raised his Shade from the bleak grave.
On January 25, 2009, just hours before the 42nd anniversary of the death of David Goodis according to the Hebrew calendar, 13 militant Goodisheads gathered at Roosevelt Cemetery to remember Philadelphia's Prince of Noir.
Introduction to 2009 Goodis Memorial
Portions of Goodis' writings selected for ceremony
Larry Withers' You Tube on the ceremony
Duane Swierczynski's blog on the ceremony
You Tubes by Duane Swierczynski
Duane Swierczynski's blog on "Relics of a Noir Writer"
Peter Rozovsky's blog on the ceremony
Louis Boxer's photos of the ceremony
In September 1966, David Goodis' mother died. Harold Silver sent David Goodis a basket of fruit. David Goodis sent the following note to Harold Silver. (Photos by Louis Boxer)
Design by Michael Gabriel
Click to:
NoirCon 2010, a celebration of International Noir writing and film.
NoirCon 2008, a celebration of Philadephia Noir writing and film.
GoodisCON, a conference celebrating the 90th anniversary of the birth and the 40th anniversary of the death of David Goodis.
Death Certificate of David Goodis
D.G.'s envelop authorizing The Fugitive law suit
Louis Boxer's album of David Goodis photos.
The Soul of David Goodis.
Goodis' cousin reveals the key to David's personal mystery.
David Goodis in Hollywood
Jeff Weddle's new book,
Bohemian New Orleans describes
D.G.'s failed screenplay of Four Steps to the Wall, prison novel by Jon Webb.
The final destruction of Goodisville
Email me: aaron@microbrewjournalism.com