Lew Archer

Lew Archer is a fictional character created by Ross Macdonald. Archer is a private detective working in Southern California.

Profile

Initially, Lew Archer was similar to (if not completely a derivative of) Philip Marlowe. However, he eventually broke from that mold, though some similarities remain. Archer's principal difference is that he is much more openly sensitive and empathetic than the tough Marlowe. He also serves a different function than Marlowe. Raymond Chandler's books were studies of Marlowe's character and code of honor, while Macdonald used Archer as a lens to explore the relationships of the other characters in the novels.

Archer's name is an homage to Dashiell Hammett: "Miles Archer" was the name of Sam Spade's murdered partner in "The Maltese Falcon".

Books

Novels

* "The Moving Target" (1949)
* "The Drowning Pool" (1950)
* "The Way Some People Die" (1951)
* "The Ivory Grin" (1952; aka Marked for Murder)
* "Find a Victim" (1954)
* "The Barbarous Coast" (1956)
* "The Doomsters" (1958)
* "The Galton Case" (1959)
* "The Wycherly Woman" (1961)
* "The Zebra-Striped Hearse" (1962)
* "The Chill" (1964)
* "The Far Side of the Dollar" (1965)
* "Black Money" (1966)
* "The Instant Enemy" (1968)
* "The Goodbye Look" (1969)
* "The Underground Man" (1971)
* "Sleeping Beauty" (1973)
* "The Blue Hammer" (1976)

hort stories

* "Find the Woman" (June 1946, EQMM)
* "The Bearded Lady" (American Magazine, October 1948)
* "The Imaginary Blonde" (February 1953, Manhunt; AKA Gone Girl)
* "The Guilty Ones" (May 1953, Manhunt; AKA The Sinister Habit)
* "The Beat-Up Sister" (October 1953, Manhunt; AKA The Suicide)
* "Guilt-Edged Blonde" ( January 1954, Manhunt)
* "Wild Goose Chase" (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, July 1954)
* "Midnight Blue" (October 1960, Ed McBain's Mystery Magazine)
* "The Sleeping Dog" (April 1965, Argosy)

:in three collections: "My Name is Archer", "Lew Archer, Private Investigator", and "Strangers in Town"

Film and TV

The character has been adapted for visual media several times with varying degrees of success.

Two feature films starring Paul Newman as "Lew "Harper" (rumor supposes the name was changed from the original because Newman felt characters with "H" names were "lucky"):
*"Harper" (1966, directed by Jack Smight) derived from the novel "The Moving Target" (1949)
*"The Drowning Pool" (1975, directed by Stuart Rosenberg) derived from the novel of the same title

"The Underground Man" (1974, directed by Paul Wendkos) a television movie starring Peter Graves.

"Archer", a 1975 NBC TV series (NBC) starring Brian Keith based on the character. It was cancelled after six episodes:
*"The Turkish Connection", aired 30 January 1975
*"The Arsonist", aired 6 February 1975
*"The Body Beautiful", aired 13 February 1975
*"Shades of Blue", aired 20 February 1975
*"The Vanished Man", aired 6 March 1975
*"Blood Money", aired 13 March 1975

"Le Loup de la côte Ouest" (2002, Hugo Santiago from the short story "Guilt-Edged Blonde") starring James Faulkner as Lew "Millar". (Alternate Title: The Wolf of the West Coast)

Radio adaptations

* "Sleeping Beauty", aired 1 January 1996 on NPR

External links

* [http://www.thrillingdetective.com/archer.html Lew Archer on "ThrillingDetective.com"]