The Black Curtain
Cover Artist: George Fredericksen
By: Woolrich, Cornell
Publisher: Dell Publishing Co., Inc. (208)
Place of Publication:New York, NY
Catalog #: Kelley Box 836: PS3515 .O6455 B53 1941b
Contributor:
R. Brandt
General
Era: 1940s
Author as on Cover: Cornell Woolrich
Publication:1941
Original Date: 1941
Setting: urban and rural
Plot Summary
The novel opens on May 10, 1941, as part of a moldering building falls on a man as he walks along a crowded city street. The blow restores Frank Townsend's memory after three and a half years' amnesia, and he begins the slow process of getting to know his wife again and picking up the threads of his former existence. However, there is a phantom from Townsend's interim identity that is out to destroy him, and soon Townsend becomes obsessed with finding out who and what he was during the lost years. He finds love, hate, and a murder charge waiting for him behind the curtain. (from Pronzini, Bill and Marcia Muller. 1001 Midnights: The Aficionado's Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction NY: Arbor House, 1986.
Major Characters
Frank Townsend/Daniel Nearing adult male, medium height, light brown hair, light brown eyes, small blue anchor tattoo on left wrist; businessman/handyman
Bill Diedrich adult male, squat, thick-set, straw colored hair
Alma Diedrich adult female; widow of Harry Diedrich
Harry S. Diedrich adult male
Ruth Dillon nickname "Ruthie", adult female, brown eyes, slim medium height, brown hair, housemaid
Emil Diedrich adult male, paralyzed invalid
Virginia Morrison Townsend adult female, long-limbed, small mouth, Frank Townsend's wife
E.J. Ames adult male, sturdily-built, below medium height, gray eyes, dark brows; police constable
Weapons
shotgun
Level of Violence
when Constable Ames first discovers Nearing/Townsend in New York, he chases him and attempts to smash a subway train window with his gun butt. Later, when Townsend's presence at the Diedrich house is discovered, he is attacked by Bill and Alma Diedrich, knocked out and tied up in a chair.
Sexuality
all of the sexual activity is strictly implied. When Townsend reunites with his wife after a 3-year absence, they barely touch each other, let alone engage in any sexual activity. After he meets Ruth Dillon (who is clearly in love with his Dan Nearing identity), they kiss in the dark and spend the night together. However, no other sexual acitvity is described. Harry Diedrich is murdered by his brother and wife. Their motive is never clearly explained. Presumably they wanted him out of the way so that they could be together, implying an adulterous relationship.
Gender Roles
traditional; gender roles do not play a significant part in this novel.
Ethnicity
none evident
Alcohol/Drug Abuse
none
Law Enforcement
E.J. Ames is the police constable of New Jericho, investigating the murder of local resident Harry Diedrich. He trails Dan Nearing, the suspected killer, to New York, where he discovers Frank Townsend and begins following him. It is this fact that causes Townsend to discover his former identity. Ames is called in at the end of the novel by Townsend, and arrests Alma Diedrich for the murder of her fusband. He also fills Townsend in on the details he was unable to discover himself.
Subject Headings
Amnesia/ Murder
Psychological Elements
The "black curtain" of the title is the amnesia that Townsend suffers. He has lost three years of his life, and must slowly and blindly trace the details of his former existence. He knows that someone is out to get him for something he did; he does not know whom he can trust. When he extracts his name and Ruth's name from her, he feels as if "he'd been pulled through a wringer."
Film Adaptations
Street of Chance, Paramount, 1942
