Results
THE ASPHALT JUNGLE.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1949. Octavo, boards. First edition. "Equalling his best, Little Caesar, High Sierra, this is a sustained and relentless story of the planning and execution of a foolproof crime, the robbery of a jewelry store in a middle western city...And from the first premonitions to the first wrong moves, this follows through the aftermath of the crime, the dragnet and the chase which ended in death or capture... In its accuracy, its intensity, this is pretty hard to beat." - Kirkus review, 22 August, 1949. Basis for the classic film noir with Sterling Hayden, Sam Jaffe and Marilyn Monroe, directed by John Huston. Hubin, pp. 119-120. Selby, Dark City: The Film Noir, 17. Silver and Ward (eds.), Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style (3rd edition), pp. 13-15. Johnson, The Dark Page II, p. 18.
THE ASPHALT JUNGLE.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1949. Octavo, boards. First edition. "Equaling his best, Little Caesar, High Sierra, this is a sustained and relentless story of the planning and execution of a foolproof crime, the robbery of a jewelry store in a middle western city...And from the first premonitions to the first wrong moves, this follows through the aftermath of the crime, the dragnet and the chase which ended in death or capture... In its accuracy, its intensity, this is pretty hard to beat." - Kirkus review, 22 August, 1949. Basis for the classic film noir with Sterling Hayden, Sam Jaffe and Marilyn Monroe, directed by John Huston. Hubin, pp. 119-120. Selby, Dark City: The Film Noir, 17. Silver and Ward (eds.), Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style (3rd edition), pp. 13-15. Johnson, The Dark Page II, p. 18.
CONANT.
New York: Popular Publications, [1961]. Small octavo, pictorial wrappers. First edition. Popular Library #G538. Paperback original. Crime novel.
CONANT.
New York: Popular Publications, [1961]. Small octavo, cover by Barye Phillips, pictorial wrappers. First edition. Popular Library #G538. Paperback original. Crime novel. Hubin, p. 120.
THE COOL MAN.
Greenwich, CT: Fawcett Publications, Inc., [1968]. Small octavo, pictorial wrappers. First edition. Gold Medal d1890. Paperback original. Crime novel.
THE COOL MAN.
Greenwich, CT: Fawcett Publications, Inc., [1968]. Small octavo, pictorial wrappers. First edition. Gold Medal d1890. Paperback original. Crime novel. Hubin, p. 120.
GOOD-BYE CHICAGO: 1928: END OF AN ERA.
New York: St. Martin's Press, [1981]. Octavo, boards. First edition. The author's final novel. Period crime novel. Hubin, pp. 119-120.
HIGH SIERRA.
New York [and] London: Alfred A. Knopf, 1940. Octavo, pp. [1-8] [1-2] 3-292 [293: blank] [294: printer's information] [295-296: blank], original dark orange cloth, front, spine and rear stamped in gray, top edge stained red, fore edge uncut, bottom edge rough cut. First edition. Signed inscription by Burnett on the verso of the half title page: "For / Jean / sincere best / W R Burnett." This classic novel is "...in effect, the biography of Roy Earle, a fictional creation who reflects the lives of several eminent American outlaws of the 1920s and 1930s...Far from the myths created by J. Edgar Hoover's biased attitude toward the criminals of the 1930s, Burnett gives us a sad, sometimes surreal look at a true outlaw." - Pronzini and Muller, 1001 Midnights, The Aficionado's Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction, pp. 100-101. Filmed in 1941 by Raoul Walsh from a screenplay by Burnett and John Huston, starring Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart. Filmed as a Western in 1949, Colorado Territory and again in 1955 with Jack Palance as Roy Earle asI Died A Thousand Times. Hubin, pp. 119-120.
KING COLE.
New York and London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1936. Octavo, pp. [1-8] [1-2] 3-292, title page printed in orange and black, original green cloth, front and spine stamped in orange and black, fore and bottom edges rough cut. First edition. First leaf tipped in stating "This First Edition Presentation Copy is sent to you with the compliments of Red Book Magazine," in which the story first appeared. Political novel. "Somewhat timely in its subject matter -- the story of the period before an election, in which the Republican governor is up for reelection, and goes a bit Hitler in his endeavor to counterbalance his opponent's control of the farm vote. Political situation interspersed with counter plots -- his daughter is in and out of love, his son on the verge of expulsion, his own love life is in a precarious state, with scandal on the fringe. With his reelection, the personal problems fade away. Good fast business -- fairly vivid in the telling -- good entertainment for men especially. Burnett can tell a story well." - Kirkus review, 1 October, 1936. Hubin, pp. 119-120.
LITTLE MEN, BIG WORLD.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1951. Octavo, cloth. First edition. Crime and corruption in a Midwestern city. The second volume in what some consider his "urban trilogy" about the slow decline and decay of the American city, preceded by THE ASPHALT JUNGLE and followed by VANITY ROW. While not made into a feature film is was a television production on the anthology series Studio One. Hubin, p. 120.
ROUND THE CLOCK AT VOLARI'S.
Greenwich, CT: Fawcett Publications, Inc., [1961]. Small octavo, pictorial wrappers. First edition. Gold Medal #s1145. Paperback original. Crime novel.
ROUND THE CLOCK AT VOLARI'S.
Greenwich, CT: Fawcett Publications, Inc., [1961]. Small octavo, pictorial wrappers. First edition. Gold Medal #s1145. Paperback original. Crime novel. Hubin, p. 120.
THE SILVER EAGLE.
New York: Lincoln MacVeagh, The Dial Press, [1931]. Octavo, pp. [1-8] [1-2] 3-310 [311-12: blank], jacket art by John Gram, original cross hatched black cloth, front stamped in blind, spine stamped in silver. First edition. Burnett writes more about the Chicago of Little Caesar, this novel deals with racketeers and one who wants to achieve a higher social standing. An uncommon book in a dust jacket which features striking cover art. Hubin, pp. 119-120.
UNDERDOG.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1957. Octavo, cloth backed boards. First edition. Involves a political boss and murder. The "patsy" framed for murder seeks to get even. Hubin, pp. 119-120.
VANITY ROW.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1952. Octavo, cloth. First edition. Politics and big city corruption. The final volume in what some consider his "urban trilogy" about the slow decline and decay of the American city, preceded by THE ASPHALT JUNGLE and LITTLE MEN, BIG WORLD. Filmed in 1956 as "Accused of Murder." Hubin, pp. 119-120.
IT'S ALWAYS FOUR O'CLOCK.
New York: Random House, [1956]. Octavo, cloth. First edition. W.R. Burnett writing under a pseudonym. Novel of a jazz combo in L.A.