George Carroll Sims (May 30, 1902 – June 23, 1966), better known by his pen names Paul Cain and Peter Ruric, was an American pulp fiction author and screenwriter.[1] He is best known for his novel Fast One, which is considered to be a landmark of the pulp fiction genre and was called the "high point in the ultra hard-boiled manner" by Raymond Chandler.[2][3]
George Carroll Sims | |
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Born | (1902-05-30)May 30, 1902 Des Moines, Iowa |
Died | June 23, 1966(1966-06-23) (aged 64) North Hollywood, California |
Pen name | Paul Cain, Peter Ruric |
Occupation |
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Nationality | American |
Genre | Crime fiction, mystery fiction |
Notable works | Fast One (1949) |
Sims enjoyed a brief career in Hollywood as a screenwriter during the 1930s, including writing the screenplay for the Boris Karloff vehicle The Black Cat.[2] He died in North Hollywood in 1966.
Sims moved to Los Angeles in 1918 and began working as a screenwriter in 1923. Black Mask first published Fast One as five novelettes in 1932. It was then published in book form by Doubleday in 1933.[4] The New York Times described it as “a ceaseless welter of bloodshed and frenzy, a sustained bedlam of killing and fiendishness, told in terse staccato style . . .”[5] Sims wrote a total of 17 stories for Black Mask. He left the magazine when editor Joseph Shaw was fired in 1936. Additionally, Sims had stories published in Detective Fiction Weekly and Star Detective Magazine, and several articles in Gourmet. In 1946, a paperback collection of his best stories called Seven Slayers was published by Saint Enterprises. Sims wanted to change his listed name to Ruric but the publisher insisted on sticking with the name Cain.[6]
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