Hardboiled Detective: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun."''|'''Philip Marlowe''', ''Farewell My Lovely'' by [[Raymond Chandler]]}}
A tough, [[Deadpan Snarker|cynical]] guy with a gun and a lot of [[Street Smart
The hardboiled detective is generally a [[Knight in Sour Armor]] or even an [[Anti-Hero]] who lives in a world of [[Black and Grey Morality]]. He's a [[Private Detective]] or [[Amateur Sleuth]]
Originating in the early part of the twentieth century, hardboiled detective stories quickly became a major subgenre of [[Mystery Fiction]]. Later, they became strongly associated with [[Film Noir]]. [[Raymond Chandler]] is considered the master of the genre, but it was [[Humphrey Bogart]]'s depiction of detective Sam Spade in the 1941 film, ''[[The Maltese Falcon]]'' (based on a novel by [[Dashiell Hammett]]), that became the [[Trope Codifier]].
By the [[The Sixties|1960s]], the hardboiled detective had nearly become a [[Dead Horse Trope]], but continuing interest in [[Film Noir]] kept it from the brink of extinction. Today it is most often seen in parodies and [[Fantastic Noir|genre crossovers]] (the
See also: [[Private Detective]], [[Amateur Sleuth]], [[Film Noir]] and [[Fantastic Noir]]. Contrast with [[Great Detective]], [[Kid Detective]], and [[Little Old Lady Investigates]]. If the character simply provides first-person narration the way detectives in [[Film Noir]] often do, that's [[Private Eye Monologue]].
{{examples}}
* Gai Kurasawa, a minor character in ''[[Darker
▲== Anime And Manga ==
▲* Gai Kurasawa, a minor character in ''[[Darker Than Black]]'' is an affectionate parody of the hardboiled detective.
* On the [[Firesign Theater]]'s album, ''How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All?'', the character Nick Danger, Third Eye is a surrealist take on the trope.▼
== Comic Books ==
* Hannibal King from [[Marvel Comics]] is a [[Our Vampires Are Different|vampiric]] hardboiled detective.
▲* Hannibal King from [[Marvel Comics]] is a [[Our Vampires Are Different|vampiric]] hardboiled detective.
* Rorschach from ''[[Watchmen (comics)|Watchmen]]'' has some elements that seem like a shout-out to the trope, including the trenchcoat and fedora and the [[Private Eye Monologue]] (which is actually excerpts from his journal).
* Dr. Occult from [[The DCU]] is a hardboiled [[Occult Detective]].
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* The DC comic character ''[[Ms. Tree]]'', created by Max Allan Collins, is a relatively rare female hardboiled detective.
* Steve Ditko loved Hardboiled Detectives, and his two (very similar) characters Mr. A and [[The Question]] are objectivist takes on the Trope.
* The title character of the Spanish comic ''[[Blacksad]]'' is a hardboiled detective in the
* Nightbeat from ''[[The Transformers (
== Film ==
* ''[[The Maltese Falcon]]'' features [[Humphrey Bogart]] as Sam Spade, one of the most iconic hardboiled detectives of all time, seeking revenge for the death of his partner and hunting for a [[MacGuffin|missing statuette]].
* ''[[The Big Sleep (film)|The Big Sleep]]'' features Bogart again as detective Philip Marlowe, probably the second best known example.
* Another [[Humphrey Bogart]] example is ''[[Dirty Harry|The Enforcer]]'', where Bogie plays a hardboiled district attorney chasing gangsters. As a lawyer, he's more the [[Amateur Sleuth]] version in this one.
* A lesser known example would be the Bogart film ''[[Dead Reckoning]]''. He's actually an army man, so it's again more of an [[Amateur Sleuth]] type, but Bogart had a cool [[Private Eye Monologue]], which he didn't have in the more iconic Bogart films.
* ''Out of the Past'' is a classic [[Film Noir]] starring Robert Mitchum as a hardboiled detective trying to escape his past (no spoiler to say [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|he's unsuccessful]]).
* Jake Gittes in [[Roman Polanski]]'s ''[[Chinatown]]'' is an homage to the archetype.
* Parodied with hapless detective Rigby Reardon in the [[Steve Martin]] film, ''[[Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid]]'', which features lots of actual footage from classic [[Film Noir]] to add to the atmosphere.
* ''[[The Animatrix]]'': "The Detective's Story" stars a hardboiled detective.
* Eddie Valiant, the protagonist of ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]]'', which used appropriately parodic [[Film Noir]] atmospheric touches.
* [[H.P. Lovecraft]] in ''[[Cast a Deadly Spell]]'' is an [[Occult Detective]] who is also a perfect example of a Chandlerian detective.
* Hoyle from the surreal and cerebral Noir/SF crossover ''[[Yesterday Was a Lie]]'' is a distaff version, with fedora, trenchcoat and all, trying to find a missing scientist.
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== Literature ==
* [[Raymond Chandler]]'s [[Philip Marlowe]], protagonist of ''[[The Big Sleep (Literature)|The Big Sleep]]'', ''Farewell, My Lovely'', and other novels, is an iconic and much-copied example.
* [[Dashiell Hammett]] has several, most notably, Sam Spade in ''[[The Maltese Falcon]]'', as well as the recurring, nameless character called "The Continental Op".
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** Stout had another, much smaller and less popular series starring Tecumseh Fox, who was much more the straight hard-boiled type.
* Mickey Spillane's ''[[Mike Hammer]]'' was an early, over-the-top, ultraviolent, [[Knight Templar]] example who is often credited with helping turn the genre into a parody of itself.
* ''[[Garrett P.I.]]'' is the
* [[Neil Gaiman]] wrote some short stories featuring [[Lawrence Talbot]], the Wolfman, as a hardboiled private investigator. "Only the End of the World Again" is one.
* The [[Marcus Didius Falco]] series starts out as the hardboiled detective [[Recycled in Space|Recycled In]] [[Ancient Rome]] (though he mellows as the series goes on). Living centuries before Noir was invented makes him amusingly [[Genre Blind]].
* Harry Dresden from ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' is part this, part [[Sherlock Holmes]] (showing surprising deductive skills on occasion, to nigh [[Sherlock Scan]] levels), part [[The Lord of the Rings|Gandalf]].
** With emphasis on the world weariness by around book 3. The snark continues unabated.
* [[Invoked Trope|Invoked]] by Vincent Rubio in ''[[Anonymous Rex]]''. He's a
* Sara Paretsky's [[VI Warshawski]] is a distaff version of the (usually) male hardboiled detective.
* Lazlo Woodbine, from the [[Far Fetched Fiction]] of [[Robert Rankin]], is a blatant parody. He insists on using the first person, getting knocked unconscious at his first appearance and can only appear in four scenes (his office, a bar, an alleyway and a rooftop). Considering the outlandish nature of his books, often involving things such as [[Time Travel|time-traveling]] Elvis doing battle with [[Eldritch Abominations]] out to unmake existence, this makes things awkward.
* Eddie Valiant from ''[[Who Censored Roger Rabbit?
* Conrad Metcalf, the protagonist of Jonathan Lethem's ''Gun, With Occasional Music'' is a hard-boiled detective in a world that doesn't really have a use for them anymore.
* Kinsey Milhone from Sue Grafton's "alphabet mysteries" is another example of a female hard-boiled detective.
== Live
* The 1980s TV adaption of ''[[Mike Hammer]]'' is either a straight example or a parody, depending on who you ask.
* ''[[Spenser For Hire]]'' was a rarity; a
* Michael Garibaldi of ''[[Babylon 5]]'' has flashes of this from time to time. Picked up, bizarrely enough, by G'Kar of all people.
* In ''[[Star Trek: The
* Parodied in the [[PBS Kids]]' show, ''[[Between the Lions]]'', which had a recurring skit featuring "Sam Spud, [[Incredibly Lame Pun|parboiled potato]] detective".
* ''[[The Electric Company]]'''s [[Punny Name|Fargo North, Decoder]] was as hard boiled as a kid's show could show.
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* In a [[Storybook Episode]] of ''[[Fringe]]'', Walter casts Olivia as this.
* [[Magnum, P.I.]] has the [[Private Eye Monologue|voice over]] and cynicism, but wears loud hawaiian shirts instead of a trenchcoat,
** [[Magnum, P.I.]]: is a crossover between hardboiled and cozy but it is mostly hardboiled. Magnum is a character more typical of hardboiled. While he isn't cynical per se, he depends a lot on his street smarts. Moreover the setting often includes sorties into the more [[Wretched Hive|vice ridden]] parts of Honolulu. On the other hand, Magnum has a standing room-and-board contract as a security agent for a rich playboy, and mingles with the upper class regularly. Furthermore some episodes resemble cozies more then hardboileds.
== Newspaper Comics ==
* In ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'', Calvin's imaginary alter-ego, Tracer Bullet, is a pure parody of the hardboiled detective.
{{quote|
== Radio ==
* On ''[[A Prairie Home Companion]]'', the character of Guy Noir is an example.
== Recorded
▲* On the [[Firesign Theater]]'s album, ''How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All?'', the character Nick Danger, Third Eye is a surrealist take on the trope.
* In addition to the [[Neil Gaiman]] example above, [[Lawrence Talbot]] also headined a short-lived webcomic in this vein, complete with trenchcoat, fedora, and [[Private Eye Monologue]]. ▼
* Parodied in ''[[Problem Sleuth]]'', where the main characters think they are this, and occasionally do things like practice their hardboiled monologues or are drawn in [[Chiaroscuro]]. From the reader's perspective, they act more like unspeakably, unspeakably silly [[Eastern RPG]] characters.▼
* ''[[Muktuk Wolfsbreath, Hard-Boiled Shaman]]'' is based on "the realization that shamans were kind of like detectives".▼
== Video Games ==
* Richmond from ''[[Suikoden II]]'' is an homage to the classic noir version.
* [[Tex Murphy]] from the ''Tex Murphy''/''Mean Streets'' series of noir/thriller video games is an [[Affectionate Parody]] of the genre.
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* [[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney|Tyrell Badd's]] appearance and demeanor are intended to evoke the hardboiled detective image. He has a bullethole-riddled trenchcoat, [[Perma-Stubble]], a gruff and cynical attitude, and his color scheme is [[Deliberately Monochrome]]. However, he works for the actual police {{spoiler|when he's not moonlighting as a [[Phantom Thief]].}}
==
▲* In addition to the [[Neil Gaiman]] example above, [[Lawrence Talbot]] also headined a short-lived webcomic in this vein, complete with trenchcoat, fedora, and [[Private Eye Monologue]].
▲* Parodied in ''[[Problem Sleuth]]'', where the main characters think they are this, and occasionally do things like practice their hardboiled monologues or are drawn in [[Chiaroscuro]]. From the reader's perspective, they act more like unspeakably, unspeakably silly [[Eastern RPG]] characters.
▲* ''[[Muktuk Wolfsbreath, Hard-Boiled Shaman]]'' is based on "the realization that shamans were kind of like detectives".
* ''[[Girl Genius]]'' [[Bonus Material|side story]]/[[Noir Episode]] "Ivo Sharktooth, P.J." — a private ''Jäger'' investigator (he's permanently in reserve because he "ain't much ov a team player dese days").
{{quote|'''Agatha''': About Sharktooth… he didn't really ''investigate'' much, ''did'' he? He mostly just walked around and caused trouble.
'''Vanamonde''': Well, he isn't a private ''investigator'', he's a private ''[[Boisterous Bruiser|Jäger]]''.
'''Agatha''': Oh. I ''see''.}}
== Western Animation ==
* ''[[The Fairly
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