The Great Merlini
Encyclopedia
The Great Merlini is a fictional detective
created by Clayton Rawson
. He is a professional magician who appears in four locked room
or impossible crime novel
s written in the late 1930s and early 1940s, as well as in a few short stories
.
"His chronicler, free-lance writer Ross Harte, notes that Merlini hates the New York City subway system, beer, inactivity, opera, golf, and sleep. He is, on the other hand, highly partial to surf bathing, table tennis, puzzles, circuses, and Times Square, where he operates a magic shop. Merlini's friendly rival is Inspector Homer Gavigan of Homicide, an intelligent man who is, nonetheless, amazed by the magician's feats."
At least two movies were made based on the Merlini books. One of them, Miracles for Sale
(1939), was based on Death from a Top Hat but had no character named Merlini—instead, Robert Young
played "The Great Morgan". The 1942 movie The Man Who Wouldn't Die, starring Lloyd Nolan
, was based on No Coffin for the Corpse, but the Merlini character was replaced by Michael Shayne
, a popular fictional private eye at the time, created by the writer Brett Halliday
. Merlini was shown in a brief segment where he advises Shayne, and was played by Charles Irwin.
A 30-minute pilot for a television series was created in 1951, but no further episodes were made. The Transparent Man, written by Rawson, starred Jerome Thor as The Great Merlini—who in this incarnation was a stage magician—with Barbara Cook
as his assistant Julie and featuring E.G. Marshall as a criminal.
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
created by Clayton Rawson
Clayton Rawson
Clayton Rawson was an American mystery writer, editor, and amateur magician. His four novels frequently invoke his great knowledge of stage magic and feature as their fictional detective The Great Merlini, a professional magician who runs a shop selling magic supplies...
. He is a professional magician who appears in four locked room
Locked room mystery
The locked room mystery is a sub-genre of detective fiction in which a crime—almost always murder—is committed under apparently impossible circumstances. The crime in question typically involves a crime scene that no intruder could have entered or left, e.g., a locked room...
or impossible crime novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s written in the late 1930s and early 1940s, as well as in a few short stories
Short Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
.
"His chronicler, free-lance writer Ross Harte, notes that Merlini hates the New York City subway system, beer, inactivity, opera, golf, and sleep. He is, on the other hand, highly partial to surf bathing, table tennis, puzzles, circuses, and Times Square, where he operates a magic shop. Merlini's friendly rival is Inspector Homer Gavigan of Homicide, an intelligent man who is, nonetheless, amazed by the magician's feats."
At least two movies were made based on the Merlini books. One of them, Miracles for Sale
Miracles for Sale
Miracles for Sale is a 1939 mystery film directed by Tod Browning and starring Robert Young and Florence Rice. It was Browning's final film as a director. The film is based on a locked-room mystery novel by well-known mystery writer Clayton Rawson, Death from a Top Hat, which was the first to...
(1939), was based on Death from a Top Hat but had no character named Merlini—instead, Robert Young
Robert Young (actor)
Robert George Young was an American television, film, and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father of Father Knows Best and as physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. .-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Young was the son of an Irish immigrant father...
played "The Great Morgan". The 1942 movie The Man Who Wouldn't Die, starring Lloyd Nolan
Lloyd Nolan
Lloyd Benedict Nolan was an American film and television actor.-Biography:Nolan was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Margaret and James Nolan, who was a shoe manufacturer...
, was based on No Coffin for the Corpse, but the Merlini character was replaced by Michael Shayne
Michael Shayne
Michael Shayne is a fictional private detective character created during the late 1930s by writer Brett Halliday. It was the title of a series of 12 films starring Lloyd Nolan, a radio series under a variety of names, between 1944 and 1953, and later in 1960-1961, a 32 episode NBC television series...
, a popular fictional private eye at the time, created by the writer Brett Halliday
Brett Halliday
Brett Halliday , primary pen name of Davis Dresser, was an American mystery writer, best known for the long-lived series of Michael Shayne novels he wrote, and later commissioned others to write...
. Merlini was shown in a brief segment where he advises Shayne, and was played by Charles Irwin.
A 30-minute pilot for a television series was created in 1951, but no further episodes were made. The Transparent Man, written by Rawson, starred Jerome Thor as The Great Merlini—who in this incarnation was a stage magician—with Barbara Cook
Barbara Cook
Barbara Cook is an American singer and actress who first came to prominence in the 1950s after starring in the original Broadway musicals Candide and The Music Man among others, winning a Tony Award for the latter...
as his assistant Julie and featuring E.G. Marshall as a criminal.
Novels
- Death from a Top HatDeath from a Top HatDeath from a Top Hat is a locked-room mystery novel written by Clayton Rawson.It is the first of four mysteries featuring The Great Merlini, a stage magician and Rawson's favorite protagonist....
- The Footprints on the CeilingThe Footprints on the CeilingThe Footprints on the Ceiling is a locked-room mystery novel written by Clayton Rawson.It is the second of four mysteries featuring The Great Merlini, a stage magician and Rawson's favorite protagonist.-Plot summary:...
- The Headless LadyThe Headless LadyThe Headless Lady is a whodunnit mystery novel written by Clayton Rawson. A character in the novel, a detective story writer named Stuart Towne, has the same name as a pen name of Rawson...
- No Coffin for the CorpseNo Coffin for the CorpseNo Coffin for the Corpse is a whodunnit mystery novel written by Clayton Rawson.It is the last of four mysteries featuring The Great Merlini, a stage magician and Rawson's favorite protagonist.-Plot summary:...