Paul Cain
Paul Cain, born George Carrol Sims in 1902 in Des Moines, Iowa, was a notable American writer best known for his hard-boiled detective fiction. He gained prominence in the early 1930s for his contributions to the pulp magazine Black Mask, where he crafted gritty stories that often blurred the lines between good and evil. Cain's most famous work, the novel *Fast One* (1933), features a violent anti-hero named Gerry Kells and is recognized for its raw portrayal of crime and moral ambiguity. His writing style is characterized by sharp dialogue and a focus on the darker aspects of urban life, particularly in Los Angeles, where he set many of his stories.
In addition to his literary career, Cain ventured into screenwriting under the pseudonym Peter Ruric, contributing to several films in the horror and gangster genres during the 1930s and 1940s. Despite his struggles with alcoholism, which impacted his writing output, he left a lasting legacy in both literature and film. Later in life, Cain lived in Europe and wrote food articles for Gourmet magazine. He passed away in Los Angeles on June 23, 1966, leaving behind a complex body of work that continues to influence crime fiction.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Paul Cain
Writer
- Born: May 30, 1902
- Birthplace: Des Moines, Iowa
- Died: June 23, 1966
- Place of death: Los Angeles, California
Biography
Paul Cain was born George Carrol Sims in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1902. He grew up in the tough areas of Chicago, but he would earn fame (at least for a time) for his hard-boiled novels about the tough life in another city—Los Angeles.
For several years in the early 1930’s, Cain wrote short fiction for the Black Mask. In his stories of gangsters, corruption, booze, and guns, the good guys are hard to tell from the bad guys. One of his good guys is Black—no first name, just Black. Another good guy appeared in a series of short stories that eventually made its way into a novel, Fast One (1933). The detective in these stories is a gambler and gunman named Gerry Kells, whose girlfriend Granquist (no first name) is a dipsomaniac, supposedly modeled after actress Gertrude Michael, who was Cain’s lover during the time the stories were written. One critic called the book the “edgiest pulp novel ever written;” the Saturday Review of Literature called it “the hardest boiled yarn of a decade.” In the novel, Kells is involved in many shootings, including five within one thirty-two-hour period. Everyone in the novel is capable of being violent, even the hero.
Cain was a heavy drinker, a situation that may have shortened his novel writing career. Despite the drink, he became a screen writer of horror thrillers, gangster movies, and adaptations under the name Peter Ruric. He worked on several films in the 1930’s and 1940’s, including Gambling Ship (1933),The Black Cat (1934),Jericho (1937), Twelve Crowded Hours (1939), Grand Central Murder (1942), and Alias a Gentleman (1948). He also worked on a rewrite of a French story called Mademoiselle Fifi (1944).
At the end of his life, Cain lived in Spain and France for a time. He wrote articles about food for Gourmet magazine in the 1950’s. Cain died in Los Angeles on June 23, 1966.