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James Cagney in a James M. Cain broadcast of Suspense: "Loves Lovely Counterfeit" from 1948

"Probably you haven't known any tough boys personally, but you've read about them and heard about them.  And high caliber actors like James Cagney have made them live for you on the screen ..." Written by James M. Cain and performed by James Cagney , enjoy this Suspense radio noir broadcast from Jan 17, 1948:

July 1: Happy Birthday, James M. Cain

Fans of old-time radio have no doubt enjoyed adaptations of the gritty fiction of James M. Cain . Cain, whose 1892 birthday we commemorate today, wrote Mildred Pierce, Double Indemnity, and The Postman Always Rings Twice. These classics were adapted into bracing radio dramas by such programs as Screen Guild Theater and Lux Radio Theater .  Cain was a tough customer whose contribution to the "hard-boiled" noir genre was a bit different from those of writers like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler , since he wrote about the criminal rather than the detective. He also explored human depravity, applying keen psychological insight. He was drawn to the unsympathetic character and often featured one manipulative criminal seducing another into a web of evil. No wonder radio producers were drawn to his work. We salute, thee,  James M. Cain .