The Late Show and Other Tales of Celluloid Malice, my next collection of short stories will be out sometime in the first half of 2020. No hard date yet for the release, but I thought I’d share the book cover for now. More information will be coming soon on JohnGrecoAuthor Blog.
After recently watching James Cagney in the 1931 film, The Public Enemy, I was inspired to begin work on a new short story. It was one of the film’s most famous scenes and lines uttered by the actor that caught my attention. Badly shot after a shootout, Cagney as Tom Powers, comes out of a storefront carrying two guns. He staggers down a rainy dark street. Just before dying and falling to the ground, he mumbles his famous line, “I ain’t so tough.”
My story deals with a small time local hood on the run from the cops, after catching his girlfriend in bed with another guy, and shooting them both. At this point in time those famous last words are the title of my story, but that could change as the tales evolves. Inspiration can come from anywhere.
Below is the famous scene from The Public Enemy.
Twenty Four Frames 