The bars in his books are still pouring
Most writers leave behind a shelf. David Goodis left behind a neighborhood. When we went back to Philadelphia for the documentary, the bars he wrote about were still open — same shuffleboard table down the side wall, same regulars on the same stools, same talk. Nobody in there was performing a Goodis novel. They were just living in one.
That’s why the film goes to the rooms instead of the library. You can read Dark Passage and admire it from a distance. You sit in one of these taverns for an hour and you understand what he was actually writing down: the people the city stopped counting, still talking, still pouring.
All of it is in Retracing the Footsteps of David Goodis — restored, regraded, and free to watch right now.
It premieres live on Zoom, Friday, August 21 at 7:30pm CT — co-hosted by Lou Boxer of NoirCon, closing with a live table read of my new noir UNDERBELLY.
Two days. The man who wrote Dark Passage gets his night back.
He sold in the millions and died a name nobody could place. Dark Passage became a Bogart
Four days. One dead writer. One live night.
Friday, August 21 is the night. The restored cut of Retracing the Footsteps of David Goodis plays
The table read: UNDERBELLY, live
On Friday, August 21, the restored Goodis documentary plays — and then we keep going. Actors take