The covers were lurid. The books were scripture.
“Who was this mysterious… ghostly… killer?” That’s the promise screaming off the front of a Gold Medal paperback — a quarter’s worth of trash, a lurid dame, a smoking gun. But open the cover and you got David Goodis: doomed men, cheap rooms, and a tenderness the marketing never dared mention. The covers promised pulp. The books delivered scripture.
For the restoration of my Goodis documentary we rescanned the real covers — the actual printed artifacts, not blurry web grabs. The color, the grain, the come-on typography, all of it back the way it hit a drugstore rack in 1953. They’ve never looked this good on a screen.
The full film is streaming free on Vimeo 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 Ed’s new noir UNDERBELLY.
Watch the restored film free on Vimeo →
Live premiere: Friday, August 21 — 7:30 PM Central / 8:30 PM Eastern. Grab a seat → Zoom sends your personal join link.
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