Quotes by : Francis M. Nevins Jr.

In Woolrich's crime fiction there is a gradual development from pulp to noir. The earlier a story, the....

This may not be art as art commonly goes; the lack of discipline, of control, would seem to rule it out....

But suspense presupposes uncertainty. No matter how nightmarish the situation, real suspense is impossible....

Woolrich had a genius for creating types of story perfectly consonant with his world: the noir cop story,....

The hallmarks of the noir style are fear, guilt and loneliness, breakdown and despair, sexual obsession....

The viewpoint character in each story is usually someone trapped in a living nightmare, but this doesn't....