Cliff Hardy
Created by Peter Corris

One of the more solid and stand-up private eye series to come out of the 1980's features Sydney, Australia P.I. CLIFF HARDY. Cliff's a tall bloke, pretty fair shape, with a nose that's been busted a few times. He's been at various times a boxer, a soldier (in Malaysia), a timber worker and an insurance investigator. He's a tough-minded guy, with a strong independant streak, one reason he didn't last in the insurance racket. He's been known to carry a Smith & Wesson .38, all nice and legal, and occasionally a Colt .45, that isn't, and he isn't a stranger to a bit of knocking about, either giving or receiving. Basically, he's a "cold bastard. Good at his job though." He's appeared in at least a two dozen novels, and several collections of short stories and as far as I know, Corris is still cranking them out. There was even that rarity of things -- a good PI movie -- made from one of them.

In many ways, Cliff's a throwback to an earlier, simpler time. Imagine a slightly shopworn Joe Mannix down under and you've got Cliff pegged.

He lives in the slightly seedy Glebe neighbourhood near the dog track and works out of an office with dirty windows on St. Peter's Lane in the slightly lmore upscale Darlinghurst area, next to Primo Tomasetti, Cliff's tatooist pal. Cliff was married once about "a lifetime ago," and he's currently involved in a rather weird little six months on/six months off relationship with Helen, a married woman. He likes tennis, beer and white wine, but detests tea. He is, however, rather partial to Ford Falcons. When his battered, rust-ridden but beloved 1964 model finally gave up the ghost in the late eighties, he replaced it with a used 84 model, same colour, less miles, less rust. In many ways, Cliff is like his beloved Falcons. Nothing fancy, but solid and dependable, a few too many miles on the clock, maybe, but still able to get you there.

And the whole series is like that as well -- nothing flashy, but good reliable reads, well-written, with an appealling, down-to-earth hero, pulpy without being stoopid, and some very interesting settings and keen insights into Australian culture. A wonderful contribution to the genre.

All of which helped make Cliff's one screen appearance to date, 1985's The Empty Beach, starring a then-unknown Bryan Brown, such a treat. It's an entertaining, enjoyable low-key Aussie film, with Brown playing a sardonic, battered Hardy on the trail of a missing millionaire, and some great twists, an unusual ending and plenty of action. Hardy's creator, Peter Corris, lent his leather jacket to Brown for the film.

Australian author Peter Corris is a former academic and journalist who's been a full-time writer since 1982. He has published over fifty books of fiction and more than a dozen non-fiction titles. Corris writes about another Australian detective, one Richard Bowning, who plies his trade in the 1940's. Corris also writes about Australian Federal Security agent Ray "Creepy" Crawley and Luke Dunlop, an agent for the Witness Protection Agency in Australia.

For those of you who like their private eye fiction straight up, and aren't afraid to cross borders, you can't really go wrong with the Hardy books. It's a solid, entertaining and never disappointing series. Recommended hardily.

UNDER OATH

• "A true original Corris's portrayals of Australian crime stand out uniquely - forceful, hard-driven, compassionate."
  (James Ellroy)
  .
• "Our best tough guy is Peter Corris What distinguishes a good Cliff Hardy is a mix of interest in the Sydney dirt being dished, strong focus, palpable visuals and grudging empathy with the battered, warped but crazily ethical Hardy take on life and people.
  (The Bulletin)
  .
• "Corris is one of our great storytellers."
  (The Sydney Morning Herald)
  .
• "If Corris does not quite have the comedic chops of a Robert B. Parker or a Robert Crais, he more than compensates by restoring the dramatic tension of a hero who is truly a lone knight, who can be hurt, even killed, and who has no one he can really trust. This is good stuff, in a classic vein.  Read him. Grade: A."
  (The Brothers Judd: Private Eye Reviews)

NOVELS

• The Dying Trade (1980) ...Buy this book
• White Meat (1981)...Buy this book
• The Marvelous Boy (1982)
• The Empty Beach (1983)
• Make Me Rich (1985)...Buy this book
• Deal Me Out (1986)
• The Greenwich Apartments (1986)
• The January Zone (1987)
• O'Fear (1990)
• Wet Graves (1991)
• Aftershock (1992)....Buy this book
• Beware of the Dog (1992)
• Matrimonial Causes (1993) ...Buy this book
• Casino (1994)
• The Washington Club (1997)
• The Reward (1998)
• The Washington Club (1998)...Buy this book
• The Black Prince (1999)
• The Other Side of Sorrow (1999)
• Lugarno (2001)
• Salt And Blood (2002)
• Master's Mates (2003) ...Buy this book
• The Coast Road (2004)...Buy this book
• Saving Billie (2005)...Buy this book
• The Undertow (2006)...Buy this book
• Appeal Denied (2007)
• Open File (2008)

COLLECTIONS

• Heroin Annie (1984) ...Buy this book
• The Big Drop and Other Cliff Hardy Stories (1985)...Buy this book
• Man in the Shadows and Other Stories (1988)
• Burn and Other Stories (1993)
• Forget Me If You Can (1997)
• Taking Care of Business (2004)...Buy this book
• The Big Score (2007)

SHORT STORIES
(By the way, the Playboy and Penthouse sources mentioned below are the Australian editions.)

• "Blood Is Thicker" (November 1980, Playboy; also 1984, Heroin Annie; AKA The Fraticide Caper)
• "The Luck of Clem Carter" (December 1980, National Times; also 1984, Heroin Annie)
• "Silverman" (National Times; also 1984, Heroin Annie)
• "Mother's Boy" (January 1981, National Times; also 1984, Heroin Annie)
• "Marriages Are Made in Heaven" (January 1982, Penthouse; also 1984, 1984, Heroin Annie; AKA The Negative Caper)
• "Heroin Annie" (June 1981, Playboy; also 1984, Heroin Annie)
• "Escort To An Easy Death" (June 1982, Penthouse; also 1984, Heroin Annie)
• "California Dreamland" (1983, Playboy; also 1984, Heroin Annie)
• "Stockyards at Jerilderie" (1984, Heroin Annie)
• "Man's Best Friend" (1984, Heroin Annie)
• "The Big Drop" (1985, The Big Drop)
• "P.I. Blues" (1985, The Big Drop)
• "The Arms of the Law" (1985, The Big Drop)
• "Tearaway" (1985, The Big Drop)
• "What Would You Do?" (1985, The Big Drop)
• "The Mongrol" (1985, The Big Drop)
• "The Mae West Scam" (1985, The Big Drop)
• "Rhythm Track" (1985, The Big Drop)
• "The Big Pinch" (1985, The Big Drop)
• "Maltese Falcon" (1985, The Big Drop)
• "Cloudburst" (Penthouse-Australia; also 1988, Man in the Shadows)
• "High Integrity" (Penthouse-Australia; also 1988, Man in the Shadows)
• "The Deserter" (Penthouse-Australia; also 1988, Man in the Shadows)
• "Byron Kelly's Big Mistake" (Sydney Morning Herald-Good Weekend; also 1988, Man in the Shadows)
• "Norman Mailer's Christmas" (Sydney Morning Herald; also 1988, Man in the Shadows)
• "Man in the Shadows" (1988)
• "The House of Ruby" (October 1990, Mean Streets)
• "A Gift Horse" (2004, Taking Care of Business)
• "Death Threat" (2004, Taking Care of Business)
• "Whatever it Takes" (2004, Taking Care of Business)
• "The Pearl" (2004, Taking Care of Business)
• "Solomon’s Solutions" (2004, Taking Care of Business)
• "Cocktails for Two" (2004, Taking Care of Business)
• "Black Andy" (2004, Taking Care of Business)
• "Globilisation" (2004, Taking Care of Business)
• "Christmas Shopping" (2004, Taking Care of Business)
• "Insider" (2004, Taking Care of Business)
• "Chop Chop" (2004, Taking Care of Business)
• "Ram Raid" (2007, The Big Score)
• "Copper Nails" (2007, The Big Score)
• "D-i-v-o-r-c-e" (2007, The Big Score)
• "Crime Writing" (2007, The Big Score)
• "Blackmail" (2007, The Big Score)
• "Last Will and Testament" (2007, The Big Score)
• "Break Point" (2007, The Big Score)
• "Worst Case Scenario" (2007, The Big Score)
• "Bookworm" (2007, The Big Score)
• "Patriotism" (2007, The Big Score)

FILM

• THE EMPTY BEACH... Buy this video
  (1985, Jethro Films)
  85 minutes
  Screenplay by Keith Dewhurst, based on the novel by Peter Corris
  Director: Chris Thomson
  Producer: Timothy Read and John Edwards
  Associate producer: Bryan Brown
  Executive Producer: Bob Weis
  Title Song "The Empty Beach" written by Don Walker, performed by Marc Hunter
  Starring Bryan Brown as CLIFF HARDY
  Also starring Anna Maria Monticelli, John Wood, Nick Tate, Ray Barrett, Belinda Giblin, Peter Collingwood, Kerry Mack, Joss McWilliam, Sally Cooper, Rhys McConnochie, Steve Rackman, Robert Alexander, Bob Barrett, Christopher Lewis

AUDIO TAPES

• The Greenwich Apartments. (ABC Audio, Nd., read by Peter Corris)

RELATED LINKS

• The Peter Corris Homepage
  
  
• They Come From Lands Down Under
  Eyes at Work in Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand

Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.

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