Slim Callaghan
Created by Peter Cheyney (1896-1951)

Hardboiled, bull-in-a-china-shop SLIM CALLAGHAN, prone to lying to just about anyone about just about anything, is the most famous, but not the only one of Cheyney's British eyes. He also created Nicholas Gale, Terence O'Day, Johnny Vallon and Carlyl O'Hara , and, of course, FBI agent/thug Lemmy Caution.

Slim was one tough bloke, a nasty bit of goods. Cheyney knew next to nothing about America, but he set about aping the popular American pulps of the time, with awkward and sometimes inadvertently hilarious results. To North American ears, it's all incredibly off, but he was immensely popular in the U.K., and also incredibly prolific, churning out a steady stream of books and short stories. He was generally toned down for his film appearances, although Uneasy Terms, a 1948 Britsh flick, is quite effective, with Michael Rennie as Slim, who agrees to meet a prospective client and is subsequently drugged.

SHORT STORIES

• "Account Rendered"
• "At the Grape-Vine"
• "The Big Bluff"
• "Birthday for Callaghan"
• "Black-Out"
• "Callaghan Plus Cupid"
• "The Callaghan Touch"
• "Christmas for Callaghan"
• "Dance Without Music" (possibly originally a Caryl O'Hara story)
• "The Date After Dark"
• "The Dencourt Stiletto"
• "The Disappearing Diamonds"
• "Documentary Evidence"
• "Double Alibi"
• "Fifth Column"
• "The Guess Comes Off"
• "In the Bag"
• "In the Hall"
• "It Comes Off Sometimes"
• "It Runs in the Family"
• "Lady in Love"
• "The Lady in Tears"
• "The Man with Two Wives"
• "A Matter of Cooperation"
• "The Missing Bullet"
• "Murder with a Twist"
• "On the Cards"
• "A Spot of Murder"
• "The Telephone Talks"
• "They Kidnapped Cecelia"
• "Vengeance with a Twist"
• "You Can't Trust Duchesses

NOVELS

• The Urgent Hangman (1938)
• Dangerous Curves (1939)
• You Can't Keep the Change (1940)
• It Couldn't Matter Less (1941)
• Never a Dull Moment (1942; Lemmy Caution)
• Sorry You've Been Troubled (1942)
• It Couldn't Matter Less (1943; AKA The Unscrupulous Mr. Callaghan and Set-Up for Murder)
• They Never Say When (1944)
• Uneasy Terms (1946)
• Callaghan (1973)

COLLECTIONS

• Mr. Caution-Mr. Callaghan (1941; contains 12 Callaghan stories, also features Lemmy Caution)
• Calling Mr. Callaghan (1943)
• Making Crime Pay (1944; contains 3 Callaghan stories)
• A Spot of Murder and Other Stories (1946)
• Vengeance with a Twist and Other Stories (1946)
• Dance Without Music (1945)
• Date After Dark and Other Stories (1946)
• G Man at the Yard (1953; also stories with Lemmy Caution, Alonzo MacTavish)
• The Mystery Blues and Other Stories Peter Cheyney (1954; AKA Fast Work)

FILMS

• UNEASY TERMS
  (1948, British Pathe)
  Directed by Vernon Sewell
  Starring Michael Rennie as SLIM CALLAGHAN
  Also starring Nigel Patrick, Moira Lister, Alex Bernard, Faith Brook, Clifford Buckton, Paul Carpenter, Joan Carroll, Barry Jones, Robert Moore, Marie Ney, Tony Quinn, Michael Rennie, J.H. Roberts, John Robinson, Roy Russell, Joy Shelton, Mark Stone, George Street, Sydney Tafler, Terence de Marney
  Absorbing British thriller stars Michael Rennie as a private detective who agrees to meet a prospective client and is subsequently drugged. After he wakes up, he is ordered to not take the case by the man's stepdaughter. But when his would-be customer turns up dead, Rennie finds himself thrust into an investigation packed with blackmail, murder and family infighting. With Moira Lister, Faith Brook. ... more
  Director:
  Vernon Sewell
  .
• MEET MR. CALLAGHAN
  (1954, British Eros)
  Based on the novel "The Urgent Hangman" by Peter Cheyney
  Directed by Charles Saunders
  .
• PLUS DE WHISKEY POUR CALLAGHAN
  (1954, France)
  Based on "It Couldn't Matter Less" by Peter Cheyney
  Screenplay by Xavier Vallier
  Directed by Willy Rozier
  .
• À TOI DE JOUER CALLAGHAN
  (1954, France)
  88 minutes
  Black & white/Mono
  Based on "Sorry You've Been Troubled" by Peter Cheyney
  Screenplay by Xavier Vallier
  Directed by Willy Rozier
  Starring Tony Wright as SLIM CALLAGHAN
  Also starring Martine Alexis, Robert Berri, Robert Burnier, Paul Cambo, Lysiane Rey, Colette Ripert, Yorik Royan
  .
• CALLING MR. CALLAGHAN
  (1960, Atlantis)
  According to Crime Fiction III, the existence of this film is not confirmed..
  .
• CALLAGHAN REMET ÇA
  (1960, France)
  Based on characters created by Peter Cheyney
  Screenplay by Xavier Vallier
  Directed by Willy Rozier

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.

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