Reconsidering Travis McGee

Somehow, I have gone through my crime fiction reading career without really reading a John D. MacDonald novel. I know I picked up one of the Travis McGee books a million years ago but - for whatever reason - I didn't care for it. This is a gap I need to fill, and soon, if only because I'm curious how I would consider the 21-book series through contemporary filtration via Travis's literary descendants.

Clearly, MacDonald and his most famous creation are on the minds of others, if Scott Timberg's LA Times piece last weekend is anything to judge by. The pretext is a tad flimsy - Amy Robinson, who produced Martin Scorsese's sorely underrated 1985 movie AFTER HOURS, is trying to get THE DEEP BLUE GOOD-BY made for Fox, even though the project "is not greenlighted and there is no director or talent attached" - but the thrust is more substantive: why hasn't Travis made it to the movies in a real way (Sam Elliot's 1983 turn doesn't really count; Rod Taylor's earlier stint is long-forgotten) when clearly, he has the goods to be a viable franchise? 

Well, maybe this part of the article is answer enough:

Lovers of the books are most concerned, of course, with who will play McGee himself. The Internet has included speculation that Robert Downey Jr., fresh off his portrayal of the upcoming "Sherlock Holmes," might take on the role. Ideally, the actor would have to be young enough to hold on for a franchise that could run for close to a decade.

"I'd like to see someone like Daniel Craig," said Penzler. "A real man, macho, someone with swagger, or a young Russell Crowe. A young Harrison Ford. Not Tom Cruise or someone like that. If they get the right guy, there'll be five or six of them."

Robinson, who herself played Teresa in Scorsese's "Mean Streets," won't name any actor, past or present, who reminds her of the burly Floridian. "You want someone who's masculine and intelligent," she says. "A man's man, a man who loves women but doesn't mind being by himself. He's kind of a classic movie character."

Quick, name an actor under the age of 40 who fits the bill. Daniel Craig is 41; Clive Owen is 45. Shia LeBouf is too young and he hardly made a convincing case as Indiana Jones' son. Christian Bale is Batman, even when he's not. Matthew McConaughey tried to be Dirk Pitt and that didn't exactly work out so great. Masculine and intelligent men have been selected against in Hollywood; else why it's been awfully difficult to bring a more recent example of masculine thriller archetype, Jack Reacher, to the screen (or why there haven't been too many whispers of reviving Parker for the movies, but maybe my hearing isn't so hot out here in NYC.) 

That doesn't mean Robinson & company shouldn't try, just that, as George Diskant, literary agent for the MacDonald estate, said: "It's the movie business. Even with material like this, it's difficult to get it made. A lot of things have to come together."

Comments

[Cullen Gallagher]

If you can track down a copy of JDM's "Cry Hard Cry Fast" you might give it a shot. An early stand-alone novel of his.

[Wallace Stroby]

What they need is a young Sterling Hayden, if there's anyone out there that fits that bill. But there really isn't, is there?

[Dana King]

A young Sterling Hayden would be perfect. A young, slimmed down Brian Dennehy, too. They'll have to take a chance with a relative unknown, like the Bond franchise did with Sean Connery in the 60s. I'd tell you who that should be, but he's unknown.

Vin Diesel could almost be Jack Reacher. Almost.

[Patti Abbott]

Ed Norton. Woefully underused.

[Howard Shrier]

I loved the Travis McGee series and read them all in the seventies and early eighties. MacDonald was true pro, and his portrayal of the greedy, seamy side of Florida rivals that of Carl Hiassen at his best. Rereading them now, though, there's one hurdle a producer and screenwriter would have to get around, in addition to casting McGee, and that's the incredibly dated take on women and their place in the world: they are often portrayed as wounded birds to be healed (often by simply taking them to bed) or playthings for McGee's marina crowd. Not too far from Austin Powers, in other words.

[Steve Ulfelder]

The best McGee on screen was ... James Garner in "The Rockford Files." (Lauderdale becomes LA; the Busted Flush becomes a trailer by the bay.) Today's metrobeta movie boys don't stand a chance. Maybe, just maybe, Joaquin Phoenix could pull it off - but I think he would play it too dark, without the saving wit.

[Rob Staeger]

I was thinking Guy Pearce could do the job, but he's 42 now. Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice) just crossed the line, too. Still too weeks left on Simon Baker (The Mentalist), who's admittedly pretty, but I suspect could probably do a fine job.

[Rob Staeger]

Oh, and Howard's absolutely right regarding the books' treatment of women.

[Richard Bush]

Travis McGee, with his color coded adventures, was my main man. The void left by John D's death has never been filled for me. Elmore Leonard has come close, but still a second banana. There ain't any whipper snappers out there capable of carrying Travis McGee's jock strap. IMHO. Anyway--

[john c. ford]

Just another reason to mourn the loss of Heath Ledger . . .

[Patrick]

I'm not sure why McGee needs to be under 40. I always envisioned him as in his early 40s anyway. I'd love to see this movie get to the screen.

[J.D. Rhoades]

I'm with Patrick in seeing McGee as in his early 40's at least. No one under 40 can pull off that much melancholy without looking silly.

I'd suggest Viggo Mortenson, but I'm saving him for Jack Keller.

[Cameron Hughes]

Jon Hamm, and hey he already plays a type of McGee on Tv, Jeffrey Donovan.

[Brad Parks]

Sarah, it takes you, what, eight minutes to read a book, and yet you've never read perhaps the greatest crime writer ever? Unbelievable. Do yourself a favor: slow down and alot yourself at least 10 minutes to enjoy John D. He does character and place so well, the rest of it almost doesn't matter. (And, yeah, his views about women are totally antiquated... so were my grandpa's, but I still loved him, you know?)

[David Thayer]

Sarah, you might enjoy DARKER THAN AMBER one of the early Travis stories.

[D. Riley]

Ten years ago George Clooney might have made a good Travis McGee. I agree that DARKER THAN AMBER is a great book to start with--the first one I read. It was the opening line that got me: "We were about to give up and call it a night when somebody threw the girl off the bridge."

[Dan]

I had heard that the 'Harry O' TV series with David Janssen was based on the Travis McGee character. I thought it did capture the feel of the books somewhat, especially the first dozen or so episodes that were filmed in San Diego

[Joe Guglielmelli]

You have to admire Amy Robinson's dedication to this project. She bought every last copy of The Deep Blue Goodbye we had at Black Orchid and we have been gone almost almost two years.

MacDonald was interesting because while never sneering at the paperback original formula of the day (McKee slept with almost 200 women in the novels; an old Q&A mystery quizbook commisioned by the NY public library lists all their names), he was able to write about subjects that mattered to him. Almost every modern Florida author who writes about the political and moral corruption that has resulted in the destruction of that state's environment acknowledges that JDM was the first to do so.

Also McKee continued to grow as a character; look at the fifth in the series A Deadly Shade of Gold in particular.

[Colleen]

I'm chiming in a little late here but I agree with everyone else who says that Travis was in his 40s - I think he would be fine that age. And yes, to the mention of Jim Rockford - there was certainly some McGee in him.

My brother and I were huge fans (we grew up in FL) and read all of the books many times - I still return to them. When I was in college we drove down to Lauderdale to Bahia Mar and visited Slip 1-17 (I think that's it). There was a plaque that stated it was left on permanent reserve for The Busted Flush. This was kind of an urban legend in FL back then (the late 80s) so we were thrilled to see it was true. I wonder if it's still open today.

The best thing about the McGee books though was how well MacDonald captured FL. If you are know the state and the people then you know how perfect those books were (and continue to be).

[Anthony THompson]

As Howard Shrier stated, Travis McGee suffers from a late-20th-century kind of machismo; but the real point is that JDM could flat out write. Book after book is filled with vivid scenes. They are superb reads for that alone. And plenty of mystery writers could learn something about plot an pacing from JMD. You could teach a writing class with a pile of his books and nothing else.