How an introduction to the overlooked crime writer Frederick Nebel, who gives Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett a run for their money. Nebel inspired me to explore crime fiction, which led to my new crime screenplay, The Gods Demand Blood.

Fans of crime fiction know many of the works of the great authors by heart: Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep, for example. But few remember another one of the great, and I think overlooked, pulp crime writers. Frederick Nebel (1903-1967) wrote stories for the leading pulp magazines, including Black Mask, which gave Chandler and Hammett their starts as writers. Unlike those two greats, however, Nebel focused on the short story form, rather than the novel (though he published three), which gave him less exposure to a wide audience.

I was introduced to Nebel via an audiobook, The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps. Edited by Otto Penzler, the book included Nebel’s stories featuring Police Captain Steve MacBride and newspaper reporter Kennedy. (Nebel never gave Kennedy a first name.) Nebel split the wisecracking private eye trope into two characters: Kennedy delivered the wisecracks, while MacBride fought the criminals. The result, in MacBride’s case, is a character who is power stripped bare. He delivers what Nebel calls “raw law,” a justice that almost adheres to the rules, and frequently transgresses them. But it’s never in service to MacBride’s ego, only to the community and the ideals of order he’s sworn to uphold.

Nebel’s Capt. Steve MacBride

I found this character fascinating in a time when police departments and cops in general are often viewed with suspicion or contempt, especially in urban areas. While it’s true that cops and departments sometimes overreach, individually and institutionally, I’ve personally believed calls to “defund” departments, even eliminate them, were an impractical overreaction. And over time, citizens’ desire for safety and order have trumped the histrionics of a few activists; worries over urban violence during and after the Covid pandemic have blunted misguided reforms.

For me as a screenwriter, I saw the MacBride character as a way to rehabilitate the idea of a flawed police officer trying to wrest control of his community from the hands of those who would exploit addiction and greed without regard to the harm they cause. In the fifth screenplay of my portfolio, The Gods Demand Blood, I pit Police Captain Colin St Michael against David “Sledge” Gorov, the leader of an ethic Russian gang of criminals. In a 21st century environment, St Michael, an avatar of order, exercises restraint at first when dealing with Gorov, a representation of chaos. Gradually, St Michael realizes he has to step into Gorov’s moral territory to keep his community safe. Think American Gangster (2007) meets The Untouchables (1987).

Synopsis: ‘The Gods Demand Blood’

Here’s the first portion of the synopsis:

---

Police Captain Colin St Michael and a half-dozen runners race on an oval track at the Police Federation Track Meet. Hannah St Michael, his teenage daughter, and Police Lieutenant Taylor Jackson, his close friend, cheer him on. On the final lap, Colin gains on the race leader. A short distance from the finish line, Colin’s knee gives out, though he wins the race. With Hannah and Taylor’s help, he walks off. Taylor remarks that all victories have a cost.

On the way home, Hannah worries about Colin’s new position in the department. At home, Colin listens to Hannah practice her cello. Colin thinks of his deceased wife and father, also a police officer. At the police department’s East Precinct, Colin takes up his new job. He pledges to his officers that he will clean up the criminal chaos on the street, exercising the law in its “raw form.”

Meanwhile, David “Sledge” Gorov, the leader of an ethnic Russian gang known as “Moje Bratstvo,” or “My Brotherhood,” is released from the state penitentiary after eight years. He is picked up by Roman “Razor” Volkov, his chief lieutenant, and Mila Ivanova, his long-time lover. On the way to a celebration of his release, as they pass drug deals, cops with guns drawn, and wandering madmen, Sledge spots a young man. He tells Roman to stop the car, while Sledge observes a transaction between the man, Dmitri Stevens, Roman’s nephew, and a man from another gang.

In a large warehouse, Dmitri joins Sledge’s welcome party late. After promising to make My Brotherhood the city’s dominant criminal enterprise, Sledge tells two soldiers to restrain Dmitri. With Roman watching, Sledge murders Dmitri. With secret lover Mila at his side, Roman vows revenge.

Colin identifies Sledge’s operations as a key reason for the precinct’s lawlessness. He orders a raid on a My Brotherhood drug lab, recording himself destroying the lab with an ax. He sends the video to Sledge as a warning. Sledge calls for a meeting, offering to make peace. Colin says peace can only occur when Sledge dismantles his criminal activity, which Sledge refuses to do.

---

If you’d like to read the whole synopsis, or the script, visit my profile on Stage 32, an online community of motion picture creatives. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

If you’re a producer, agent, literary manager, or actor interested in more information, you can reach me directly via my contact form.

Image: Wikimedia Commons