Steven Cuevas
March 25, 2008
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Mystery writer Arthur Lyons, the man behind Palm Springs annual "Film Noir" Festival, has died. Lyons wrote dozens of hardboiled detective novels and devoted his life to the preservation of lost "B-movie" classics. KPCC's Steven Cuevas has more.

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Steven Cuevas: Arthur Lyons said he was drawn to the dark. He worked year 'round searching for prints of those stylized black and white crime thrillers made on the cheap back in the 1940s and '50s. He relished moments like the time he uncovered a lost chestnut called "The Madonna's Secret."

Arthur Lyons (in a past interview): It's probably the only copy in existence, and it's just on the floor; I'm staring at it right now. Luckily it came. I was sweatin' until yesterday. I didn't know if I was gonna get it.
Cuevas: So have you seen it?
Lyons: No, I've never seen it. It hasn't been released since '46, so I don't think it's ever been shown in a theater since then.

Cuevas: Lyons penned an authoritative book on the film noir genre, as well as nearly two dozen mystery novels. One of them was made into a noirish TV movie in 1986. It starred Beverly D'Angelo and a then-relatively-unknown actor named Johnny Depp.

[Clip from the movie "Slow Burn":]

Beverly D'Angelo (as Laine Fleischer): Oh, this is Mr. Asch, but you know that, of course. He teaches you ethics, right?
Johnny Depp (as Donnie Fleischer): Ethics? What are ethics?
D'Angelo: You're not doing your job very well, are you?
Eric Roberts (as Jacob Asch): You've got a point.
D'Angelo: A pleasure, Mr. Asch.
Depp: A pleasure, Mr. Asch.

Cuevas: Lyons earned a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Fame for his literary and film work. His wife Barbara promises to carry on the annual film noir festival. Arthur Lyons died of complications from pneumonia and a stroke. He was 62.