The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's Southern California Nightmare April 13, 2013

For immediate release
March 26, 2013
L.A. Bus Tour Traces Film Noir's Path from James M. Cain's Fiction to the Screen

WHAT: Esotouric's The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's Southern California Nightmare tour
WHEN: Saturday, April 13, 12pm-4pm
WHERE: Departing from The Daily Dose, 1820 Industrial St., Los Angeles, CA 90021
COST: $58/person, includes coffee and cookies
OTHER LITERARY TOURS / SALONS IN APRIL: John Fante's Dreams from Bunker Hill (4/6); Charles Bukowski's LA (4/7); Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits' LA based on David Smay's book "Swordfishtrombones" (4/20); LAVA Literary Salon: A Dashiell Hammett Evening (4/27)
BIRTH OF NOIR TOUR INFO: http://www.esotouric.com, 213-373-1947

LOS ANGELES- Southern California, 1931: Musing over fresh urban sprawl atop bulldozed orange groves and the bitter realization that you can't eat the sunshine, newly arrived writer James M. Cain found a kernel of truth and his voice. That voice would become the dominant note in the development of a unique American genre, Film Noir, which spawned the abiding Los Angeles myth of the solitary, relentless detective.

THE BIRTH OF NOIR is a four-hour luxury bus tour celebrating the life, work, myths and passions of hard-boiled American novelist James M. Cain through his best known books, "The Postman Always Rings Twice," "Mildred Pierce" and "Double Indemnity," and how their screen adaptations shaped Film Noir.
How did East Coat sophisticate Cain go from editor of "The New Yorker" to populist novelist accused of writing dirty books? The tour explores the writer's life and work with a focus on his time in Southern California, where his observations on Malibu, Hollywood, Pasadena, Skid Row and the low rent 'burbs of Glendale are as provocative today as they were seventy years ago.

The tour also covers the gifted people who transformed Cain's tales into movies, among them Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler, Joan Crawford and Luchino Visconti. "The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's Southern California Nightmare" is a complex portrait of a fascinating character who was seduced and transformed by his time in the Southland, a hard working movie industry professional who sank into drink and despair, ultimately a uniquely Californian artist.
Hosted by Richard Schave, curator of the LAVA Literary Salon named "Best of L.A." by Los Angeles Magazine, the tour itself draws on Cain's essays, short stories, novels, films and the memories of his friends and colleagues to paint a portrait of LA in the 1930s and 1940s through the eyes of the writer. The tour spans Hollywood to Glendale and along old Route 66, and includes illuminating visits to the actual "Mildred Pierce" house, the Glendale Train Station where the "Double Indemnity" murder plot played out, and the punch line to a Billy Wilder joke so subtle, it's taken six decades for anyone to get. Get on the bus to share in the laughter and the pathos of Cain's Southern California.

Upcoming Esotouric bus tour and special event schedule (free events starred)
*Sun March 31 - LAVA's Sunday Salon (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat April 6 - John Fante's Dreams from Bunker Hill (weekend pass available)
Sun April 7 - Charles Bukowski's LA (weekend pass available)
Sat April 13 - The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's Southern California Nightmare
*Sun April 14 - Neff Estate Tour in La Mirada (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat April 20 - SPECIAL EVENT: Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits' LA
Sun April 21 - Crime lab seminar: Insights in Criminal Investigation and the Secret World of Street Gangs with Nick Guskos (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat April 27 - The Real Black Dahlia crime bus tour
Sat April 27 - LAVA Literary Salon: A Dashiell Hammett Evening (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sun April 28 - Due to Fiesta Broadway, there will be no LAVA Sunday Salon today
Sat May 4 - Blood & Dumplings crime bus tour
Sat May 18 - Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles
*Sun May 26 - LAVA's Sunday Salon (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat June 1 - Eastside Babylon crime bus tour
Sat June 8 - Pasadena Confidential crime bus tour
Sat Jun 15 – Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice crime bus tour
Sat June 22 - Weird West Adams crime bus tour
*Sun June 30 - LAVA's Sunday Salon (info at lavatransforms.org)
Sat July 13 - Charles Bukowski's LA
Sat July 20 - The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's Southern California Nightmare
Sat July 27 - The Real Black Dahlia crime bus tour
*Sun July 28 - LAVA's Sunday Salon (info at lavatransforms.org)

For more info on Esotouric, visit http://www.esotouric.com

Esotouric's Richard Schave and Kim Cooper are proud members of LAVA - The Los Angeles Visionaries Association. http://www.lavatransforms.org

Official Website: http://www.esotouric.com