“I get my material in various ways, Raymond Chandler – The Big Sleep and Film Noir – Library of Congress but my favorite procedure (sometimes known as the Jerry Wald system) consists of going through the desks of other writers after hours. I am thirty-eight years old and have been for the last twenty years. I do not regard myself as a dead shot, but I am a pretty dangerous man with a wet towel. But all in all I think my favorite weapon is a twenty dollar bill. In my spare time I collect elephants.”
Great fiction writers often face a peculiar burden. Specifically, their audience frequently struggles to separate the creator from the creation. This issue plagued Raymond Chandler, the legendary author behind the hard-boiled detective Philip Marlowe. Fans and journalists alike assumed Chandler lived the same gritty, dangerous life as his protagonist. Consequently, they expected him to be a tough guy. They imagined him navigating dark alleys and carrying heavy firearms. However, Chandler was a writer, not a private eye. He eventually grew tired of these assumptions. Therefore, he decided to fight back with his sharpest tool: his wit.
The Confusion Between Man and Myth
Raymond Chandler defined the noir genre. Source His prose crackled with cynicism and streetwise poetry. Because his writing felt so authentic, readers believed it mirrored his reality. . Interviewers often asked absurd questions. For instance, they wanted to know what kind of gun he carried. They asked if he preferred a Luger or a Colt revolver. These inquiries revealed a deep misunderstanding of his craft.
Chandler did not patrol the mean streets of Los Angeles. Instead, he sat at a desk and invented stories. The constant conflation of his actual life with his fictional world frustrated him. He felt the press ignored his artistic skill. They focused instead on a fantasy persona. Thus, when an opportunity arose to address this, he seized it. He chose satire over anger. He used humor to dismantle their expectations.
A Letter to Hollywood
The famous quote about the twenty-dollar bill originated in 1951. London’s Picture Post magazine wanted to interview the famous author. They sent a list of questions to Hollywood. These inquiries traveled through his agent, Edgar Carter. Chandler read the questions and immediately felt annoyed. The journalist clearly expected answers from “Philip Marlowe,” not Raymond Chandler. Consequently, Chandler refused to give serious answers. Instead, he wrote a letter to Carter on February 5, 1951. This letter contained a masterpiece of sarcasm.
He decided to mock the reporter’s premise. Chandler painted a ridiculous self-portrait. He claimed to be incredibly tough. He joked about breaking a Vienna roll with his bare hands. Furthermore, he described his dangerous skill with a wet towel. These images were intentionally silly. They highlighted the absurdity of the questions. Then, he delivered the punchline. He declared his weapon of choice was cash, not lead.
dissecting the “Twenty Dollar Bill” Line
This specific line reveals the true genius of Chandler’s writing. On the surface, it is a joke. However, it also contains a kernel of noir truth. In the world of private investigators, violence often creates more problems than it solves. Conversely, bribery gets results. A gun might force someone to talk, but money makes them willing to talk. A twenty-dollar bill opens doors that physical force cannot. Therefore, the quote works on two levels. It mocks the interviewer, yet it also validates the street smarts of his characters.
Additionally, the letter included an inside joke. Chandler mentioned the “Jerry Wald system” of stealing ideas. Jerry Wald was a powerful producer at Warner Brothers. People in the film industry knew Wald well. Chandler implied that his “research” involved raiding other writers’ desks. This was pure fiction, of course. It served as a wink to his colleagues in Hollywood. He knew Carter would understand the reference. The letter was a private performance for his agent. He likely never expected it to become one of his most famous quotes.
The Path to Publication
Chandler died in 1959. However, his private correspondence lived on. In 1962, editors Dorothy Gardiner and Kathrine Sorley Walker compiled a book. They titled it Raymond Chandler Speaking. They included the 1951 letter in this collection. Interestingly, they made a small change. They removed the parenthetical joke about Jerry Wald. Perhaps they feared legal issues. Or maybe they thought the reference was too obscure. Regardless, the core message remained intact.
That same year, Esquire magazine amplified the quote’s fame. The magazine published an article titled “Six Quotes to Get You through Any Senior Exam.” They included Chandler’s line about the twenty-dollar bill. This exposure introduced the witticism to a broader audience. Suddenly, the private joke became public property. Readers loved the cynical pragmatism of the statement. It sounded exactly like something Philip Marlowe would say. Ironically, this reinforced the very connection Chandler tried to mock.
Restoring the Full Context
Biographers continued to explore Chandler’s life. In 1976, Frank MacShane published The Life of Raymond Chandler. MacShane understood the importance of the author’s humor. He included large sections of the letter. He highlighted the “Vienna roll” comment. He also showcased the “wet towel” remark. MacShane used these examples to humanize Chandler. He showed a man who could laugh at himself. This context is crucial. Without it, the quote sounds merely tough. With it, the quote becomes a playful jab at celebrity culture.
Later, in 1981, MacShane edited Selected Letters of Raymond Chandler. This time, he restored the text fully. He included the Jerry Wald reference that previous editors cut. Finally, readers could see the letter exactly as Chandler wrote it. The restoration provided a complete picture of Chandler’s mind. He was not just a grumpy author. He was a satirist. He understood the industry he worked in. Moreover, he knew how to lampoon it effectively.
Why the Quote Endures
Today, this quote remains a favorite among writers and fans. It captures the essence of noir fiction. It prioritizes brains over brawn. Furthermore, it reminds us of the power of money in a corrupt world. Chandler may have written it as a joke, but it rings true. We remember it because it surprises us. We expect a detective to praise his revolver. Instead, he praises his wallet. This subversion of expectations is classic Chandler.
In summary, the “twenty dollar bill” quote is more than a witty one-liner. It is a historical artifact. It documents a moment when an author refused to play along. Chandler rejected the stereotype of the gun-toting writer. He replaced it with a smarter, funnier reality. He proved that a sharp pen is indeed mightier than a sword. Or, in his case, mightier than a Luger. Ultimately, he won the argument. We still quote him today, proving his wit was the most dangerous weapon of all.