| Eric Ambler |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT ERIC AMBLER | |
| 1909 births | |
| ambler, eric | |
| 1998 deaths | |
| english anglicans | |
| english thriller writers | |
| english screenwriters | |
| edgar award winners | |
| old colfeians | |
| people from london | |
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Born in London England , Ambler also used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for books co-written with Charles Rodda . His family were entertainers, putting on a type of Puppet show, with which he helped. Later he studied Engineering at London University and served an apprenticeship with an engineering company. His family background proved dominant, and Ambler soon moved to writing plays and other works. He moved to Paris for a few years, where he married Louise Crombie. At that time, Ambler was politically a a staunch Anti-Fascist and like many others tended to regard the Soviet Union as the only real counterweight - which was refelected in the fact that some of his early books include Soviet agents depicted as positive and symapthetic characters, the undoubted allies of the main protagonist. And like many others, Ambler was shocked and dislusioned by the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939. When World War II broke out, Ambler entered the army as a common soldier, serving briefly in the Royal Artillery . He was soon re-assigned to photographic units, where his talents could be better utilized. He ended the war as a Lieutenant Colonel and assistant director of the army film unit. After the war, he continued in the civilian film industry as a screen-writer. He did not resume writing under his own name until 1951 , thus breaking his writings into two distinct periods. Five of his six early works are regarded as classic thrillers. His best known works are probably ''The Mask of Dimitrios'', which became a classic Film Noir in 1944, and ''The Light of Day'', filmed in 1964 as '' Topkapi '', and subsequently lampooned in '' The Pink Panther ''. He was also a successful Screenwriter who, in his later years, lived in Los Angeles . Amongst other classic movies based on his works are '' Journey Into Fear '' (starring Orson Welles ) and '' The October Man ''. Later he lived in Switzerland for sixteen years before returning to England . He published his autobiography in 1981 , ''Here Lies Eric Ambler.'' A recurring theme in Ambler's books is having as the main character an amateur who finds himself unwillingly in the company of hardened criminals and/or spies. Typically, the protagonist is out of his depth and often seems for much of the book a bumbling Anti-hero , yet eventually manages to surprise himself as well as the professionals by a decisive action which comletely outwits his far more experienced opponents. Such plots occur, for example, in ''Journey into Fear'', ''The Light of Day'', and ''Dirty Story''. Unlike with most other thriller writers, in Ambler's books the main protagonist is only rarely a professional spy or policeman. Ambler died in London . A second movie of his novel ''The Light of Day'' to be entitled ''The Topkapi Affair'' has been announced and is scheduled for release in 2006. Greil Marcus wrote a penetrating analysis of Ambler's early work, published among his collected articles in The Dustbin Of History (1995). NOVELS
# The Intrusions of Dr. Czissar # The Army of Shadows # The Blood Bargain EXTERNAL LINKS
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