Mischief (1950)

I don’t really know Charlotte Armstrong at all, but I see she was fairly prolific, and this short novel is a dandy, coming on like a Jim Thompson story before even Jim Thompson was writing them. First there is a glamorous, loving couple that reminded me of Nick and Nora Charles from the Thin Man movie—debonair, witty, and good-hearted. Instead of an adorable terrier dog they have an adorable 9-year-old daughter named Bunny. They’re staying in a midtown hotel because the husband, Peter, is being given some honor at a formal banquet that evening where he will be giving a speech. It’s a momentous occasion in his life and career. At the last minute his sister calls to say she can’t babysit that night as planned. It puts them in a jam, but Peter asks around the hotel and finds an elevator operator, Eddie, who says his niece can do the job. Eddie has been at the hotel for 14 years. They take his word as good. But Nell the niece is not what she appears. She is the crazy Thompson element and Armstrong is positively gleeful about laying on the mayhem. Mischief walks a fine line between almost-horror and brazen comedy with very few missteps. Nell’s nature is revealed by degrees. At first she seems like a painfully shy young woman but once alone with Bunny (who she mostly ignores) her actions are progressively more shocking. The way she trashes that room is amazing, a thing to behold in itself. Armstrong sort of knocks us around with this and then delivers Nell’s backstory, which raises the stakes to the sky. This is the first of these “suspense” novels from the Library of America series that I thought actually had some suspense, wondering how far it was going to go. Among other things, it’s an expertly done hotel story, using its setting well. Nearly all of it takes place there. I also like the high contrast of the successful and sophisticated couple with Nell. Nell is not only psychotic but also specifically lower-class. There’s a 1952 movie made of this novel with Marilyn Monroe as the miscreant, Don’t Bother to Knock, but it’s nowhere near as good. Track this one down if you have to. It’s worth it.

In case the library is closed due to pandemic, which is over. (Library of America)