The Double Indemnity Murder: Ruth Snyder, Judd Gray, and New York's Crime of the Century

by Landis MacKellar

Overview

Queens Village was a picture-perfect postcard New York suburb. But in March 1927 the façade of respectability was stripped away to reveal an underside of greed, lust, and crime. Few incidents in crime history have been so notorious as the murder of Albert Snyder by his wife and her lover. Resonant of the footloose Jazz Age, it made persistent headlines and led to a sensational trial. The crime spawned a 1920s Broadway play and inspired the classic noir film of the 1940s, Double Indemnity. This book assesses the entire case, from grisly slaying and shabby cover-up to sharp police work and aftermath. Moreover, it explores sociocultural questions that beg to be answered: what effect does news reportage exert upon high profile cases, and why did such a transparent crime earn such an enduring place in the popular psyche?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780815608240
Publisher:	Syracuse University Press
Publication date:	11/28/2006
Pages:	411
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.89(d)

About the Author

Landis MacKellar lives in Vienna and Paris. His interest in the Snyder-Gray murder began when he taught at Queens College in New York City.

What People are Saying About This

Luc Sante

Landis MacKellar's account is taut, gripping, lucid, as relentless as any thriller. It is definitive, the last word on the subject. (Luc Sante, author of Low Life, Evidence, and The Factory of Facts)

Harold Schechter

MacKellar has produced not only the definitive account of one of the classic murder cases of the twentieth century but a genuine page-turner. Utterly gripping from page one, this exhaustively researched true-crime narrative has the lean style, headlong pace, and mounting suspense of a noir thriller. MacKellar has done a masterful job. (Harold Schechter, author of Savage Pastimes: A Cultural History of Violent Entertainment)

Editorial Reviews

MacKellar has produced not only the definitive account of one of the classic murder cases of the twentieth century but a genuine page-turner. Utterly gripping from page one, this exhaustively researched true-crime narrative has the lean style, headlong pace, and mounting suspense of a noir thriller. MacKellar has done a masterful job.

author of Savage Pastimes: A Cultural History Harold Schechter

Landis MacKellar's account is taut, gripping, lucid, as relentless as any thriller. It is definitive, the last word on the subject.

Luc Sante

MacKellar (economics, emeritus, Queens Coll., CUNY) uses an excellent combination of primary and secondary sources to craft this book on the 1927 murder of Queens resident Albert Snyder by his wife, Ruth, and her paramour, Judd Gray. The author examines more than just the murder of a husband for insurance money; it also examines the role of the press in society during the 1920s. The Snyder-Gray murder made the front pages of all the New York papers, including the New York Times, and inspired James M. Cain's novel, Double Indemnity, and the classic noir film of the same name. MacKellar's book will allow readers to draw their own conclusions regarding the influence and power of the press during this period and, in particular, upon the trial. A welcome addition to academic or public libraries. Diane Fulkerson, Univ. of West Georgia Lib., Carrollton Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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