The Last Words of Dutch Schultz
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| 1981 Seaver Books paperback edition. | |
| Author | William S. Burroughs |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Biographical, Novel |
| Publisher | Cape Goliard |
| Released | 1969 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
The Last Words of Dutch Schultz was a novel by Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs, first published in 1969. Rather than use traditional chapters and text, however, Burroughs wrote the book in the form of a convoluted film screenplay.
Based upon the life (or, to be more precise, the death) of 1930s gangster Dutch Schultz, the novel uses as its springboard Schultz's surreal last words, which were delivered in the midst of high-fever delirium after being mortally shot while urinating in the men's room of a Newark bar. Phrases such as "French-Canadian bean soup" took on a different meaning for Burroughs as he invented stories to go along with some of the nonsensical statements made by Schultz in his dying hours.
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
Although there have been occasional reports over the years of filmmakers wanting to adapt Burroughs' story for the screen, to date no one has seriously taken on the project. For a brief period, Dennis Hopper owned the rights to the film, but nothing ever came to fruition. The closest it has ever come to being filmed is a 2002 Norwegian short combining live action and rotoscope animated scenes. The short only features portions of Burrough's script, with some segments varying slightly from the source material. The film features Rutger Hauer as the voice of Schultz.
A similar novel-cum-screenplay is 1992's Reality Is What You Can Get Away With: An Illustrated Screenplay by Robert Anton Wilson.
[edit] See also
- The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, which also made extensive use of Schultz's last words.
[edit] External links
- Transcript of Schultz's last words that inspired Burroughs' novel.
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| Works by William S. Burroughs |
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| Novels: And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks (unpublished) - Junkie - Queer - Naked Lunch - The Soft Machine - The Ticket That Exploded - Dead Fingers Talk - Nova Express - The Last Words of Dutch Schultz - The Wild Boys - Port of Saints - Cities of the Red Night - The Place of Dead Roads - The Western Lands - My Education: A Book of Dreams Short fiction : Interzone - Exterminator! - Ali's Smile/Naked Scientology - Blade Runner, a movie - Tornado Alley - Ghost of Chance Non-fiction: The Yage Letters - The Electronic Revolution - The Job - The Third Mind - Letters to Allen Ginsberg - The Burroughs File - The Adding Machine: Collected Essays - The Cat Inside - Last Words: The Final Journals of William S. Burroughs - Evil River (announced 2007) Recordings : Dead City Radio Films: The Junky's Christmas - Ah Pook is Here - Naked Lunch |
