The Problem of Cell 13
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| "The Problem of Cell 13" | |
| Author | Jacques Futrelle |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Mystery fiction |
| Published in | Boston American |
| Publication type | newspaper |
| Publication date | Oct 30 – Nov 5 1905 |
The Problem of Cell 13 is a short story by Jacques Futrelle first published in 1905 and later collected in The Thinking Machine (1907), which was featured in crime writer H. R. F. Keating's list of the 100 best crime and mystery books ever published.[1] The story was selected by science fiction author Harlan Ellison for Lawrence Block's Best Mysteries of the Century.[2]
[edit] Plot summary
Like Futrelle's other short stories, "The Problem of Cell 13" features Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen as the main character, although most of the story is seen through the perspective of a prison warden. While in a scientific debate with two men, Dr. Charles Ransome and Alfred Fielding, Augustus, "The Thinking Machine", insists that nothing is impossible when the human mind is properly applied. To prove this, he agrees that he will take part in an experiment in which he will be incarcerated in a prison for one week and given the challenge of escaping. He achieves the goal with great ingenuity and explains fully how he did it.
Everyone around Augustus is amazed at his explanation, and they wholeheartedly believe his point that nothing is impossible, though the warden asks what would have happened if many of the key elements of Augustus's escape had not been present. Augustus smiles smugly and states that there were also two other ways out, and leaves it at that.
[edit] Adaptations
The story was adapted for television by Arthur A. Ross in 1962 as part of the U.S. series Kraft Mystery Theater. The episode starred Claude Dauphin as Van Dusen, and was awarded the 1963 Edgar Award for Best Episode in a TV Series.[3]
"Cell 13", a 1973 adaptation for the British series The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes saw Douglas Wilmer, famous for his portrayal of Holmes in BBC productions of the sixties, play the Professor.[4]
In 1978, West Berlin radio station RIAS produced and broadcast "Das sicherste Gefängnis der Welt" (The Safest Prison in the World), a radio play based on the story. This was the second of 79 Van Dusen stories so adapted.[5]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Liukkonen, Petri. Jacques Futrelle. Authors' Calendar. Kuusankosken kaupunginkirjasto. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ Ellison, Harlan (2003-04-30). Futrelle. Unca Harlan's Art Deco Dining Pavilion mailing list. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ Edgar Search. Mystery Writers of America. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ Douglas Wilmer. The Journal of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London Website. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ Koser, Michael; Pircher, Gerd (2004). Die Van-Dusen-Hörspiele (German). Die offizielle Professor van Dusen-Seite. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
[edit] Selected bibliography
(2000) in Tony Hillerman and Otto Penzler: The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century. Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN 0618012672.
(1998) in Otto Penzler: The 50 Greatest Mysteries of All Time.
(1990) in Rex Burns and Mary Rose Sullivan: Crime Classics: The Mystery Story from Poe to the Present. Viking Penguin. ISBN 0140131280.
(1987) in Douglas G. Greene: Death Locked In. International Polygonics. ISBN 1566194547.
(1975) in Saul Schwartz: The Detective Story. ISBN 0844256137.
(1974) in Dick Allen and David Chacko: Detective fiction: Crime and Compromise. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. ISBN 0155174088.
(1928) in Vincent Starrett: Fourteen Great Detective Stories. Modern Library.
