L'impasse De Les Huit Anges!

A Coffin For Demetrios was written in 1939 by Eric Ambler, an English journalist.  It is an extremely well told story, and is surprisingly profound for a first time novelist.  It remains my favorite work of pop fiction.  It is alluded to in the James Bond novels, and the book The Day of the Jackal, another international intrigue masterpiece, is clearly influenced by it.  Coffin tell the story of Charles Latimer, an English academic who has started writing mystery novels and making money at it.  It opens with Latimer at a house party in Turkey, where he knows no one and is generally ignored.  The party is on the grounds of a decaying villa, and is pretty much a booze soaked orgy.  Then the head of Turkish intelligence shows up, Colonel Haki.  Colonel Haki is a dapper man of about fifty who is quite dashing and makes a huge effect among the women.  Later, he takes Latimer aside and tells him how much he enjoys his detective stories.  The next night him and Latimer have dinner together where Haki sinks a bottle and a half of Johnny Walker and shows no sign of it.  He is making a fool of himself telling Latimer how he has written the outline of a story, The Clue of the Bloodstained Will.  Latimer is feeling sorry for him.  After dinner Haki is going to drop Latimer off at his hotel but checks into his office so that he can give the Englishmen a copy of his outline.  In the office, a functionary gives the Colonel some papers which require his immediate attention.  Latimer is seated across from him, bored, as the Colonel reads from a dossier.  Then the Colonel looks at him, with the expression of an old and experienced cat watching a very young and inexperienced mouse, and asks,

"Are you interested in real criminals"?

The story goes into high gear.  Latimer realizes he had no business feeling sorry for Haki.  The body of a very wanted man has been recovered from the Bosphorus and is in the morgue.  Latimer asks if he can go along to see for himself.  Haki is surprised but pleased and takes the writer to a whitehot tin roofed morgue where they view the decaying body of the wanted man.  Latimer is intrigued and decides to follow up on this criminal, a highly sought after bad guy named Dimitrios.  No one has ever seen or identified Dimitrios but his papers were found on the body.  Latimer travels to Greece to research this interesting case.

He is being very, very foolish.

To shorten a very long precis, Latimer is "contacted" by another criminal, Mr. Peters, who sends him to Switzerland to meet with a former professional spy, Grodek.  He is welcomed by Grodek and they have lunch together in his impressive home.  Then Grodek asks him, what was his interest in Dimitrios?  And why was Mr. Peters so interested?  Latimer replies that he does not know.  Grodek says, come now, you want my honesty, where is yours?  Latimer says that he does not know why Peters is so interested but that when he mentioned seeing the body on the slab Peters became excited.

Grodek looks at Latimer for a second, then asks him if he would like a drink.  As he is pouring the drinks he all of a sudden doubles up with laughter.  He gives Latimer a bullshit explanation about his merriment.

I cannot say more but of all the writing I have ever read this is the exact depiction of the laughter of Hell.  When one realizes what is going on then it must be acknowledged that this is in any short listing of the most cold blooded scenes extant. 

Peter Lorre and Kurt Katch as Latimer and Col. Haki.  Latimer is named Leyden in this 1944  Warner's outing.

Peters, Sydney Greenstreet.

Zachery Scott as Dimitrios.  I am an Austin boy and I really like Zach.

Eric Ambler.