Betty Mabel Lilian Uelmen (née Williams; 11 January 1919–6 September 1974) was a British journalist, screenwriter and pulp fiction writer who used the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

s Dail Ambler and Danny Spade. She was also known professionally as both Betty Williams and Betty Uelmen.

Life

She was born in

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

and worked as a

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

journalist and correspondent before settling on a career in fiction writing. By 1950, she was publishing at least one novel a month under the Danny Spade name for pulp paperback publisher Scion Ltd; she later wrote for Milestone Publications. Her writing style and content was somewhat influenced by Mickey Spillane. After the boom in pulp fiction in the United Kingdom ended in the mid-1950s, she turned to screenwriting under the Dail Ambler name. She later lapsed into semi-retirement in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, where she died at the age of 55. She is buried under the name Dail Ambler in North Watford Cemetery in

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

Selected work

Books

* ''The Dame Plays Rough'' (1950) by Danny Spade * ''Waterfront Rat'' (1951) by Danny Spade * ''Calling Mr. Spade'' (1952) by Danny Spade * ''The Lady Says When'' (1952) by Dail Ambler * ''Honey, You Slay Me'' (1953) by Danny Spade * ''White Curves and Black Coffee'' (1953) by Danny Spade * ''The Virgin Collector'' (1971) by Dail Ambler * ''Three Men for the Job'' (1975) by Dail Ambler (posthumous)

Film

*''

Beat Girl ''Beat Girl'' is a 1960 British teen exploitation film directed by Edmond T. Gréville. The film was released in the United States under the title ''Wild for Kicks''. The title character of ''Beat Girl'' was played by starlet Gillian Hills, who ...

'' (1960), directed by

Edmond T. Gréville Edmond T. Gréville (born Edmond Gréville Thonger; 20 June 1906 – 26 May 1966) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was married to the actress Vanda Gréville. Career Gréville began his career as a film journalist and critic. ...

*''Take Me Over'' (1963), directed by Robert Lynn *'' Delayed Flight'' (1964), directed by Michael Luckwell and Tony Young *''Night after Night after Night'' (1969), directed by

Lindsay Shonteff Lindsay Craig Shonteff (5 November 1935 – 11 March 2006) was a Canadian born film director, film producer and screenwriter who achieved fame for low-budget films produced in the United Kingdom. Biography Lindsay Shonteff was born in Toronto, O ...

Television

* two scripts for '' Armchair Theatre'' ** ''The Pillars of Midnight'' (1958) ** ''Murder in Slow Motion'' (1958) * one episode for '' Harpers West One'' (1961)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ambler, Dail 1919 births 1974 deaths English crime fiction writers English women novelists Pseudonymous women writers Writers from Aldershot English journalists 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English women writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers