"Door to Death" is a

Nero Wolfe Nero Wolfe is a brilliant, obese and eccentric fictional armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery (fiction), mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe was born in Montenegro and keeps his past murky. He lives in a luxurious brownstone on West ...

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

novella by

Rex Stout Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886 – October 27, 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. His best-known characters are the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and ...

, first published in the June 1949 issue of ''

The American Magazine ''The American Magazine'' was a periodical publication founded in June 1906, a continuation of failed publications purchased a few years earlier from publishing mogul Miriam Leslie. It succeeded ''Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly'' (1876–1904), ' ...

''. It first appeared in book form in the short-story collection '' Three Doors to Death'', published by the

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquir ...

in 1950.

Plot summary

When orchid nurse Theodore Horstmann leaves the brownstone indefinitely to tend to his sick mother,

goes out — in the snow and on foot — into the raging wilds of Westchester to find a replacement. He and Archie find a corpse in the greenhouse, as well.

Publication history

"Door to Death"

*1949, ''

'', June 1949 *1951, New York: Dell Publishing, Dell Ten Cent Paperback #21 (cover illustration by Robert C. Stanley), 1951, paperback

''Three Doors to Death''

*1950, New York: The

, April 21, 1950, hardcover :Contents include " Man Alive", " Omit Flowers" and "Door to Death". :In his limited-edition pamphlet, ''Collecting Mystery Fiction #9, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Part I'',

Otto Penzler Otto Penzler (born July 8, 1942) is a German-born American editor of mystery fiction, and proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City. Biography Born in Germany to a German-American mother and a German father, Penzler moved to The ...

describes the first edition of ''Three Doors to Death'': "Green cloth, front cover and spine printed with black; rear cover blank. Issued in a mainly reddish-orange dust wrapper."Penzler, Otto, ''Collecting Mystery Fiction #9, Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe Part I''. New York: The Mysterious Bookshop, 2001. Limited edition of 250 copies. :In April 2006, ''Firsts: The Book Collector's Magazine'' estimated that the first edition of ''Three Doors to Death'' had a value of between $300 and $500. The estimate is for a copy in very good to fine condition in a like dustjacket. *1950, New York: Viking (

Mystery Guild Bookspan LLC is a New York–based online bookseller, founded in 2000. Bookspan began as a joint endeavor by Bertelsmann and Time Warner. Bertelsmann took over control in 2007, and a year later, sold its interest to Najafi Companies, an Arizon ...

), August 1950, hardcover :The far less valuable Viking book club edition may be distinguished from the first edition in three ways: ::* The dust jacket has "Book Club Edition" printed on the inside front flap, and the price is absent (first editions may be price clipped if they were given as gifts). ::* Book club editions are sometimes thinner and always taller (usually a quarter of an inch) than first editions. ::* Book club editions are bound in cardboard, and first editions are bound in cloth (or have at least a cloth spine). *1950, London:

Collins Crime Club Collins Crime Club was an imprint of British book publishers William Collins, Sons and ran from 6 May 1930 to April 1994. Throughout its 64 years the club issued a total of 2,012in "The Hooded Gunman -- An Illustrated History of Collins Crim ...

, September 18, 1950, hardcover *1952, New York: Dell (

mapback Mapback is a term used by paperback collectors to refer to the earliest paperback books published by Dell Books, beginning in 1943. The books are known as mapbacks because the back cover of the book contains a map that illustrates the location ...

by Rafael de Soto), 1952, #626, paperback *1961, New York: The Viking Press, ''Five of a Kind: The Third Nero Wolfe Omnibus'' (with ''

The Rubber Band ''The Rubber Band'' is the third Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. Prior to its publication in 1936 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., the novel was serialized in six issues of ''The Saturday Evening Post'' (February 29 – April 4, 1936). Appear ...

'' and '' In the Best Families''), July 10, 1961, hardcover *1966, New York: Bantam #F3154, June 1966, paperback *1995, New York: Bantam Crimeline February 1995, paperback *2010, New York: Bantam Crimeline June 9, 2010,

e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...

Adaptations

''A Nero Wolfe Mystery'' (A&E Network)

"Door to Death" was adapted for the first season of the A&E TV series ''

A Nero Wolfe Mystery ''Nero Wolfe'' is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's series of detective stories that aired for two seasons (2001–2002) on A&E. Set in New York City sometime in the 1940s–1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as N ...

'' (2001–2002). Directed by

Holly Dale Holly Dale (born December 23, 1953) is a Canadian filmmaker and television director. Over the course of her career, Dale has worked in the Canadian film and television industry as a director, producer, writer, and editor. Although she has comp ...

from a teleplay by Sharon Elizabeth Doyle, the episode made its debut June 24, 2001, on A&E.

Timothy Hutton Timothy Tarquin Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at age 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in ''Ordinary People ...

is Archie Goodwin;

Maury Chaykin Maury Alan Chaykin (July 27, 1949 – July 27, 2010) was an American–Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe, as well as for his work as a character actor in many films and television programs. Personal lif ...

is Nero Wolfe. Other members of the cast (in credits order) are Colin Fox ( Fritz Brenner),

James Tolkan James Stewart Tolkan (born June 20, 1931) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Mr. Strickland in ''Back to the Future'' (1985) and ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989), and as Marshall Strickland in ''Back to the Future Part ...

(Mr. Joseph Pitcairn),

Marian Seldes Marian Hall Seldes (August 23, 1928 – October 6, 2014) was an American actress. A five-time Tony Award nominee, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for '' A Delicate Balance'' in 1967, and received subsequent nomination ...

(Mrs. Pitcairn),

Kari Matchett Kari Matchett is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles as Colleen Blessed on ''Power Play'', as Joan Campbell on ''Covert Affairs'' and as Kate Filmore in the science fiction movie '' Cube 2: Hypercube''. She has also appeared in films ...

( Lily Rowan),

Nicholas Campbell Nicholas Campbell (born 24 March 1952) is a Canadian film, television and voice actor and filmmaker, who won three Gemini Awards for acting. He is known for such films as ''Naked Lunch'', '' Prozac Nation'', ''New Waterford Girl'' and the tel ...

(Andy Krasicki),

Beau Starr Beau Starr (born September 1, 1944) is an American actor who has starred in movies and on television. He is known for his film role as Sheriff Ben Meeker in the 1988 hit horror movie '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers''; he reprised his ...

(Lieutenant Noonan),

Conrad Dunn Conrad Dunn is an American actor. He began his screen career with the role of Francis "Psycho" Soyer in '' Stripes'' (1981). Working for some ten years under the name George Jenesky, he achieved soap-opera stardom in ''Days of Our Lives'' as Nick C ...

(Saul Panzer), Ken Kramer (Neil Imbrie),

Kristin Booth Kristin Booth (born August 28, 1974) is a Canadian actress, born in Kitchener, Ontario. She graduated with Honours BFA from Ryerson Theatre School at Ryerson Polytechnic University in 1997. Career Kristin Booth grew up in Kinkora, near the S ...

(Dini Lauer), Christine Brubaker (Sybil Pitcairn),

Boyd Banks Boyd Banks (born April 16, 1964) is a Canadian stand-up comedian and actor. Background He was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and started in the entertainment industry at 17 when he won a contest for Best Stand Up Comedian in Edmonton, Albert ...

(Donald Pitcairn), Nancy Beatty (Vera Imbrie) and

Francie Swift Francie Swift is an American actress best known for her role as Cynthia in ''Thoroughbreds'' and her recurring roles as Haylie Grimes on '' Outsiders'' and Anne Vanderbilt Archibald on ''Gossip Girl''. Life and career Swift was born in Amarill ...

(Margot Dickey, uncredited). In addition to original music by ''Nero Wolfe'' composer

Michael Small Michael Small (May 30, 1939 – November 24, 2003) was an American film score composer known for his scores to the movies '' Klute'', '' The Parallax View'', '' Marathon Man'', and ''The Star Chamber''. Personal life Small was born in New York ...

, the soundtrack includes music by Angel Villaldo and Tony Clout. In international broadcasts, the episodes "Door to Death" and "Christmas Party" are linked and expanded into a 90-minute widescreen telefilm titled "Wolfe Goes Out". ''A Nero Wolfe Mystery'' began to be released on Region 2 DVD in December 2009, marketed in the Netherlands by Just Entertainment. The third collection released in April 2010 made the 90-minute features "Wolfe Goes Out" and "Wolfe Stays In" available on home video for the first time; until then, the linked episodes "Door to Death"/ "Christmas Party" and "Eeny Meeny Murder Mo"/ "Disguise for Murder" were available only in the abbreviated form sold in North America by A&E Home Video (). The A&E and Just Entertainment DVD releases present the episodes in 4:3

pan and scan Pan and scan is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown in fullscreen proportions of a standard-definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus ...

rather than their 16:9 aspect ratio for

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...

viewing.

Notes

References

External links

*
''A Nero Wolfe Mystery'' — "Door to Death"
at

The Wolfe Pack The Wolfe Pack is a literary society devoted to Rex Stout's character Nero Wolfe. History As publicity for William S. Baring-Gould's book ''Nero Wolfe of West 35th Street'', Viking Press ran a "Mammoth New Nero Wolfe Contest" in ''The New York ...

, official site of the Nero Wolfe Society {{Nero Wolfe 1949 short stories Nero Wolfe short stories Works originally published in The American Magazine