Take an Esotouric literary bus tour

December 15: The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain literary bus tour

WHAT: The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's Southern California Nightmare tour
WHEN: Saturday December 15, 1-5pm
COST: $55 (or get a four-tour season pass for $190)
HOLIDAY DISCOUNT: 2-for-1 seats for anyone who rode with Esotouric this year
WHERE: Departs from Philippe the Original downtown, tour covers Glendale andHollywood locations

Southern California, 1931: Amongst the burgeoning urban sprawl built atop bulldozed orange groves and the bitter realization that you can't eat the sunshine, recent emigré James M. Cain found a kernel of truth and his voice. In December Esotouric, the eclectic bus adventure company that explores the secret heart of LA, features a series of dark literary tours, honoring the work of Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain and culminating with two sold-out, James Ellroy-hosted Christmas week tours.
"The Birth of Noir" celebrates the life, work, myths and passions of hard-boiled American novelist James M.Cain through his best known books, "The Postman Always Rings Twice," "Mildred Pierce" and "Double Indemnity," and how their screen adaptations created a unique American genre: Film Noir.
As a holiday gift to their fans, Esotouric is offering 2-for-1 seats on the Cain bus to anyone who rode one of their tours this year.
How did East Coat sophisticate Cain go from editor of "The New Yorker" to populist novelist accused of writing dirty books? The tour explores the writer's life and work with a focus on his time in Southern California,where his observations on Malibu, Hollywood, Pasadena and the low rent 'burbs of Glendale are as provocative today as they were seventy years ago. The tour will also cover the artisans who transformed Cain's tales into movies, including Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler, Joan Crawford and Lana Turner.
"The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's Southern California Nightmare" is a complex portrait of a fascinating character who was seduced and transformed by his time in the Southland, a hard working movie industry professional who sank into drink and despair, ultimately a uniquely Californian artist.
Hosted by Esotouric's Richard Schave, the tour draws on Cain's essays, short stories, novels, films and the memories of his friends and colleagues to paint a portrait of LA in the 1930s and 1940s through the eyes of the writer. The tour spans Hollywood to Glendale and along old Route 66, and includes illuminating visits to Forest Lawn Memorial Park (site of the funeral of Mildred Pierce's "other" daughter, Ray), the Glendale Train Station where the "Double Indemnity" murder plot played out, and the punchline to a Billy Wilder joke so subtle, it's taken 63 years for anyone to get. Get on the bus to share in the laughter and the pathos of Cain's So Cal.
For more info on Esotouric, please visit http://www.esotouric.com

Upcoming Esotouric bus tour schedule:
Sat Dec 8 - Raymond Chandler's LA
Sat Dec 15 - James M. Cain's So California Nightmare
Sat Dec 22 ­ James Ellroy Digs L.A. (sold out)
Sat Dec 29 ­ James Ellroy Digs L.A. (sold out)
Sun Jan 15 - Vroman's Bookstore presents The Real Black Dahlia