Ep 162 The Score
About this episode
The episode discusses Richard Stark's novel The Score and its impact on the Parker series, including character introductions and thematic elements.
With the fifth entry of the Parker series, The Score, Richard Stark aka Donald E. Westlake puts his career criminal anti-hero in charge of his most ambitious heist yet: the 12-man robbery of a North Dakota mining town. This allows the author to expand the violent world of Parker by introducing a slew of fresh characters, including thespian-thief Alan Grofield, who would go on to star in four solo novels of his own. We discuss the series' change in scope and structure in a book that would set the scene moving forward, the first of several to make the spectacular job the whole show. We also talk about the little-seen French movie adaptation, the introduction of this goofball Grofield and why Parker insists on taking jobs with such obvious risks. The Score artwork by Tony Stella. The Pink Smoke on Twitter: twitter.com/thepinksmoke Christopher Funderburg on Twitter: twitter.com/cfunderburg John Cribbs on Twitter: twitter.com/TheLastMachine Intro music: Unleash the Bastards / "Tea for Two" Outro music: Marcus Pinn / "Vegas"
People in this episode
Hosts: Christopher Funderburg, John Cribbs
Topics covered
- heist
- crime fiction
- Parker series
- character development
- film adaptation
Keywords
- Parker series
- The Score
- Richard Stark
- Donald E. Westlake
- heist
- Alan Grofield
- crime fiction
- film adaptation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Tony Stella
More episodes of The Pink Smoke podcast
- Ep 166 The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones
- Ep 165 Jim McBride's Lost Screenplays
- Ep 164 The Jugger
- Ep 163 The Maya and Science Fiction
- Parker Doesn't Say 'Merry Christmas': A 2025 Holiday Special
- Ep 161 I Killed Bette Davis by Larry Cohen
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