Dail Ambler

Betty Mabel Lilian Uelmen
BornBetty Mabel Lilian Williams
11 January 1919
Aldershot, Hampshire, England
Died6 September 1974
Surrey, England
Resting placeNorth Watford Cemetery, Watford, Hertfordshire, England
Pen nameDail Ambler, Danny Spade
OccupationJournalist, screenwriter, pulp fiction writer
NationalityBritish
GenrePulp fiction, screenwriting
Notable works
  • Beat Girl
  • Take Me Over
  • Delayed Flight
  • Night after Night after Night
  • The Dame Plays Rough
  • Waterfront Rat
  • Calling Mr. Spade
  • The Lady Says When
  • Honey, You Slay Me
  • White Curves and Black Coffee
  • The Virgin Collector
  • Three Men for the Job

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 names Dail Ambler and Danny Spade. She was also known professionally as both Betty Williams and Betty Uelmen.[1]

Life

She was born in Aldershot in Hampshire and worked as a Fleet Street 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 were 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, where she died at the age of 55.[2]

She is buried under the name Dail Ambler in North Watford Cemetery in Watford, Hertfordshire.

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)

[2]

Film

Television

[3]

References

  1. ^ "Intended Dividends" (PDF). London Gazette. 10 January 1974. p. 428.
  2. ^ a b c Server, Lee (2014). Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers. p. 11. ISBN 978-1438109121.
  3. ^ a b "Dail Ambler". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018.
  4. ^ Stafford, David; Stafford, Caroline (2015). Big Time: The Life of Adam Faith. p. 46. ISBN 978-1783233953.