Somehow I missed Fully Dressed and In His Right Mind (1935) when Stark House published it back in 2022. The author, Michael Fessier (1905-1988), was best known as screenwriter, with credits including the Fred Astaire/Rita Hayworth musical You’ll Never Get Rich and even an episode of Gilligan’s Island. In the ’30s and ’40s Fessier worked in Hollywood, writing a couple of dozen produced screenplays, then he moved to New York and wrote for television, with his final contributions being six episodes for The High Chaparral, ending in 1969. He wrote screenplays for Bonanza, The Thin Man, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Fessier’s short story “That What Happened to Me,” has appeared in over 50 anthologies.
Jerry House–a reviewer seldom at a loss for words–admitted he didn’t know what to make of Fully Dressed and In HIs Right Mind and joined most of the book reviewers who found themselves with similar opinions (you can read Jerry’s brilliant review here).
Briefly, the short novel concerns a young man named Johnny Price who is drifting through Life because his father left him some bonds which makes work unnecessary. Price witnesses a little old man shoot publisher Albert E. Bagley to death. The little old man pops up several times in Fully Dressed and In His Right Mind with evil intent. Price also meets a nude woman named Trelia who swims in Golden Gate Park. Price is fascinated with her.
Other characters include Dorgan, a genius painter who destroys his paintings when he finishes them, George, a bartender who feels threatened simply because the old man looks at him with his green eyes, and Pete, the superintendent at Johnny’s apartment building.
Some critics have called Fully Dressed and In His Right Mind surreal. I can’t argue with that. It’s also a story about Good (Trelia) and Evil (little old man). Most critics don’t know what to make of Fully Dressed and In His Right Mind. I’m joining them. If you’re in the mood for a quirky, unusual story, this is it. GRADE: B (for baffling)
Michael Messier wrote a second novel, Clovis (1948). Clovis is a parrot with human intelligence. Clovis can speak–and in fact knows several languages. But Clovis chooses his safe home–he claims he’s bored–and encounters a world where he’s constantly threatened.
Rick Horton of the wonderful blog STRANGE AT ECBATAN wrote this aboutClovis: “The book is out and out satire, though mostly somewhat gentle (except in the treatment of the evangelist.) And it is often very funny. The romance plot with Thad and the heiress, and the drinking cure, are almost Wodehousian. Clovis’ cynical utterances are quite amusing as well. The murder plot is very light-hearted, and doesn’t come off quite as amusing as the rest of the book. The book doesn’t outstay its welcome — though it probably reaches the limits of its welcome! Fun stuff on the whole, and I have to say I’m glad I read it.” So am I! You can read Horton’s entire review here. GRADE: B (for buffoonery)