Klute (1971) Novelization

Written by William Johnston.  The film was written by Andy Lewis and David E. Lewis and was directed by Alan J. Pakula.  It starred Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, and Roy Scheider.

Klute is reasonably effective mystery bolstered by an Oscar-winning performance by Jane Fonda.  She really is very good in this, and together with her Oscar-nominated role in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), she was on something of a tear in the early 1970's.  Acting-wise at least.  She was also becoming known for her politics, but her acting in these two films back to back is impressive. 

This novelization hews very closely to the screenplay which is in turn very close to the final film.  There are a couple of differences but nothing particularly noteworthy.  There is a psychiatrist character who is female in the film, but male in the screenplay.  The ending was improved in the film as opposed to what is here--not of the mystery but with how the two lead characters relationship is depicted.  The author of the novelization resorts to presenting dialog as in a screenplay format too often.

Nothing is illuminated through the novelization process, but it reads pretty well.

From the back cover:

Klute was a cop from Pennsylvania. Bree Daniel was a New York call girl. They met when Klute came to the city looking for his best friend. Bree was his only lead but she couldn't remember the man. Or so she said. Her world of sex and hard drugs fascinated and repelled Klute. Its wanton cruelty represented everything he hated about the city.

But as Klute and Bree chased the missing man through New York's depraved underground society they found themselves drawn irresistibly together.

And then the killer appeared...  

Excerpt:

Carrying his suitcase, Klute stepped out onto the New York City street from the subway, then paused and looked about, uncertain as to which direction to take. After a moment, he sighted the street sign he was looking for. He set out, checking the addresses of the brownstones along the way.

This was the part of the city that was rarely mentioned in the travel folders. Garbage cans at the curbs, litter and dog droppings in the gutters, dim lights, downcast eyes and sullen faces. It was the part that made him appreciate most the green mountains and fertile fields of Pennsylvania.

A few blocks later, Klute reached the address he was seeking. Again, he halted. Squinting through the dimness, he peered at the For Rent sign in the window of the basement-level shop, then looked up toward the light that came from the window of the top floor apartment. Moving on, he ascended the steps to the foyer. After locating Bree Daniel's name on her mail box, he entered the building and climbed the stairs to the top level. When he reached her door, he knocked.

The peephole opened. Then a female voice, sounding annoyed, spoke from inside. "What is it?"

"Miss Daniel?" Klute said.

"So? What do you want?"

"My name is Klute---John Klute---"

The door opened approximately three inches. He could see enough of Bree Daniel's face to recognize it from the photograph he carried in his suitcase. Klute put his hand against the door to push it open. There was a crunching sound as it was stopped by the chain-lock.

Klute felt somewhat embarrassed, as if he had been caught trying to break and enter.

"Can I talk to you?" he said.

"What about?" Her manner was cold, suspicious.

"My name's John Klute."

"You said that."

"I'm an investigator," Klute told her. "I'd like to ask you some questions about Tom Grunemann."

"Who?" she asked, frowning.

"Tom Grunemann. He wrote you some letters."

"Geeeee . . ." she replied, forcing a slight smile, pretending innocence.

"He was a research engineer at the Tuscarora Laboratories in Pennsylvania," Klute went on. "He disappeared. I've been hired to look for him.

"Lucky you," she said. "Everybody ought to have something to do." She started to close the door---but Klute had a foot against it. "Believe me, he's not here," she told him.