Editing Nero Wolfe (section)

===Film===
After the publication of ''Fer-de-Lance'' in 1934, several Hollywood studios were interested in the movie rights.<ref name="McAleer"/>{{Rp|254|date=October 2013}} In one of many conversations with his authorized biographer, Rex Stout told John McAleer that he himself had wanted [[Charles Laughton]] to play Nero Wolfe:

:I met Laughton only once, at a party. Of all the actors I have seen, I think he would have come closest to doing Nero Wolfe perfectly. A motion picture producer (I forget who) asked him to do a series of Nero Wolfe movies, and he had said he would agree to do one but would not commit himself to a series.<ref name="Royal Decree"/>{{Rp|48|date=October 2013}}

In 1974 McAleer interviewed Laughton's widow, [[Elsa Lanchester]]. "I seem to remember Charles being very interested in the character of Nero Wolfe," she told him. "I always regretted I did not get to play Dora Chapin."<ref name="McAleer"/>{{Rp|554|date=October 2013}}{{efn|Dora Chapin is the wife of the man feared by the members of ''[[The League of Frightened Men]]''; much of the novel's plot hinges on her activities.}}

"When Columbia pictures bought the screen rights to ''Fer-de-Lance'' for $7,500 and secured the option to buy further stories in the series, it was thought the role would go to Walter Connolly. Instead Edward Arnold got it", McAleer reported in ''Rex Stout: A Biography''. "Columbia's idea was to keep Arnold busy with low-cost Wolfe films between features. Two films presently were made by Columbia, ''Meet Nero Wolfe (Fer-de-Lance)'' and ''The League of Frightened Men''. Connolly did portray Wolfe in the latter film, after Arnold decided he did not want to become identified in the public mind with one part. Lionel Stander portrayed Archie Goodwin. Stander was a capable actor but, as Archie, Rex thought he had been miscast."<ref name="McAleer"/>{{Rp|254–255|date=October 2013}}

====''Meet Nero Wolfe''====
{{Main|Meet Nero Wolfe}}
Columbia Pictures adapted the first Nero Wolfe novel, ''Fer-de-Lance'', for the screen in 1936. ''[[Meet Nero Wolfe]]'' was directed by [[Herbert Biberman]], and featured a cast led by [[Edward Arnold (actor)|Edward Arnold]] as Nero Wolfe, and [[Lionel Stander]] as Archie Goodwin. A young [[Rita Hayworth]] (then Rita Cansino) portrays Maria Maringola, who sets the story in motion when she asks for Wolfe's help in finding her missing brother, Carlo.

"''Meet Nero Wolfe'' is an above average minor A picture, a solid mystery, and unfailingly entertaining", reported ''[[Scarlet Street (magazine)|Scarlet Street]]'' magazine in 2002 when it revisited the film. "No, at bottom, it's not Rex Stout's Nero and Archie, but it's a well-developed mystery (thanks to Stout's plot) with compensations all its own—and an interesting piece of Wolfeana."<ref>Hanke, Ken, "Meet Nero Wolfe"; ''[[Scarlet Street (magazine)|Scarlet Street]]'', issue #45, 2002, p. 77</ref>

====''The League of Frightened Men''====
{{Main|The League of Frightened Men (1937 film)}}
In 1937, Columbia Pictures released ''[[The League of Frightened Men (1937 film)|The League of Frightened Men]]'', its adaptation of the second Nero Wolfe novel. [[Lionel Stander]] reprised his role as Archie Goodwin, and [[Walter Connolly]] took over the role of Nero Wolfe.

"He drinks beer in the novel but hot chocolate in the picture. That's the best explanation of what's wrong with the film", wrote ''Variety'' (June 16, 1937).

After ''The League of Frightened Men'', Rex Stout declined to authorize any more Hollywood adaptations. "Do you think there's any chance of Hollywood ever making a good Nero Wolfe movie?" biographer John McAleer asked the author. Stout replied, "I don't know. I suppose so."<ref name="Royal Decree"/>{{Rp|48|date=October 2013}}