Prohibition and the ensuing Great Depression in the US (1929–39) had given rise to the Chicago gangster culture prior to World War II. This, combined with Chase's book trade experience, made him realise that there was a big demand for gangster stories. After reading James M. Cain's novel "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1934), and having read about the American gangster Ma Barker and her sons, and with the help of maps and a slang dictionary, he wrote "No Orchids for Miss Blandish" in his spare time, allegedly over a period of six weekends (though his papers suggest it took longer.) The book achieved remarkable notoriety and became one of the best-selling books of the decade. It was the subject of the 1944 essay "Raffles and Miss Blandish" by George Orwell. Chase and Robert Nesbitt adapted it to a stage play of the same name which ran in London's West End to good reviews. The 1948 film adaptation was widely denounced as salacious due to the film's portrayal of violence and sexuality. Robert Aldrich did a remake, "The Grissom Gang", in 1971.