François Truffaut's third movie as director was Jules and Jim. I remember hearing that he picked the name "Jim" to express his affection for America. But why "Jim" in particular? I've heard the names Mac and Joe used as generic American names, but Jim? Jules and Joe would have been a perfectly good title.
Then, not long ago, I read a novel from the Library of America collection, Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s. The story begins with a wounded man on the run. He runs blindly into a telephone pole and falls down.
He got up slowly, dizzily. There was a big lump on the left side of his head, his left eye and cheekbone were somewhat swollen, and the inside of his cheek was bleeding where he'd bitten it when he'd hit the pole. He thought of what his face must look like, and he managed to grin, saying to himself, You're doing fine, jim. You're really in great shape. But I think you'll make it, he decided, and then he was running again, suddenly running very fast as the headlights rounded a corner, the car picking up speed, the engine noise closing in on him.
We soon learn that the man's actual name is Turley. That "jim" functions like "Mac" or "buddy" or "pal" as a generic.
First time I've seen that.
Here's the interesting thing. The novel is Down There, by David Goodis, published in 1956. Truffaut adapted the story for his second film, which was released in 1960: Shoot the Piano Player. Thus the origin of "Jim"?
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