Dashiell Hammett: Difference between revisions

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Samuel Dashiell Hammett (1894 --1961) was a pioneering writer of [[Hardboiled Detective]] fiction. His stories were backed up by personal experience; he had been a [[Pinkerton Detective]] himself.
Samuel Dashiell Hammett (1894 --1961) was a pioneering writer of [[Hardboiled Detective]] fiction. His stories were backed up by personal experience; he had been a [[Pinkerton Detective]] himself.


Hammett's first major character was the Continental Op, an anonymous operative of the Continental Detective Agency, who first appeared in print in 1923 and went on to feature in over 30 stories and two novels, ''[[Red Harvest]]'' and ''The Dain Curse''. ''Red Harvest'' is thought to have been an influence on [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s film ''[[Yojimbo]]'', and combined with ''The Glass Key'' is a heavy influence on Coen Brothers's noir film ''[[Millers Crossing]]'' . ''[[Red Harvest]]'' also coined the term [[Blood Simple]] (after which the Coen Brothers' film debut is named); the phrase refers to the addled, fearful mindset people are in after a prolonged immersion in violent situations.
Hammett's first major character was the Continental Op, an anonymous operative of the Continental Detective Agency, who first appeared in print in 1923 and went on to feature in over 30 stories and two novels, ''[[Red Harvest]]'' and ''The Dain Curse''. ''Red Harvest'' is thought to have been an influence on [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s film ''[[Yojimbo]]'', and combined with ''The Glass Key'' is a heavy influence on Coen Brothers's noir film ''[[Miller's Crossing]]'' . ''[[Red Harvest]]'' also coined the term [[Blood Simple]] (after which the Coen Brothers' film debut is named); the phrase refers to the addled, fearful mindset people are in after a prolonged immersion in violent situations.


Hammett's third novel, ''The Maltese Falcon'', introduced the world to prototypical private eye Sam Spade, and is perhaps his single most famous work, though many people [[Adaptation Displacement|know it only via]] [[The Maltese Falcon (Film)|the 1941 film version starring Humphrey Bogart]], which is one of the defining examples of [[Film Noir]].
Hammett's third novel, ''The Maltese Falcon'', introduced the world to prototypical private eye Sam Spade, and is perhaps his single most famous work, though many people [[Adaptation Displacement|know it only via]] [[The Maltese Falcon|the 1941 film version starring Humphrey Bogart]], which is one of the defining examples of [[Film Noir]].


His fifth and final novel, ''[[The Thin Man (Literature)|The Thin Man]]'', received a [[Lighter and Softer]] [[The Thin Man (Film)|film adaptation starring William Powell and Myrna Loy]], which launched a popular film series.
His fifth and final novel, ''[[The Thin Man (novel)|The Thin Man]]'', received a [[Lighter and Softer]] [[The Thin Man (film)|film adaptation starring William Powell and Myrna Loy]], which launched a popular film series.


Interestingly, he also teamed up with ''Flash Gordon'' artist Alex Raymond on a newspaper comic called ''[[wikipedia:Secret Agent X-9|Secret Agent X-9]]''; while it was not a success for him (he left after the first year), it carried on with other writers and artists until 1996.
Interestingly, he also teamed up with ''Flash Gordon'' artist Alex Raymond on a newspaper comic called ''[[wikipedia:Secret Agent X-9|Secret Agent X-9]]''; while it was not a success for him (he left after the first year), it carried on with other writers and artists until 1996.
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* ''[[Red Harvest]]''
* ''[[Red Harvest]]''
* ''[[The Thin Man (Literature)|The Thin Man]]''
* ''[[The Thin Man (novel)|The Thin Man]]''


=== Other works by Dashiell Hammett provide examples of: ===
=== Other works by Dashiell Hammett provide examples of: ===


* [[Acquired Poison Immunity]]: Lampshaded and subverted in "Fly Paper"
* [[Acquired Poison Immunity]]: Lampshaded and subverted in "Fly Paper"
* [[Adaptation Displacement]]: Bet you didn't know there were two film versions of ''The Maltese Falcon'' prior to [[The Maltese Falcon (Film)|the 1941 one]]. Both of them, incidentally, were terrible--although the second of them, ''Satan Met A Lady'', features a young Bette Davis.
* [[Adaptation Displacement]]: Bet you didn't know there were two film versions of ''The Maltese Falcon'' prior to [[The Maltese Falcon|the 1941 one]]. Both of them, incidentally, were terrible--although the second of them, ''Satan Met A Lady'', features a young Bette Davis.
* [[Anti-Hero]]
* [[Anti-Hero]]
* [[Blown Across the Room]]: Though Hammett worked as a [[Pinkerton Detective]] and had firearms training from his military service, he happily embraced this trope for dramatic effect, particularly in his Continental Op stories.
* [[Blown Across the Room]]: Though Hammett worked as a [[Pinkerton Detective]] and had firearms training from his military service, he happily embraced this trope for dramatic effect, particularly in his Continental Op stories.
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* [[Sassy Secretary]]: Sam Spade's Effie Perrine.
* [[Sassy Secretary]]: Sam Spade's Effie Perrine.
* [[Taking Over the Town]]: "The Gutting of Couffignal".
* [[Taking Over the Town]]: "The Gutting of Couffignal".
* [[Town With a Dark Secret]]: "Nightmare Town"
* [[Town with a Dark Secret]]: "Nightmare Town"
* [[The Unfettered]]: The Continental Op will get the crooks he's after, no matter what it takes or how many laws he has to break.
* [[The Unfettered]]: The Continental Op will get the crooks he's after, no matter what it takes or how many laws he has to break.
* [[What Beautiful Eyes!]]: Jeanne Delano, "The Girl With Silver Eyes". Also [[Uh-Oh Eyes]] when the Op remembers where he last saw her.
* [[What Beautiful Eyes!]]: Jeanne Delano, "The Girl With Silver Eyes". Also [[Uh-Oh Eyes]] when the Op remembers where he last saw her.
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