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Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled crime fiction. He can even be considered a pioneer in the genre, as he has influenced many in the genre, especially writers like Raymond Chandler. his novel “the maltese falcon” in which his most famous character, sam spade, participates, has influenced the film noir genre. His own stories were inspired by his own experiences as a Pinkerton detective. this allowed them to have a level of authenticity and realism that had never been seen before. he is said to have brought the detective fiction genre into the real world in all its gritty detail and writing for an audience that wasn’t afraid to witness it. this led to him becoming a highly celebrated mystery writer and receiving much praise from the world of literature and entertainment.
Dashiell Hammett had an eventful life. Born in 1894 in Maryland, United States, he spent most of his childhood in Baltimore and Philadelphia. After dropping out of school at the age of 13, he eventually got a job at the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, where he worked for 7 years. he finally had to leave the job when he refused to assassinate a union leader to break up a strike. this event influenced his later life and his guiding philosophies.
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During this period he also served in the First World War. however, he fell ill with the Spanish flu and then with tuberculosis and remained a patient throughout the war. He married Josephine Dolan, who was a nurse at his hospital, and later had two daughters. Although the marriage soon fell apart as they had to live apart for medical reasons, he provided financial support for his family with his writing income.
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Before becoming a writer, he worked in advertising and turned to alcoholism. He did most of his writing during the 1920s in the city of San Francisco. this can also be seen in the various references to the city in his works. Near the end of the 1920s he also became romantically involved with Nell Martin, an author of short stories and mysteries. One of her favorite books, “The Crystal Key,” which inspired such works as Akira Kurosawa’s “Yojimbo” and the Coen Brothers’ “Miller’s Crossing,” was dedicated to her. “The Crystal Key” also inspired an award given to Scandinavian crime novel writers. some of its winners have been “miss smilla’s feelings for the snow” and “the girl with the dragon tattoo”. He was later involved in a 30-year romantic relationship with Lillian Hellman, a successful Broadway playwright.
hammett later became a leftist and marxist activist and joined the communist party in 1937. he joined the second world war despite being a disabled war veteran of the first world war. after the war he became president of the civil rights congress. however, in 1947 under the executive order of president harry struman, his organization was identified as a communist organization. when he was tried in court on communist charges, he refused to divulge information and was found guilty of contempt of court. he was sentenced to prison where he was assigned bathroom cleaning duties. later, in 1953, he testified about his own activities, but never revealed information about anyone else. therefore, he was blacklisted under McCarthyism. by this time his tuberculosis had worsened after a lifetime of smoking and drinking. this was made worse by his time in prison. he spent his last four years living with hellman and died of lung cancer detected just two months earlier. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery as a veteran.
one of his most famous characters is sam spade. He was introduced to the public through his third novel, “The Maltese Falcon”. The role of Sam Spade was also played by Humphrey Bogart in the 1941 film adaptation of the novel, which is often recognized as one of the most famous examples of film noir. Sam Spade is credited with setting the mold for the private eye character in hard-boiled detective fiction. writers like raymond chandler have been inspired by him. According to Hammett, he was based on what all the detectives he had worked with would like to be: a cunning and tough person who is able to take care of himself no matter the situation and who can bring out the best in anyone. Humphrey Bogart later played the character in the most famous movie, “The Maltese Falcon”. the film is about a private detective investigating three people after the famous jeweled falcon of the same name. This interpretation was marked by his short stature and heavy portrayal in beige prose, thus establishing the most widely followed framework for film noir, although it was very different from the portrayal of the character of Sam Spade in the novel.
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nick and nora charles from their fifth and final novel, “the thin man” also set the prototype for the archetypal romantic couple who solve crimes. there the interactions are marked by clever jokes and sharp retorts. In the novel, Nick is a former private detective married to a wealthy heiress, Nora, who was inspired by Lillian Hellman. Nick himself takes many cues from Hammett. This novel, unlike Hammett’s other works, was relatively light and more humorous in tone and can be treated as both a mystery and a comedy. the film adaptation was well received by the public and was a resounding success. as a result, five sequels to the film were produced while only one novel was written. the movies themselves revolutionized several aspects of the portrayal of married couples in movies.
However, his first important character was the continental operator who starred in the novels “red harvest” and “the dain curse”. this character remains nameless throughout all the stories in which he appears. “Red Harvest” has been suggested as another inspiration behind Akira Kurosawa’s film “Yojimbo” and the Coen Brothers’ “Miller’s Crossing”. The Coen Brothers named their debut film “Simple Blood” after an expression mentioned in the novel “Red Harvest”. the continental op was the definitive character for the archetype of a hardened private eye that was later developed into characters like sam spade and philip marlowe by raymond chandler among others.
hammett’s relationship with lillian hellman was the subject of a movie called julia, which led to jason robards winning an oscar for playing dashiel hammett and actress jane fonda earning a nomination for playing hellman.
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