Biography
Samuel Dashiell Hammett (May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), the Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse) and the comic strip character Secret Agent X-9. Hammett "is now widely regarded as one of the finest mystery writers of all time". In his obituary in...
Known For
Complete Filmography
Let Sleeping Guns Lie
2005
Thanks
Johnny Barrett, a misguided and lonely soul, devotes his time to reading crime fiction novels in the hope that one day he might become one of the char...
No Good Deed
2002
Novel
While doing a friend a favour and searching for a runaway teenager, a police detective stumbles upon a bizarre band of criminals about to pull off a b...
The Gang
1986
Adaptation
Paul Madvig is a businessman in an American town in the 1920s, doing everything to maintain his power. He plans to marry Janet, the daughter of senato...
The Case of Dashiell Hammett
1982
A one-hour public television (PBS) biography of Dashiell Hammett, creator of the "hardboiled" modern detective novel and author of "The Maltese Falcon...
The Wizard of Malta
1981
Novel
Douglas Davis presents his interpretations of The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Wizard of Oz (1939), and Napoleon in the triptych style of the finale of ...
The Crimson Night of the Hawk
1978
Novel
A murder mystery set in the old west.
The Black Bird
1975
Characters
The son of famous detective Sam Spade carries on the family tradition of getting involved with the Maltese Falcon - and with the people who will stop ...
Nick and Nora
1975
Characters
Retired detective Nick Charles and his wife set out to solve a murder mystery after a corpse wearing white gloves is found in a hotel pool.
Song of the Thin Man
1947
Characters
Society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles investigate a murder in a jazz club.
Secret Agent X-9
1945
Characters
American, Chinese and Australian agents join forces to stop the Nazis from obtaining the formula for synthetic fuel.
The Thin Man Goes Home
1944
Characters
On a trip to visit his parents, detective Nick Charles gets mixed up in a murder investigation.
Watch on the Rhine
1943
Screenplay
On the eve of World War II, the German Kurt Müller, his American-born wife Sara, and their three children, having lived in Europe for years, visit Sar...
The Glass Key
1942
Novel
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Shadow of the Thin Man
1941
Characters
High society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles run into a variety of shady characters while investigating a race-track murder.
The Maltese Falcon
1941
Novel
A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.
Another Thin Man
1939
Story
Not even the joys of parenthood can stop married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles from investigating a murder on a Long Island estate.
Secret Agent X-9
1937
Characters
A secret agent goes after the gang that stole the crown jewels of a European monarchy.
After the Thin Man
1936
Story
Nick and Nora Charles investigate when Nora's cousin reports her disreputable husband is missing, and find themselves in a mystery involving the shady...
Satan Met a Lady
1936
Novel
In the second screen version of The Maltese Falcon, a detective is caught between a lying seductress and a lady jewel thief.
The Glass Key
1935
Novel
When Paul Madvig, a successful politician who fights his rivals to seize the city, becomes implicated in a murder, Ed Beaumont, his friend and right-h...
Mister Dynamite
1935
Story
A gambler hires a detective to investigate when a murder is committed in his casino.
Woman in the Dark
1934
Short Story
A recently released prisoner lives alone in his cabin so that his bad temper won't get him back in any more trouble, but his peaceful existence is dis...
The Thin Man
1934
Novel
A husband and wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.
The Maltese Falcon
1931
Novel
A lovely dame with dangerous lies employs the services of a private detective, who is quickly caught up in the mystery and intrigue of a statuette kno...
City Streets
1931
Story
A mobster's daughter leads her boyfriend from the circus into bootlegging.
Roadhouse Nights
1930
Novel
Based on the Hammett novel, this ultra-rare film—is nominally taken from the author's classic gang-war novel Red Harvest, which proved too brutal and ...