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25th Feb '13 9:45:10 PM PaulA

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->''Hammett took murder out of the Venetian vase and dropped it into the alley ... . He wrote at first (and almost to the end) for people with a sharp, aggressive attitude to life. They were not afraid of the seamy side of things; they lived there. Violence did not dismay them; it was right down their street.''
-->-- '''Creator/RaymondChandler''', [[http://www.en.utexas.edu/amlit/amlitprivate/scans/chandlerart.html "The Simple Art of Murder"]]

Samuel Dashiell Hammett (1894 --1961) was a pioneering writer of HardboiledDetective fiction. His stories were backed up by personal experience; he had been a PinkertonDetective 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, ''Literature/RedHarvest'' and ''The Dain Curse''. ''Red Harvest'' is thought to have been an influence on Creator/AkiraKurosawa's film ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}'', and combined with ''The Glass Key'' is a heavy influence on Coen Brothers's noir film ''MillersCrossing'' . ''Literature/RedHarvest'' also coined the term BloodSimple (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, ''Literature/TheMalteseFalcon'', introduced the world to prototypical private eye Sam Spade, and is perhaps his single most famous work, though many people [[AdaptationDisplacement know it only via]] [[Film/TheMalteseFalcon the 1941 film version starring Humphrey Bogart]], which is one of the defining examples of FilmNoir.

His fourth novel, ''The Glass Key'', was adapted for film several times, is another influence on Kurosawa and the Cohens, and has a crime fiction award named after it.[[note]]The Glass Key award is maintained by the Crime Writers of Scandinavia; recipients include ''Literature/MissSmillasFeelingForSnow'' and ''[[Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo]]''.[[/note]]

His fifth and final novel, ''Literature/TheThinMan'', received a LighterAndSofter [[Film/TheThinMan 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 ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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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!!Works by Dashiell Hammett with their own trope pages include:

* ''Literature/RedHarvest''
* ''Literature/TheMalteseFalcon''
* ''Literature/TheThinMan''

!!Other works by Dashiell Hammett provide examples of:

* AcquiredPoisonImmunity: Lampshaded and subverted in "Fly Paper"
* AntiHero
* AGodAmI: [[spoiler: Joseph in ''The Dain Curse.'']]
* BlownAcrossTheRoom: Though Hammett worked as a PinkertonDetective and had firearms training from his military service, he happily embraced this trope for dramatic effect, particularly in his Continental Op stories.
** PunchedAcrossTheRoom: Also shows up from time to time.
* CartwrightCurse: Apparently one of the symptoms of the Dain Curse.
* TheChessmaster: The Continental Op
* ConsummateProfessional: Little interests the Op outside of his work.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep / NoNameGiven: The Continental Op
* EvilRedhead: [[spoiler: Fitzstephan in The Dain Curse.]]
* FemmeFatale / TheVamp: Several of each over various stories. The Continental Op's Jeanne Delano, the 'Girl with the Silver Eyes' is a helluva lady.
* FramingTheGuiltyParty: An odd example. In "The Golden Horseshoe", the Op is sure he knows who arranged a double murder, but can't prove it. [[spoiler: So he frames the guilty party for a death that was actually a ''suicide''.]]
* GambitPileup: Hammett loved double, triple, and higher multiple crosses-- see ''Red Harvest,'' "Nightmare Town," "The Whosis Kid," "The Big Knockover" and its sequel, "$106,000 Blood Money."
* {{Gaslighting}}: ''The Dain Curse''.
* GunsAkimbo: In a couple of Continental Op stories with Chinese gangsters, the Op notes that they like to shoot this way-- and not bother aiming.
* HandyCuffs
* HardboiledDetective: he helped codify the trope.
* HiddenSupplies: Also attributed to Chinese gangsters by the Op.
* InscrutableOriental: Tai Choon Tau in "The House on Turk Street" and Chang Li Ching in "Dead Yellow Women" (the latter having a touch of YellowPeril about him as well).
* KavorkaMan: The Op is short, stocky and balding yet is seemingly attractive to a number of [[InsistentTerminology 'nice']] looking dames.
* NewOldWest: "Corkscrew"
* NobleDemon: Gabrielle's opinion of the Op boils down to this.
* OutlawTown: "Nightmare Town" and ''Red Harvest''.
* PrivateDetective: some of his detectives didn't quite fit the [[HardboiledDetective hardboiled]] category.
* ProfessionalSlacker: The Minister of Police from "This King Business" runs an efficient force so crime doesn't interfere with his peace & comfort. 
* RailingKill: "The Scorched Face".
* RasputinianDeath: [[spoiler: Joseph in the Dain Curse takes a gun full of bullets and knife through the neck before he goes down.]]
* RedRightHand: Gabrielle believes her pointed ears and small facial features are signs of evil.
* RoguesGallery: The gang of hoods from "The Big Knockover".
* {{Ruritania}}: "This King Business"
* SelfPlagiarism: Some have noted that The Maltese Falcon in particular draws on ideas from some of Hammett's previous works. 
* TakingOverTheTown: "The Gutting of Couffignal".
* TerseTalker: Dick Foley.
* TownWithADarkSecret: "Nightmare Town"
* TheUnfettered: The Continental Op will get the crooks he's after, no matter what it takes or how many laws he has to break.
* WhatBeautifulEyes: Jeanne Delano, "The Girl With Silver Eyes". Also UhOhEyes when the Op remembers where he last saw her.
* YoureInsane: ''The Dain Curse''
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25th Feb '13 9:42:39 PM PaulA

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25th Feb '13 9:41:02 PM PaulA

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since we've mentioned every other one of his novels

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23rd Feb '13 1:05:34 AM Xtifr

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