Dashiell Hammet

[jake_fink]

Got this compilation from 1965. Reading The Maltese Falcon now - it is EXCELLENT.

...he did over and over again what only the best writers can ever do at all. He wrote scenes that seemed never to have been written before.
-Raymond Chandler

scotrace,

Let us know how you like the others as well. My favourite Hammett novel is the Glass Key with Maltese Falcon a very close second (and sometimes first, dependingon how recently I've read it).

 

[manton]

Very interesting to see how closely they used to follow books when drafting a screenplay. "The Maltese Falcon" is so true to the book with just a few exceptions that I am sure were made for expediency.

The Bogart Maltese Falcon is the third adaptation of the book. John Huston was one of Warner Brother's youngest directors. This was his first feature. It was assigned to him as a "B" picture by the studio front office. He basically had no idea what he was doing, but it was considered easier to adapt a screenplay from a book than to write one from scratch.

He asked his secretary to go through the book, lay out all the scenes in order, and catalogue all the dialogue, removing every bit of narration. Then he went away for the weekend. She worked through the weekend and gave him the summary on a Monday morning. He read through it, made some cuts for length and thought, "Gee, this should work fine." Poor gal didn't even get a screenwriting credit.

 

[MrNewportCustom]

I am looking forward to reading some of his books, which one is a good one to start with?

karol

Start with any of them. My personal favorite, though, is The Glass Key. But if I were to suggest a specific book, start with Nightmare Town. Lot's of short stories to help you wet your whistle.

Going off topic (maybe slightly), who has watched Steve Martin's, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid? He and Reiner did an amazing job of including clips from films such as Glass Key into that movie. (And Rachel Ward was gorgeous in those golden era styles!)

Lee
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"At least we got Terre . . . Haute . . . India . . . na." - Field Marshall Wilford VonKluck
"And they were just about to get a public library." - Rigby Reardon

 

[MrNewportCustom]

I can't get enough of Chandler, but what I've read of Hammett is pretty terrific too. Very interesting to see how closely they used to follow books when drafting a screenplay. "The Maltese Falcon" is so true to the book with just a few exceptions that I am sure were made for expediency. "Red Harvest" was hard to get into after "Falcon," primarily because it's easier to identify with Sam Spade than with a no-name Continental Operative.

The Green Mile is exceptionally close to the book - I was amazed at how close.

Lee
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[MrNewportCustom]

I am a large fan of Hammett. I have to say that I prefer Chandler, however. More levity, and more campy in a Hollywood sort of way.

Another less known noir master is Cornell Woolrich, whom I am just beginning to discovery. Anyone read any of his work?

Mark

Mark, For even more Hollywood camp and levity, try Richard S. Prather's Shel Scott series (40 fooks in all).

Lee
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