Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the characters he created are Sam Spade, Nick and Nora Charles, The Continental Op and the comic strip character Secret Agent X-9.
James Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.
Jean Merilyn Simmons was a British actress and singer. One of J. Arthur Rank's "well-spoken young starlets," she appeared predominantly in films, beginning with those made in Britain during and after the Second World War, followed mainly by Hollywood films from 1950 onwards.
Red Harvest (1929) is a novel by American writer Dashiell Hammett. The story is narrated by the Continental Op, a frequent character in Hammett's fiction, much of which is drawn from his own experiences as an operative of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. The plot follows the Op's investigation of several murders amid a labor dispute in a corrupt Montana mining town. Some of the novel was inspired by the Anaconda Road massacre, a 1920 labor dispute in the mining town of Butte, Montana.
Stephen Weaver Collins is an American former actor. He is known for playing Eric Camden on the WB/CW television series 7th Heaven from 1996 to 2007. Afterwards, Collins played the roles of Dayton King on the ABC television series No Ordinary Family and Gene Porter in the NBC television series Revolution, father of Elizabeth Mitchell's character, Rachel Matheson. Before 7th Heaven, Collins was known for his roles as Commander Willard Decker in the 1979 film Star Trek: The Motion Picture and fighter pilot Jake Cutter in the ABC television series Tales of the Gold Monkey. In 2014, his career ended after he confessed to sexual misconduct against multiple minors.
The Continental Op is a fictional character created by Dashiell Hammett. He is a private investigator employed as an operative of the Continental Detective Agency's San Francisco office. The stories are all told in the first person and his name is never given.
Hardboiled fiction is a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction. The genre's typical protagonist is a detective who battles the violence of organized crime that flourished during Prohibition (1920–1933) and its aftermath, while dealing with a legal system that has become as corrupt as the organized crime itself. Rendered cynical by this cycle of violence, the detectives of hardboiled fiction are often antiheroes. Notable hardboiled detectives include Dick Tracy, Philip Marlowe, Nick Charles, Mike Hammer, Sam Spade, Lew Archer, Slam Bradley, and The Continental Op.
David Loeb Goodis was an American writer of crime fiction noted for his output of short stories and novels in the noir fiction genre. Born in Philadelphia, Goodis alternately resided there and in New York City and Hollywood during his professional years. According to critic Dennis Drabelle, "Despite his [university] education, a combination of ethnicity (Jewish) and temperament allowed him to empathize with outsiders: the working poor, the unjustly accused, fugitives, criminals."
The Glass Key is a novel by American writer Dashiell Hammett. First published as a serial in Black Mask magazine in 1930, it then was collected in 1931. It tells the story of a gambler and racketeer, Ned Beaumont, whose devotion to Paul Madvig, a crooked political boss, leads him to investigate the murder of a local senator's son as a potential gang war brews. Hammett dedicated the novel to his onetime lover Nell Martin.
The Dain Curse is a novel by American writer Dashiell Hammett, published in 1929. Before its publication in book form, it was serialized in Black Mask magazine in 1928 and 1929.
Secret Agent X-9 is a comic strip created by writer Dashiell Hammett and artist Alex Raymond. Syndicated by King Features, it ran from January 22, 1934 until February 10, 1996.
Jonathan Wyatt Latimer was an American crime writer known his novels and screenplays. Before becoming an author, Latimer was a journalist in Chicago.
The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 American film noir written and directed by John Huston in his directorial debut. Based on the 1930 novel The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, it is a remake of the 1931 film of the same name.
The Glass Key is a 1942 American film noir based on the 1931 novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. The picture was directed by Stuart Heisler starring Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd. A successful earlier film version starring George Raft in Ladd's role had been released in 1935. The 1942 version's supporting cast features William Bendix, Bonita Granville, Richard Denning and Joseph Calleia.
Egbert Warnderink "E. W." Swackhamer Jr. was an American television and film director.
Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls is an American television drama miniseries that aired on CBS in October 1981. The first two hours were broadcast on October 19, followed by three hours on October 20 during prime time; CBS originally intended it to last a total of four hours, but requests by the filmmakers for an further hour were granted in September. The teleplay is adapted from the 1966 novel Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann. The miniseries was directed by Walter Grauman, with Susann's husband Irving Mansfield as executive producer.
William Bayer is an American novelist, the author of twenty-one books including The New York Times best-sellers Switch and Pattern Crimes.
John's Grill is a historic restaurant located in the downtown area of San Francisco, California. It is a traditional meeting place for bower brokers and politicians, and offers a free lunch on election day. In Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel The Maltese Falcon, the basis for the 1941 film, detective Sam Spade dines there; the Dashiell Hammett Society is based at the restaurant, and the building houses related memorabilia.
A Borrowed Man is a 2015 science fiction hardboiled noir novel by Gene Wolfe.
Alfred George Skrenda (1897–1978) was an American illustrator, particularly of book dust jackets.
