Monthly Archives: December 2021

Hammett: Another Top Tenner

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Don

Brian Leno let me know that an Op story cracked The Top Ten list for Library of America’s Story of the Week feature in 2021. “The Gutting of Couffignal.” One of the yarns in Hammett’s white-hot burst of Op action … Continue reading →

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Hammett: From Ape-Wrangler to Town-Tamer

Posted on December 27, 2021 by Don

The other day Evan Lewis tracked down another “lost” movie version of Red Harvest, that would have followed the “lost” version starring Alan Ladd at Paramount — Ladd’s being juggled in 1941 and this next version getting a big blurb … Continue reading →

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Rediscovered: The Big Picnic

Posted on December 23, 2021 by Don

John D. Haefele just got a nice nod for Xmas for his Cyclopean tome Lovecraft: The Great Tales — and from noted Lovecraftian Ken Hite, no less. In November I got an enthusiastic yet somewhat startled note from my academic … Continue reading →

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Hammett: More Dashiells

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Don

I did a quick Dashiell Hammett Tour by appointment on Saturday the 18th. Initially the guy had Monday the 13th in mind — you know, the day one of those atmospheric rivers unloaded the agua on the mean streets all … Continue reading →

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Rediscovered: ERB in the Papers, Too

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Don

The noted book and pulp collector Kevin Cook sent in some additional thoughts and info on the idea of writers such as Hammett getting a ton of newspaper action with reprints — lots of reprints — from their backlog. Kevin approaches … Continue reading →

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Hammett: Two Sharp Knives on Early Television

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Don

Terry Zobeck has been investigating that 1949 TV show where Dashiell Hammett pulls a Hitchcock and delivers a couple of lines — to date, the only recording of Hammett’s voice to turn up. “I watched Two Sharp Knives this afternoon,” … Continue reading →

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Rediscovered: Batgirl at $11,850 Off

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Don

Got a note in from Brian Leno immediately after he read Tom Krabacher’s report on the Windy City pulp convention, where the issue of Weird Tales with Margaret Brundage’s “Batgirl” cover went at auction for $11,000 plus 10% buyer’s premium. … Continue reading →

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Hammett: His Garbo Speaks! Moment

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Don

Holy cow — suddenly it is Audio Hound Super-Sunday! And longtime Mean Streets maven Terry Zobeck just heard some sound he’s been waiting to hear for many, many long years. Here’s Terry with the scoop: In 2001, at the Washington, … Continue reading →

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Rediscovered: More Burnham

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Don

Autograph Hound Super-Sunday and the intrepid John Hancock Hunter Brian Leno drops in a note to say, “I know I’ve written about Burnham on your blog but I don’t think I ever showed you his signature. “This book he inscribed … Continue reading →

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Rediscovered: 19 Minutes with Fafhrd and the Mouser, and Fritz

Posted on December 4, 2021 by Don

Over on The Pulp.Net I just gave Bill Lampkin the okay to put up an article I did back in 2014 for his zine The Pulpster — a good one, if I say so myself (hell, even definitive), on the … Continue reading →

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