Author Archives: Don

Hammett: And Charlie Watts

Terry Zobeck, keeping his eye to the pavement, let me know about the latest trove of rare and first edition Hammett hitting the auction block. And get this angle: those books and typescripts all come from the collection of the … Continue reading

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Rediscovered: Biography Month Redux

Today is the official publication date for Nathan Ward’s newest bio, Son of the Old West — The Odyssey of Charlie Siringo: Cowboy, Detective, Writer of the Wild Frontier. Something to kick off another Biography Month here on These Mean … Continue reading

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Hammett: Have Horse, Will Gallop

Nathan Ward just popped in the news that a racehorse named Maltese Falcon just moved up from maiden to graded stakes winner status — and in La Jolla, Raymond Chandler’s old stomping grounds. “There are Hammett quotes to apply,” Nathan … Continue reading

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Frisco Beat: Nathan Ward Goes to Sea

You’ll remember Nathan Ward and his Hammett bio The Lost Detective. That one really gets going when Hammett rolls into San Francisco and sits down at his typewriter. Over on CrimeReads Nathan has just kicked a story off from San … Continue reading

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Sinister Cinema: Contacts Made

If you were worried about the guy who worked on Wim Wenders’ Hammett getting in contact with the guy doing a documentary on that film, you can relax. They’ve been put in touch, and have spent an initial two hours … Continue reading

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Sinister Cinema: A Big Tip for the Documentary on Wim Wenders’ Hammett

Got up today, holiday festivities looming in a few hours, and found some exciting news in the inbox. Remember the guy in France working on a documentary on the first shoot Wim Wenders did for the neo-noir movie Hammett? Guy’s … Continue reading

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Sinister Cinema: Greeks in Hollywood

Paging through Greeks in Hollywood: In the Silent Movie Era, I was stopped in my tracks when I saw the clipping of Jack Pierce, legendary makeup artist, working on Boris Karloff. If you dig the original Universal Monsters, Pierce pretty … Continue reading

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Rediscovered: A William H. Kofoed John Hancock

Autograph Hound Super-Sunday again, and signature maven Brian Leno reports in with one of his (many) recent acquisitions (Call Them Legion). “On ABE I saw a copy of a book titled Mirage, signed by William H. Kofoed,” Brian says, “who … Continue reading

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Mort: Frederic Forrest

I definitely should record the passing of actor Frederic Forrest on June 23 at the age of 86. For purposes of the Mean Streets, he claims the honor for portraying Dashiell Hammett in the 1982 film Hammett directed by Wim … Continue reading

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Hammett: I Just Knew “The Diamond Wager” Sucked

Today Will Murray put out his latest research project over on the Black Gate blog, and every serious Hammett fan will want to take a gander — then do a double-take — and then sit down with a drink to … Continue reading

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