Welcome to a hard-boiled and not without noir blog with news and reviews, occasional outbursts of maniacal Autograph Hound activity, plus archival records from the forty-five year run of The Dashiell Hammett Tour. 
The Dashiell Hammett Tour
1977-2022
Arkham House Ephemera
The Classic Years 1937–1973
Death Lit
Essays and Reviews Selected from Fifty Years of Writing 1974–2024
Willeford
The Book
Category Archives: Dash
Hammett: The Grit Conundrum
Or, The Return of Terry “Pure Texts” Zobeck! Apparently there’s no end to the fine-tuning on issues in re: pure texts. Take it away, Terry: Here’s another example of a Hammett story reprinted by Frederic Dannay where the edits predate … Continue reading
Posted in Dash
Tagged "The Judge Laughed Last", "The New Racket", EQMM, Frederic Dannay, Grit, Mysterious Bookshop, Otto Penzler, Terry Zobeck, Zobeck Series One
891 Post: The Halloween Caper
Got word that some inhabitants of 891 Post — the building where Hammett wrote The Maltese Falcon — put together a murder mystery for Halloween. That’s Mark Murphy as Sam Spade — or is it the ghost of Sam Spade? … Continue reading
Hammett: More Spadework from Coggins
Mark Coggins drops me a note to say, “I’ve a second Spade story, “The Russian Egg” in Eclectica Magazine which follows immediately from the first. “It has a little to say about the backstory of Gutman’s daughter.” Mark also supplies … Continue reading
Hammett: Jeopardy! Combines the Obvious with a Huh-What?
Last season — S41E207 — 6/24/25 — in the first round Jeopardy! offered the category “Chapter & Non-Verse.” The $600 clew: “The Black Bird”: “Yes, with ten thousand insurance, no children, and a wife who didn’t like him.” “The Black … Continue reading
Hammett: Jeopardy! Does a Double-Tap
Jeopardy! just kicked off a new season, S42, while I still have a couple of posts in the files mentioning clews from earlier in the year. The most interesting use was that in their sideshow, Jeopardy Masters. S3E2, aired on … Continue reading
Hammett: Back in the Jeopardy! Saddle
Last week Jeopardy! returned with Season 42, and took me by surprise by immediately dropping a Hammett clew into the mix. S42E4 9.11.2025 — the Double Jeopardy round. Category: Writers at Rest. The $1200 clew: Lillian Hellman spoke of his … Continue reading
Hammett: Mockingbird Joins Early What Could be Legions
Mark Coggins, big Hammett fan (and crime novelist, etc & etc) just dropped me a note to say: “Hammett’s probably spinning in his grave, but I joined Mr. Collins in attempting a Spade story, published at Eclectica Magazine. “Floyd Thursby’s hotel … Continue reading
Hammett: A Jeopardy! One-Two Punch
Jeopardy! kind of laid off Hammett clews for while, then surprised me with a sudden two-fisted assault. S41E154 — April 10, 2025 — in the initial round offered the category Mystery Loves Company. The $1000 clew: 8 paragraphs in on … Continue reading
Hammett: The Return of
Terry Zobeck keeps his eye peeled like a Pinkerton’s man and let me know the Hammett Tour book gets some nice blurbage from Max Allan Collins on CrimeReads. Thank you, thank you — to both. Looks as if Hard Case … Continue reading
Posted in Dash
Tagged Crimereads, Hammett Tour Book, Hard Case Crime, Marvin Lachtman, Max Allan Collins, Sam Spade pastiches, Terry Zobeck
Rediscovered: The Conniving Curley
Hop over to Crimereads to peruse Nathan Ward’s latest research into the flimflam and frayed borders of the legends and lives that populated the Wild West. Most recently Nathan made the Up and Down These Mean Streets scene with his … Continue reading
