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
Sinister Cinema: The Sound of Fury
In a week or so Noir City is coming up once again in The Castro, with a double bill of the first couple of Thin Man films, Woman on the Run with terrific footage of period San Francisco streets, and lots … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Film, Frisco
Tagged "Crooked Souls", "The Gatewood Caper", Brooke Hart, Castro Theatre, CrimeLibrary, Lindbergh baby, Lloyd Bridges, Marion Parker, Mark Gado, Noir City, San Jose, The Sound of Fury
Hammett: “Crooked Souls”
Terry Zobeck is back with another entry in Zobeck: Series Two, in which he details the differences in Hammett texts from those used in the Ellery Queen editions assembled by Frederic Dannay vs. the original magazine wording — the extensive set … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Frisco
Tagged "Crooked Souls", "Peter Collinson", "Slippery Fingers", "The Vicious Circle", EQMM, Frederic Dannay, Terry Zobeck, Zobeck Series Two
Hammett: And Prohibition
Per my normal Xmas rituals, I’ll be heading up to the dinner table in the hideout of Floyd “Tattoo the Wicked Cross” Salas, but here’s a tidbit to hold down a place under the tree: some casual speculation on Hammett … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Frisco
Tagged 891 Post, Bill Arney, Blaine Act, Floyd Salas, Izzy Einstein, John's Grill, Mark Murphy, New Orleans, Prohibition, Red Harvest, The Maltese Arms, Vince Emery, Volstead Act
Hammett: It’s Greek to Me
Photo courtesy Becky Dawidziak — featuring her dad Mark Dawidziak, of Jim Tully biography fame — shot for a class project to take a picture on the two-word theme Proof Reading. I think she nailed it. Thanks, Becky. I just crawled out … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, News
Tagged Anne Ferguson, Becky Dawidziak, Edwin Ware, Jim Tully, John D. Haefele, Lee Marvin, Mark Dawidziak, Sue Montgomery, The Midget Bandit, Warren Harris, Wilmer Cook
Rediscovered: A “Lost” Spade-Marlowe Connection
Got a note a couple of days ago asking me if I’d seen the bit “Finding Marlowe” in the LA Times. Guy named Erik Cummins spun it my way, with the preface: I met you some years ago (about 10-12 … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Lit, News, Tour
Tagged Erik Cummins, John's Grill, LA Times, Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler, Red Harvest, Sam Spade, The Midget Bandit, Warren Harris
Rediscovered: More on Roadhouse Benny
My Jack Benny Research Team never sleeps! Not much, anyway. Remember the post I did back in 2012 about hearing the mention of Benny’s name in the movie Roadhouse Nights, based — and I use the word based very, very … Continue reading
891 Post: And More on 895 Post
How about another 891 Post post? Eighteen people hauled out for the walk on September 21, including Warren Harris of Midget Bandit Week fame (so naturally I had to do lots of extra coverage of Edwin Ware) and a guy named … Continue reading
Hammett: In the Aftermath of Midget Bandit Week
Last Sunday, just as we wrapped up a full week of posts for Midget Bandit Week — seven days, every day — Michael Fitzgerald over at the Stockton Record added a post of his own. What the hell, let’s make like The Beatles … Continue reading
