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: Film
Rediscovered: The Leno Library Has Walls. . .
Autograph Hound Saturday, and that rampant Autograph Hound known by the name Brian Leno has dug some stuff out, moved some stuff around, framed a few things and commandeered a wall. Much of the display spotlights signed materials. And much … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Lit
Tagged Autographs, Brian Leno, Frank Frazetta, King Kong, Robert Bloch, Rod Serling
Rediscovered: The Leno Library — an Upgrade
Brian Leno lets me know today: “Upgraded my Treasure Island dustjacket. What a difference, huh?” The original wrappers for Leno’s inscribed first edition thus of the Stevenson classic — thus, because this edition featured illos by Mervyn Peake — was … Continue reading
Rediscovered: More Kong in the House
Autograph Hound Saturday — and Brian Leno got so excited over his new bust of King Kong he began digging in his extensive files of John Hancocks, and look what he’s found: Here’s some King Kong fun. The drawing of … Continue reading
Posted in Film
Tagged Autographs, Brian Leno, Bruce Cabot, Fay Wray, John Northpole, King Kong, Kosciuszko Squadron, Meriam C. Cooper, Noble Johnson, Robert Armstrong
Rediscovered: The Leno Library Goes Skull Island
Brian Leno popped in a pic a couple of days ago. “Just wanted to show you my new purchase,” Brian said. “I think it’s cool as hell and it’s the right Kong — not the later bullshit. Judging by his … Continue reading
Rediscovered: De Camp the Fan
Autograph Hound Saturday yet again, and we bring our old pal L. Sprague de Camp back with another John Hancock. He also does the weirdest personal “I” that I (imagine a regular I) recall offhand. De Camp of course mightily … Continue reading
Posted in Film, REH
Tagged Autographs, Book Collecting, Brian Leno, Frank Frazetta, L. Sprague de Camp, Lee Van Cleef, Lin Carter
Sinister Cinema: Abraham Polonsky — Dangerous Citizen
Tuesday August 18, 7pm — it felt like the meeting of a secret society. Always fun. Eddie Muller of TCM’s Noir Alley sent out an invite to a private screening in the 4-Star on Clement for his new documentary Dangerous … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, DMac, Film, Frisco
Tagged Abraham Polonsky, Domenic Stansberry, Eddie Muller, Eli Wallach, Harry Belafonte, HUAC, John Marr, Julie Lindow, Lester Cole, Murder Can Be Fun, Oscar, Peter Maravelis, Yul Brenner
Rediscovered: Ex Libris Virgil Finlay
Autograph Hound Saturday. You know the drill. Another week has passed, and Autograph Hound Brian Leno has added more signatures to his collection. A thousand John Hancocks in the naked city. . . . This is the story of one. … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Lit
Tagged Autographs, Book Collecting, Brian Leno, Norman Lindsay, Seabury Quinn, Virgil Finlay
Hammett: Birthday 132
Today, Hammett’s 132nd birthday. And the guy keeps hanging in. On May 1st he cracked Jeopardy! again. S4E170. In the Double Jeopardy round. Category: Life on TCM. $800 clew: In “The Thin Man” Myrna Loy catches up to her husband … Continue reading
Hollywood Beat: That Photogenic Mug, Jim Tully
Autograph Hound Saturday yet again. . . . Back in 2012 I made a run down to Hollywood to hit Musso & Frank and hobnob with my fellow wizards. Leo Grin had mentioned that he noticed a nice signed photo … Continue reading
Rediscovered: William Desmond Taylor
And in this case, as usual, rediscovered in Brian Leno’s storied trove. Autograph Hound Saturday once more — and here’s Brian: I’m really digging into my autograph folders, probably just procrastinating to avoid stacking and shelving books. I don’t know … Continue reading
