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About DonHerron.com
In 1977 Don Herron began leading The Dashiell Hammett Tour, now the longest-running literary tour in the nation. On this site you’ll find information on current walks — dates, where to meet, arranging tours by appointment — plus a hard-boiled blog with news, reviews of books and film, and a dash of noir.
The latest and greatest edition to self-guide you up and down the mean streets.
Willeford: The Book
Includes the first “Mr. Hunt” story, “Knives in the Dark.”
Category Archives: Lit
Rediscovered: An Item of Modern Arkham House Ephemera
John D. Haefele and I actually have been slaving away on a book on Arkham House ephemera from the Classic Years — 1937-1972. We’ve got guys eyeballing some of the largest private collections (as I post, one stalwart has the … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Every Other Day Birthdays
The noted book and pulp collector Kevin Cook spotted a fantasy writer trend and reported in: January 20 A. Merritt January 22 Robert E. Howard January 24 C.L. Moore January 26 Philip Jose Farmer
Hammett: Jeopardy! Hits Nick and Nora (And Glass Onion Cameos the Black Bird)
Jeopardy! hasn’t hit the Hammett clew pile lately as much as it did back in the Golden Age of Alex Trebek. But every now and then they just can’t avoid it. . . . For the show broadcast December 23rd, … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Film, Lit, News
Tagged Alex Trebek, Bill Arney, Glass Onion, Jeopardy!, Madelyn Cline, Rian Johnson
891 Post: Minwax Gel Cherrywood
As a little Xmas present — and to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the death of Bill Arney on September 28, 2021 — let’s take a look into the Sam Spade apartment in 891 Post Street. The date was September … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Frisco, Lit
Tagged 891 Post, Bill Arney, Joe Hagen, Mark Murphy, Minwax Gel Cherrywood, Murphy bed
891 Post: Enter the Apartment
On September 20, 2009 I gumshoed up to the gate of 891 Post. Corner of Hyde. In the night, the plaque we’d put on the building early in 2005 to commemorate the residence of Dashiell Hammett gave off a dim … Continue reading
Posse McMillan: A Jim Nisbet Memory
I cannot say that I knew the late Jim Nisbet well — went to his house in one of the alleys off Hayes and Laguna two or three times, mostly because Dennis McMillan happened to be visiting at the moment. … Continue reading
Rediscovered: For the Q&A
Toward the Q&A following the screening of The Woman Chaser with Patrick Warburton in the role of Richard Hudson, I poked around in my book Willeford for any tidbits of info on the novel — a Paperback Original released by … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Lit, News, Willeford
Tagged Alamo Drafthouse, Book Collecting, Patrick Warburton, The Woman Chaser
Sinister Cinema: The Woman Chaser
Joe McSpadden, producer for 1999’s The Woman Chaser, mentioned that the December 7 showing in the Alamo Drafthouse put the movie on the largest screen ever — swell deal for cineastes. Above, a still frame of star Patrick Warburton as … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Frisco, Lit, News, Willeford
Tagged Alamo Drafthouse, Jake Isgar, Joe McSpadden, Pacific Film Archive, Patrick Warburton, The Woman Chaser