Category Archives: News

Rediscovered: The Weather Channel c. 1888

Mostly in connection with the Texas writer Robert E. Howard, I’ve been in and out of the Lone Star State several times and got to deeply savor some of the storms. Tornadoes even hit a couple of towns over from … Continue reading

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Rediscovered: “Wild Bill, I Presume?”

In building up his history of the Old West in his new book, Nathan Ward naturally brings in Wild Bill Hickok. Couldn’t leave him out, in my opinion. It’s like the IMDb Top Four Known Fors. Right now I think … Continue reading

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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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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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