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
Tag Archives: Bill Arney
Hammett: Known Facts vs. Publicity
New article out on Hammett today in The Sacramento Bee, if you want to keep up with what’s trending. The idea — the suggestion — is that Hammett lived in room 505 of what is now the Hotel Union Square, … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Frisco, News, Tour
Tagged Bill Arney, Hotel Union Square, Lillian Hellman, Sacramento Bee, Spade and Archer logo
891 Post: Close One
If you’re local, you may well have heard the news reports about the 800 block of Post Street being closed off the other day. The shootout with the cops. The guy — on the run after killing his mother — … Continue reading
891 Post: What’s Happening Now
If you’re local, you probably saw the news article on the guy who currently rents the Sam Spade apartment in 891 Post that appeared April 29 — those of you scattered across the globe can follow the link and read … Continue reading
891 Post: Tub Shot, B&W
January is almost gone. Noir City is done. And The Voice of Noir has left the building. Yeah, the windows of the Sam Spade apartment in 891 Post will be dark again as you gumshoe past in the night, after … Continue reading
Frisco Beat: Falcon, Falcon, Who’s Got a or the Falcon?
Getting slightly busy with the Noir City X action, dropping into the old haunt of Sam Spade’s apartment for pre-opening night drinks with Bill “The Voice of Noir” Arney, who is camping out in his former digs during the festival … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Frisco
Tagged 891 Post, Bill Arney, Drew Bourn, Noir City, The House on Telegraph Hill, Using San Francisco History
891 Post: A Noir Advertisement
I got a Xmas card from Bill Arney — a.k.a. The Voice of Noir — which asked if I had seen the trailer for the tenth anniversary of the Noir City film festival. Turns out it was shot in Sam Spade’s … Continue reading
Sinister Cinema: John Stanley on Cheese Theatre
— and you can read the rest of the description of the most recent book from the long time host of Creature Features on John Stanley’s website, check out what else he’s been up to lately. Among other things I’ve done in the … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Frisco, News
Tagged Bill Arney, Cheese Theatre, Creature Features, Fritz Leiber, John Law, John Stanley
Hammett: An American Master
Just noticed that the documentary on Hammett done for the American Masters series in 1999 has shown up in the Edward R. Hamilton remainder catalog for $5.95 a copy — of course, there’s a $3.50 shipping fee (on one or as … Continue reading
Hammett: More Rhea and Wilmer
Bill Arney has been busy knocking out a new series of Cheese Theatre episodes, but after holding down the Sam Spade apartment in 891 Post Street for years he keeps his hand in on Hammett stuff — and just popped these notes in as … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Lit
Tagged 891 Post, Bill Arney, Cheese Theatre, Mike Humbert, Rhea Gutman, Wilmer Cook
891 Post: Tub Shot 2
The grainy image above dates from the last days when Bill Arney held down the fort in the Sam Spade apartment in 891 Post Street, quick, rough documentation before the rooms went on into a then unknown future. Now we know … Continue reading
