Search donherron.com
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.”
Tag Archives: Black Mask
Sinister Cinema: Perry Palms Pulps; or, Mason Manhandles Magazines
Another installment of the epic run of Pulps in the Movies. On Sale Every Wednesday. Brought to you by that renowned and eagle-eyed pulp expert John Locke. In this Case of the Curious Lawyer, however, we’re easing over from actual … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Lit
Tagged Black Mask, Erle Stanley Gardner, John Locke, Perry Mason, Pulps in the Movies, Ranch Romances, Raymond Burr
Rediscovered: Lighting Up with Lester Dent
You know Brian Leno. The guy’s got a competitive edge. He’s already duked it out mano a mano with Kevin Cook a few times with samples from their autograph collections, notably the Cornell Woolrich face-off back in August. When Kevin … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Woolrich in The Mask
Another year down on These Mean Streets! How about we go out with a sharp Kachow! from the ever-ready roscoe? The noted book and pulp collector Kevin Cook decided to dive into his holdings and dig out the autograph of … Continue reading
Hammett: v. Carroll John Daly
Digging around in old partially mocked-up posts, I found another one which appears to be from circa late 2016 or early 2017: Last October I got in a note from hardboiled pulp hound Terry Zobeck, in which he reported: Today’s mail brought … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Lit
Tagged Black Mask, Carroll John Daly, Race Williams, Terry Zobeck, The Snarl of the Beast
Hammett: “If I Had Been a Black Mask Reader in 1926”
I told John Locke that once his post on Hammett’s early years in the writing business hit the blog, if he noticed any places where he wanted to tweak a word or whatever, just to let me know and I’d … Continue reading
Hammett: From Poisonville to Red Harvest, “Chapter One”
A couple of months ago I was prowling through the inventory of Mean Streets posts to salvage as yet unpublished material from the backlog. A few tentative ideas that got to skeletal mock-up stage I just deleted — weeding the … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Lit
Tagged Black Mask, Frederic Dannay, Jo Hammett, Paul Herman, PulpFest, Red Harvest, Richard Layman, Terry Zobeck, The Big Book of the Continental Op
Hammett Takes on the Writing Racket, by John Locke
Mean Streets readers get a Christmas Treat this year from no less than the pulp authority John Locke, doing a deep-dive into the origins of Hammett’s career as a writer. John made a cool discovery in the forgotten trade magazines … Continue reading
Sinister Cinema: And Why Not Liam Neeson as Marlowe?
Brian Wallace sends me links to stuff all the time. He’s like my man-on-the-internet-street or an all-knowing stool pigeon or something, tracking down every hardboiled mention or rumor of a hardboiled mention. A reboot or new version of ace P.I. … Continue reading
Hammett: Prepare Yourself for the Complete Op, In Time for Xmas
In case you haven’t noticed, Vintage Crime announces publication of The Big Book of the Continental Op — just in time for Xmas. I have to check the proof to make sure it is up to my standards, but the … Continue reading
Rediscovered: FLIVVER GAME (!!!)
Operatives of the Mean Streets scour the country, looking for clews. I know it. I trust you know it. Agent Paul Herman just sent in a report after he “went to a collectible ephemera show in Hartford last weekend.” Naturally, … Continue reading
