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: Joe Gores
Sinister Cinema: Wim Wenders’ Hammett
Heard from a guy over in France who plans to do a documentary on the 1982 Wim Wender’s film based on the Joe Gores novel Hammett. Cool aspect — I guess if it all works out — is that the … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Film, Frisco, News
Tagged Francis Ford Coppola, Joe Gores, Marilu Henner, Roney Blakley, Wim Wenders
Rediscovered: Purist Outrage!
The idea that Brian Leno and Tom Krabacher and I cast wary eyes toward the new James Patterson “Shadow” novel recently drove the noted book and pulp collector Kevin Cook into a berserker frenzy. “Why the [sulphurous blasphemy] do you … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Chatting with Joe Gores
Crime writer Mark Coggins just wrote with the news: “I finally transcribed my (long) interview with Joe Gores about the Falcon from 2007.” Sure to be a surfing destination for Hammett fans. Plus Mark mentions that a recent book has … Continue reading
Frisco Beat: Omega to Alpha
Today marks the anniversary of Hammett’s death on January 10, 1961, and in one of the weirder coincidences of all time, also the death of Hammett devotee Joe Gores, same date in 2011 — exactly fifty years to the day … Continue reading
Hammett: If Joe Gores Had Written a Bio. . .
Shot above — Nathan Ward chatting as the room fills to capacity in the Mechanics’ Library — art shot at bottom, Table with Book (and Wine, and Mic). If you wanted an autographed copy of The Lost Detective and couldn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Frisco, News
Tagged Frederic Dannay, Joe Gores, Mechanics' Library, Mickey Spillane, Nathan Ward, Peter Maravelis, Pinkerton's, Raymond Chandler, Vince Emery
Frisco Beat: Call Me Al — Al Catraz
For a brief while in there, ennui seized me in its grip, and it seemed like the only thing I had to live for (in the current popular entertainment landscape, at any rate) was the return of The Walking Dead, any … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Film, Frisco, News
Tagged Alcatraz, Creepy Karpis, Daryl Dixon, Deadwood, Douglas Fairbanks, Ed Lauter, Geri Jewell, Hurley, Jean Hagen, Joe Gores, Leo Grin, Leon Rippy, Lost, Missi Pyle, Monk, Noir City, Richard Layman, Sam Neill, Sarah Jones, Stephen King, Terry Zobeck, The Artist, The Mark of Zorro, The Walking Dead, Vince Emery
Hammett: More Dumas, père
Recent posts on the idea of influence of the senior Alexandre Dumas on Hammett and the poisoning motif from The Count of Monte Cristo surfacing in the story “Fly Paper” reminded my good pal Jiro Kimura of something he noticed a … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Lit, News
Tagged "Fly Paper", Alexandre Dumas, Babe McCloor, Jiro Kimura, Joe Gores, pure texts, Spade & Archer, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Maltese Falcon Society
Mort: Joe Gores
Just got an email from Vince Emery bearing bad news: “Joe Gores passed away Monday in Marin General Hospital — 50 years to the day after Hammett died.” A cornerstone figure in the Hammett arena, gone.
News: January 2008
STAYING IN OUT OF THE RAIN No extra tours set for this month, but if you want to hear Don offer a few opinions on noir and hard-boiled fiction while staying dry at the same time, come on down to … Continue reading