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: The Midget Bandit
Hammett: Top Ten
ABEbooks just released a list of their top money-makers for 2021 and Hammett comes in at no. 10 — not with a first edition, but with a much later reprint of The Maltese Falcon inscribed to Bebe Daniels. Bebe played … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Film, Frisco, Lit, News
Tagged ABEbooks, Bebe Daniels, Book Collecting, Dwight Frye, The Midget Bandit, Wilmer Cook
Sinister Cinema: Back to the Tenderloin Museum
I’ll be hitting the Tenderloin Museum once again on July 13 — hey, just three days before their second anniversary on July 16 — to talk Dashiell Hammett for awhile. Hammett, pretty much the most famous writer to have made … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Film, Frisco, News
Tagged Dwight Frye, Myrna Loy, Skippy, Tenderloin, Tenderloin Museum, The Midget Bandit, Thin Man, William Powell
Rediscovered: Bruce Townley’s Oblong
To clarify the title, I’m not saying that Bruce Townley is oblong, I’m talking about Bruce’s zine Oblong. If interested, you can surf over to a file of PDF issues and amuse yourself with the content until you’ve had enough, … Continue reading
Posted in Frisco, News
Tagged Bill Breiding, Bruce Townley, eFanzines, Roxie Theatre, The Midget Bandit, Warren Harris
Rediscovered: A Bit More on Unique Legacy
And how about another new Guest Blogger dipping his toes into the Mean Streets waters? Today we feature Kevin Cook with a brief review of the academic litcrit collection The Unique Legacy of Weird Tales, which originally ran in his zine … Continue reading
Hammett: In Re: The Midget Bandit, Reserve Today
Last minute notice! If you are in or around or willing to haul out to Fresno by 10 a.m. this coming Saturday, you can sit in on Warren Harris doing a talk on The Midget Bandit for the local Sisters … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, News
Tagged Big Read, Fresno California, Portland Oregon, The Midget Bandit, Warren Harris
Hammett: The Midget Bandit in Portland
I also got in a note from Warren Harris — he of the legendary Midget Bandit Week here on Up and Down These Mean Streets — who continues to delve into the life and criminal exploits of Edwin Ware. Warren … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, News
Tagged Big Read, Edwin Ware, Fresno California, Portland Oregon, Sisters-in-Crime, The Midget Bandit, Warren Harris
Hammett: It’s Greek to Me
Photo courtesy Becky Dawidziak — featuring her dad Mark Dawidziak, of Jim Tully biography fame — shot for a class project to take a picture on the two-word theme Proof Reading. I think she nailed it. Thanks, Becky. I just crawled out … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, News
Tagged Anne Ferguson, Becky Dawidziak, Edwin Ware, Jim Tully, John D. Haefele, Lee Marvin, Mark Dawidziak, Sue Montgomery, The Midget Bandit, Warren Harris, Wilmer Cook
Rediscovered: A “Lost” Spade-Marlowe Connection
Got a note a couple of days ago asking me if I’d seen the bit “Finding Marlowe” in the LA Times. Guy named Erik Cummins spun it my way, with the preface: I met you some years ago (about 10-12 … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Lit, News, Tour
Tagged Erik Cummins, John's Grill, LA Times, Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler, Red Harvest, Sam Spade, The Midget Bandit, Warren Harris
891 Post: And More on 895 Post
How about another 891 Post post? Eighteen people hauled out for the walk on September 21, including Warren Harris of Midget Bandit Week fame (so naturally I had to do lots of extra coverage of Edwin Ware) and a guy named … Continue reading
Hammett: In the Aftermath of Midget Bandit Week
Last Sunday, just as we wrapped up a full week of posts for Midget Bandit Week — seven days, every day — Michael Fitzgerald over at the Stockton Record added a post of his own. What the hell, let’s make like The Beatles … Continue reading