Dashiell Hammett
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FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), 126, 145, 146, 174, 175, 182, 199
Feibleman, Peter, 155, 158
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, 52, 148
Fitzgerald, Zelda, 138
“Fly Paper” (1929), 45
Fortas, Abe, 193
Fox, Joe, 196
Fox Studios, 65
Franco, Francisco, 144
“From the Memoirs of a Private Detective” (1923), 41–42
G
“Gatewood Caper, The” (1923), 44
Gershwin, George, 148, 180
Gershwin, Ira, 87, 88, 123
Gershwin, Lee, 87, 88, 123, 180
Gide, André, 64–65
“Girl with the Silver Eyes, The” (1924), 48, 74
Glass Key, The (1931)
critical acclaim for, 101–102
delay in publication, 83, 86
film release in 1935, 128
as a literary novel, rather than crime fiction, 82
male bonding and honor as theme of, 83–85
movie rights to, 86, 101
plot of, 14–15, 84–85
publication of in England and the US, 101
sales of, 101
Goldwyn, Sam, 130, 131, 133
Goodrich, Frances, 114, 133, 150
Great Depression
Black Thursday, 78
economic impact and unemployment, 78–79
escapist value of fiction in, 114
Hammett’s high income during, 79–80, 97, 113, 114
social and political recovery begins under Roosevelt, 113–114, 144
Great Drumsheugh Case, 107, 120
Gregory, Sinda, 76
“Gutting of Couffignal, The” (1925), 17
H
Hackett, Albert, 114, 133, 150
Hall, Radclyffe, 94–95, 121, 125
Hammett, Annie Bond. See Dashiell, Annie Bond
Hammett, Dashiell
alcoholism, xxi, 92, 94, 100, 103, 127, 128, 138, 150, 170, 176, 177–178
vices and alcoholic excesses, 79–80, 94, 100, 127, 128
army career
in Alaska, WWII, 161, 168
as camp celebrity, in WWII, 164
correspondence with Lillian Hellman during, revealing affection, 162, 164–166, 167, 168
happiness in, 165
honorable discharge, 169
joining, in WWI, 3, 5–6
letters to family and friends during WWII, 162
posting to California, 26, 27, 32
promotions, and illnesses, 6–7
reenlistment in 1942, 73, 158–159
careers
creative writing teacher at Princeton, 139
insubordinate attitude, and difficulty holding a job in youth, 15–16
at the Jefferson School of Social Science, 170, 188, 189
move to New York to facilitate writing ambition, 69–70
private detective. See Hammett, Dashiell: Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency
Samuels Jewelers, 36, 51, 67
success, 87
unreliability of, and drinking problems, 131
childhood
birth, and robust health as infant, 9
disruptiveness of, 10
education of, interruptions to, 7, 13
father’s destructive behavior, 7–8, 9–10, 11–12
French ancestry of, on mother’s side, 10–11
frequent moves, and father’s instability, 7–8, 12–13, 21
Hopewell and Aim (grandfather Samuel Biscoe Hammett’s farm), 9–10, 12
relationship with mother Annie, 4–5, 9–11, 22, 25, 28, 35, 70, 80
death and funeral, 201–202
family. See also Hammett, Jo; Hammett, Mary
1941 visit with daughters, 156
affection for, 50, 52
daughter Mary’s troubled life, 156
death of father Richard, 177
dysfunctional relationship with daughter Mary, 175–177
final visit from daughter Jo and family, 200–201
grandchildren, 180, 189
letters to, 137–138, 162–163
parents, 4–5, 35
paternal violence, influential in later writing, 14–15
separate family life, and loyalty to and support of wife and daughters, 69–70, 85, 98–100, 105–106, 113, 120, 134–135, 137–138
siblings, 5
wedding of daughter Jo, 177
wife. See Dolan, Josephine (Josie, Jose)
and Faulkner, 103
fictional characters
Alice Dain (The Dain Curse), 66–67, 68
beautiful women and deceit in, 48, 60, 66, 67, 74–75, 107
Brigid O’Shaughnessy (aka Miss Wonderly) (The Maltese Falcon), 74–75
Clyde Wynant (The Thin Man), 107, 110
Continental Op, xviii, xx, 14, 17, 45–47, 59–60, 66–67, 73
depth and authenticity of, 42
Dinah Brand (Red Harvest), 60
Donald Willsson (Red Harvest), 14, 59
Dorothy Wynant (The Thin Man), 110, 111
Edgar Leggett (The Dain Curse), 66–68
Elihu Willsson (Red Harvest), 14, 59
Fat Man Caspar Gutman (The Maltese Falcon), 33, 74
Flitcraft (aka Charles Pierce) (The Maltese Falcon), 76–77
Gabrielle Leggett (“The Scorched Face,” The Dain Curse), 66, 67, 68
Janet Henry (The Glass Key), 14–15, 84–85
Joel Cairo (The Maltese Falcon), 74
Lily Dain (The Dain Curse), 66–67, 68
names of, deliberateness of, 73
Ned Beaumont (The Glass Key), 84–85
Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), 108–111, 112, 147
Nora (The Thin Man), as a more three-dimensional female than previous works, 108–109
Opal Madvig (The Glass Key), 84
Owen Fitzstephan (The Dain Curse), 67, 68
Paul Madvig (The Glass Key), 14–15, 84–85
real-life inspiration for, 30–31, 33, 59, 108, 112, 195
Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), xviii, 72–73, 74–77, 84
similarities to Hammett, 73, 84
Senator Henry (The Glass Key), 14–15, 84
Taylor Henry (The Glass Key), 14–15, 84
Tony and Pop (Tulip), 195–197
finances
back taxes owed by, 185, 189, 199, 202
blacklisting of, and cancellation of income sources, 199
decline of fortune, 103, 106–107
disability payment as veteran, 23, 32, 35, 36
financial provision made for wife and daughters, 163
generosity of, 135, 188, 189
high income in Depression era, 79–80, 97, 113, 114
inability to support family, post-Hollywood success, 103, 106
income from old work, 170
salaries and earnings from writing, 52, 97, 100–101, 113, 114, 128, 130, 157
VA pension, 200, 202
and Hardscrabble Farm, 153, 155, 156, 169, 170, 178, 189
health issues
army promotions and, 6–7
depression and aimlessness, mid-forties, 173–174
downplaying of illness, 21, 34, 137–138
effect of imprisonment on, 187, 188–189, 190
fears of sexual impotence, 133, 135, 150, 157
in final years, 198–202
gonorrhea contracted by, 15, 20, 97, 100, 135
illness of, and conflict with masculine identity, xviii, 35, 79–80
and inability to work, 34–35, 50–51
Lenox Hill hospitalizations, 137–138, 150–151, 178
lifelong respiratory illnesses, 6–7, 20
separation from family required due to illness, 49–50, 51–52
sobriety, periods of, 108, 178
suicidal thoughts of, 102–103
tooth infections, 151, 166
tuberculosis, xviii, xxi, 6–7, 21, 49–50, 100
and Hollywood
blacklisting of, and cancellation
of income sources, 189–190
contract with Warner Brothers, 100–101
departure from, 181
film success of The Thin Man, 114
and MGM, screenwriter for, 123, 127–128, 131, 147
and Paramount, screenwriter for, 65, 86–87, 180, 181
satirical short story about (“This Little Pig”), 115
the Screen Writers Guild, leadership role in, 132
screenplay for Hellman’s Watch on the Rhine written by, 156–157
screenwriting career, 86–87, 100–101, 154
social life in, 103, 126–127, 134, 148, 180
imprisonment
Civil Rights Congress bail fund, trial regarding, 183–184
correspondence with family during, and Jo as go-between with Lillian Hellman and Pat Neal, 186–187
effect on health, 187, 188–189, 190
and Hellman’s betrayal, and lack of contact during, 186, 187, 188, 190
refusal to cooperate at trial, and sentencing without bail, 184–185
release from jail, 188
temporary bail order issued and revoked, court’s refusal to accept bail money offered, 185–186
at West Street detention center, 186
and Josephine Dolan. See Dolan, Josephine (Josie, Jose)
and the Knopfs. See Knopf, Alfred; Knopf, Blanche
and Lillian Hellman. See Hellman, Lillian
novels
The Dain Curse. See Dain Curse, The (1929)
enduring fame of, xviii, xix
The Glass Key. See Glass Key, The (1931)
The Maltese Falcon. See Maltese Falcon, The (1930)
Red Harvest. See Red Harvest (1929)
serialization of, 58–59, 64, 65, 78
The Thin Man. See Thin Man, The (1934)
Tulip (final work), xix, 25, 31, 195–198, 200
Woman in the Dark (novella), 107
personality traits
appreciation for structure in life, xviii, 73, 165
generosity toward other writers, 120, 152
honesty of, xix, 16, 152
keeping his word, importance of, 178, 183
and love for the outdoors, 12, 168, 178–179
male society, preference for, xviii, 30, 83–84, 175
names of, and self-identification, xx, 11, 31, 35, 44, 70, 73, 138, 164, 195
reclusiveness and private nature of, 9, 10, 18, 46, 72–73
sense of self as American, 10, 11
voracious reader, and self-education, 13, 24, 34
philosophical views
chance, and appearance versus reality, 76–77, 78
chance and lack of meaning in life, 7, 21–22, 46, 169
concept of social order, and versions of reality, 60–61
on morality, 19
on naming emotions, 29
realism, 44
and religion, 11, 32
truth and artistic truth, 152
Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency
cases claimed to have been solved by, 33–34
departure from due to illness, 20–21
experiences as base for writing career, and personal philosophy, 19–20
and Frank Little’s murder, 20
personality traits suited for career with, 5, 18
return to, in San Francisco, 32–33
surveillance (shadow) skills learned, 17–18
work begun with, and job satisfaction, 16–18, 21
political activism
anti-Nazi activities, 161
civil rights issues as focus of, 174
Communist Party, involvement in, 133, 145–146, 154–155, 161, 174
encouragement of Hellman’s, 179
and the FBI, 126, 146, 174, 182, 199
and the HUAC investigation of subversive activities, 193, 194
journals associated with, 146
and the League of American Writers (LAW), 132, 146, 154–155
Motion Picture Artists Committee, anti-Fascist activities, 146
testimony subpoenaed by the New York State Joint Legislature Committee, 198
trial and imprisonment, 183–190
viewed as subversive, 174
sexual attitudes
cruelty and abusiveness, 94, 95, 134, 156
and Elise de Viane, 94
homophobia of, and sense of masculinity, 76
lack of respect developed for women, 80
and lesbianism, 94–95
proclivity for whores, xviii, 15, 28, 76, 87, 129, 148, 157
sadistic sexual interests, 110, 111
short stories
“Arson Plus” (1923), 45–47
“Big Knock-Over, The,” 52
“Bodies Piled Up” (1923), 45
“Fly Paper” (1929), 44–45
“Gatewood Caper, The” (1923), 44
“Girl with the Silver Eyes, The” (1924), 48, 74
“Gutting of Couffignal, The” (1925), 17
“Holiday” (1923), 48–49
“House in Turk Street, The” (1924), 48, 74
“Parthian Shot, The” (1922, first published story), 37
publication of, 1922–1926, 50
return to writing of in 1927, 52
“Ruffian’s Wife” (1925), 50
“Scorched Face, The” (1925), 44–45, 66
“Tenth Clew, The” (1924), 48
“This Little Pig” (1934, last published story), 115
“Women Are a Lot of Fun Too,” 29–30
writing of, 18–19
“Zigzags of Treachery” (1924), 44
and women
affair with Nell Martin, 53, 58, 69–70, 86
Elise de Viane, 94
friendship with Maggie Kober, 155, 162, 178–179
Laura Perelman, 96
Mildred Lewis, 124, 128–129
Pru Whitfield, 139, 162
writing
ambition, 49, 64, 69
anti-authoritarian issues in, 14
attempts at sixth novel, 175, 180
autobiographical elements rare in, 48–49
The Autumn Garden’s symbolic speech credited to Hammett, 181–182
beginning, as means of supporting family, 35–36
for Black Mask, 52
book-length fiction begun, 52–53
Chandler on achievements of, 47
comic strip story for Secret Agent X-9, 113
comparisons to Hemingway, 64–65, 71, 80, 81
crime and corruption in America as setting of stories, 57–59, 75–76
depth and authenticity of detective fiction, 42–44
differences in detective fiction style of, 42–44
existential themes in, 59–60, 76–77, 78
“eyes” featured in, 18, 48, 74, 75
favorable reviews of, 64–65, 69, 80–82
growing confidence in abilities, 71
imagery of, and Hollywood appeal, 45
influence on detective fiction, xvii, 46, 81, 202
influences on (Henry James), 32, 74
journalism in the army, 168–169
layers of truth in, 44–45, 46–47, 48, 67–68
nonfiction, “From the Memoirs of a Private Detective,” 41–42
paternal violence in, 14–15, 84
as Peter Collinson (“Nobody’s Son”), xx, 35
philosophical views of appearances and reality in, 21–22, 60–61, 66–67, 68, 197
for pulp magazines, 36, 41–42
sketches of nurse and soldier making love, 28–30
style, 44–45, 47, 60, 63, 64, 72–73
transcending genres, from fiction to art, 82
violence in, treatment of, 62–63, 65, 67–68, 108–109
work in print decades after death of, 202
writer’s block suffered by, xix, 85–86, 120, 127–129, 133, 135, 140, 154, 175
Hammett, Dick (Richard Thomas, Jr.), 5
Hammett, Jo, xx, 7, 50, 51, 53, 70, 94, 98–100, 105–106, 134–135, 175–176, 177, 180,
186–187, 198, 200–201, 202
Hammett, Josephine Dolan. See Dolan, Josephine (Josie, Jose)
Hammett, Mary, xx, 35, 49–50, 51, 94, 154, 156, 163, 175–177
Hammett, Reba (Aronia Rebecca), 5, 85, 177
Hammett, Richard Thomas, 4–5, 7, 9–10, 35, 177
Hammett, Samuel Biscoe, 9, 10
Hand, Learned, 185, 186
Harding, Warren, 57
Hardscrabble Farm, 12, 153, 155, 156, 169, 170, 178, 182, 188, 189
Hart, Moss, 123
Hastie, William H., 144
Having Terrible Time (Kober), 104, 147
Haydon, Charles, 186, 188
Hays, Will H., 132
Hearst, William Randolph, 113, 147
Hellman, Julia Newman, 90–91, 103, 134, 136–137
Hellman, Lillian
and Arthur Kober, 87, 96–97, 103–104, 133–136, 137, 138, 149–150
Broadway success
with The Children’s Hour, 131–132
with The Little Foxes, 152
Searching Wind, The, 166–167
excessive drinking, during weeks of play opening (The Children’s Hour), 123
family
death of mother Julia, 136–137
relationship with father Max, 90, 93–94, 95, 137, 140, 173, 175
on relationship with her father, 137
rootless childhood, 90–91, 93
and Hammett
abortions, 148–149, 157, 158
absence from opening of The Children’s Hour, 123–124
affair with Melby discovered by, 170
affection between, 168, 178–179, 180, 182
bail money for, attempts to raise, 185
cruelty of towards, 134
death and funeral of, 201–202
different versions regarding end of sexual relationship, 158
financial support from, 97–98
first encounter with, 88, 89
first impressions of each other, and attraction of opposites, 92–93
generosity toward, 182
Hammett’s attempts to repair relationship, and Mexican divorce from Jose Dolan, 149
Hardscrabble Farm, idyllic period in relationship, 153, 155, 178–180
in Hollywood, 147–148
infidelities of, 148–149
intellect esteemed by, 89
jealousy issues, 93, 98, 106, 108, 162, 163
lack of contact during imprisonment of, 186, 187, 188
letters from, 93, 124, 149–150, 162, 164–166, 167, 168, 195
mutual distrust between, 173
relationship struggles, xix–xx, 133–136, 137, 138, 145
sexual relationship, 93, 94–95, 133, 148, 157–158
on success as a playwright through aid of, 122
and Tulip’s final page, possible manipulation of, 196–198
and Hammett’s granddaughter Ann, love for, 180
and Hollywood
and Goldwyn, screenplays written for, 131–132
the Screen Writers Guild, 132