Hammett, Dashiell

Hammett, Dashiell

▪ American writer
in full  Samuel Dashiell Hammett 
born May 27, 1894, St. Mary's County, Md., U.S.
died Jan. 10, 1961, New York City
 American writer who created the hard-boiled school of detective fiction. (See detective story; hard-boiled fiction).

      Hammett left school at 13 and worked at a variety of low-paying jobs before working eight years as a detective for the Pinkerton agency. He served in World War I, contracted tuberculosis, and spent the immediate postwar years in army hospitals. He began to publish short stories and novelettes in pulp magazines and wrote two novels—Red Harvest and The Dain Curse (both published in 1929)—before writing The Maltese Falcon (1930), generally considered his finest work. It introduced Sam Spade, Hammett's fictional detective creation, played by Humphrey Bogart in the film version directed by John Huston (1941), which became a classic of its genre. He also wrote The Glass Key (1931) and The Thin Man (1934), which initiated a motion picture and later a television series built around his detecting couple, Nick and Nora Charles. Nora was based on the playwright Lillian Hellman (Hellman, Lillian), with whom he formed a romantic alliance in 1930 that lasted until his death. Her Pentimento (1973) has an account of their life together.

      After 1934 Hammett devoted his time to left-wing political activities and to the defense of civil liberties. He served in World War II as an enlisted man. In 1951 he went to jail for six months because he refused to reveal the names of the contributors to the bail bond fund of the Civil Rights Congress, of which he was a trustee.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Hammett,Dashiell — Ham·mett (hămʹĭt), Dashiell. 1894 1961. American writer of highly acclaimed detective fiction, including The Maltese Falcon (1930) and The Thin Man (1932). * * * …   Universalium

  • Hammett, Dashiell S. — ► (1894 1961) Escritor estadounidense. A causa de sus ideas políticas fue víctima de la «caza de brujas» desencadenada por el macartismo. En sus últimos años abandonó la actividad como novelista y se dedicó a los guiones cinematográficos. Creó la …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Hammett — Hammett, Dashiell S …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Dashiell Hammett — Born Samuel Dashiell Hammett May 27, 1894(1894 05 27) Saint Mary s County, Maryland, United States Died January 10, 1961(1961 01 10) (aged 6 …   Wikipedia

  • Dashiell hammett — Activité(s) romancier Naissance 27 mai 1894 Baltimore Décès 10 janvier 1961 (à 58 ans) New York Langue d écriture anglais (USA) …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Dashiell Hammet — Dashiell Hammett Dashiell Hammett Activité(s) romancier Naissance 27 mai 1894 Baltimore Décès 10 janvier 1961 (à 58 ans) New York Langue d écriture anglais (USA) …   Wikipédia en Français

  • HAMMETT (D.) — HAMMETT DASHIELL (1894 1961) Père du thriller et maître du genre, Dashiell Hammett fut mille fois copié, jamais égalé (sauf peut être par Raymond Chandler). Il a très peu publié: en tout cinq romans et quelques nouvelles. Cette production est… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Hammett — may refer to:* Hammett (film), 1982 film about writer Dashiell Hammett * Dashiell Hammett (1894–1961), author of novels The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man * Louis Plack Hammett (1894–1987), physical chemist who developed the Hammett equation *… …   Wikipedia

  • Hammett — (Dashiell) (1894 1961) pionnier du roman noir américain: le Faucon maltais (1930) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Dashiell Hammett — noun United States writer of hard boiled detective fiction (1894 1961) • Syn: ↑Hammett, ↑Samuel Dashiell Hammett • Instance Hypernyms: ↑writer, ↑author * * * Dashiell Hammett [Das …   Useful english dictionary

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