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Dashiell Hammett is a Scriptwriter American born on 27 may 1894 at Baltimore (USA)

Dashiell Hammett

Dashiell Hammett
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Birth name Samuel Dashiell Hammet
Nationality USA
Birth 27 may 1894 at Baltimore (USA)
Death 10 january 1961 (at 66 years) at New York City (USA)

Dashiell Hammett, né le 27 mai 1894 à Baltimore, Maryland et mort le 10 janvier 1961 à New York, est un écrivain et scénariste américain. Considéré comme le fondateur du roman noir, sa contribution à la littérature américaine est d'une importance capitale. Des auteurs tels qu'Hemingway, Chandler ou le francophone Simenon ont chacun reconnu son influence sur leur propre travail.

Biography

Né dans une famille pauvre, fils d'un escroc vaguement politicien devenu juge, Dashiell Hammett passe sa jeunesse à Philadelphie. Il part de chez lui à 14 ans, en 1908, pour mener une vie de bohème où il sera initié à la loi de la rue et en gardera un gout prononcé pour le bourbon. Après plusieurs petits boulots (coursier, employé des chemins de fer, clerc à la Bourse...), il devient détective privé pendant six ans au sein de la célèbre agence Pinkerton. En 1921, il participe à l'enquête lors de l'affaire Roscoe Arbuckle lorsque ce dernier est soupçonné du viol et de l'homicide involontaire de Virginia Rappe. Il dénonce, ensuite, un trafic d'or sur un paquebot, appréhende un homme qui avait volé une Grande Roue à San Francisco... Il côtoie le crime organisé, voit le sang couler et découvre l'importance de la corruption au sein de la société américaine. Quand l'agence Pinkerton est engagée pour briser les grèves, il démissionne. De cette expérience, il tire ensuite son inspiration pour le « roman noir » (terme consacré seulement en 1944 par des intellectuels français).

Quand Hammett rencontre le succès dans son pays, on en fait l'inventeur de la « Hard-boiled School » (que l'on peut traduire par l'« école des durs à cuire »), en référence aux personnages violents et apparemment dépourvus de sensibilité qui fourmillent dans ses histoires. Dans la France de l'entre-deux guerres, encensé par André Gide, il est publié par les éditions Gallimard avant même la création, en 1945, de la Série noire, dans la série Les chefs-d'œuvre du roman d'aventure. En 1949, Marcel Duhamel reprend La Clé de verre dans une nouvelle traduction. Les éditions se succèdent. La Série Noire publie ses romans. Mais les nouvelles n'ont pas la même chance et sont publiées dans plusieurs collections de plusieurs maisons d'édition. Une édition complète des nouvelles est alors impossible du fait du veto de la veuve de Dashiell Hammett. Celle-ci meurt en 1984. Les droits deviennent accessibles. Les œuvres complètes sont publiées aux États-Unis en 1999.

Au début des années 1920, Hammett révolutionne le roman par son écriture sèche, visuelle, et des histoires dans lesquelles les notions de bien et de mal n'ont plus cours. Les archétypes des personnages du roman noir apparaissent dès La Moisson rouge en 1929 dans le pulp magazine Black Mask : détective anonyme (le Continental Op), vamp accrochée à son drogué de fiancé, magnat de l'industrie corrompu et complice de la mafia qui l'aide à briser les grèves... La rupture est totale avec les détectives classiques, chics et snobs comme Miss Marple ou Hercule Poirot. Dans Le Faucon de Malte (1930), son détective prend le nom de Sam Spade, héros interprété à l'écran par Humphrey Bogart dans Le Faucon maltais de John Huston (1941). Le roman sera adapté trois fois au cinéma.

Ses premières nouvelles paraissent dès 1922 dans les pulps (pour « pulpe » : nom donné au mauvais papier imprégné de morceaux de bois sur lesquels ces ouvrages étaient imprimés), puis viennent La Moisson rouge, Le Faucon de Malte et La Clé de verre, dont les adaptations cinématographiques connaîtront le succès.



Comme Agatha Christie, il donne place à une justice non officielle, mais, contrairement à la romancière anglaise, dans un cadre moins feutré et beaucoup plus violent, où les activités de la mafia et la corruption des politiciens et des officiers de police sont omniprésentes. Sa brève carrière d'écrivain se termine en 1934, après avoir connu le succès de 1929 à 1934. Toutefois, son roman L'Introuvable (The Thin Man) donne lieu à un film à succès, puis à une série cinématographique, où ses héros, Nick et Nora Charles, deviennent des icônes de la société américaine de l'entre-deux-guerres et rapportent à leur créateur des droits substantiels.

Le 22 novembre 1930, Dashiell Hammett rencontre à Hollywood, où il est scénariste pour les grands studios, celle qui allait devenir sa compagne pour le reste de sa vie, la dramaturge Lillian Hellman. femme vive, ambitieuse, mondaine et agressive. Les relations entre Dashiell et Lillian sont houleuses : ils se séparent, se remettent ensemble, se séparent de nouveau. Ils s'aiment, ils se détestent. Toutefois, elle lui donne les moyens de vivre. Elle le soutient moralement pendant la Deuxième Guerre mondiale. En 1942, Dashiell Hammett écrit le scénario de l'adaptation cinématographie de la pièce de Lillian Hellmann Watch on the Rhine. Le film Quand le jour viendra (Watch on the Rhine) sort en avril 1943 et vaudra à Hammett d'être nommé pour l'Oscar du meilleur scénario adapté. En dépit de la fructueuse collaboration artistique entre Dashiell et Lillian, et de leur vie commune, Hellmann refusera de payer la caution de Hammett lorsqu'il sera condamné à la prison sous le maccarthysme.

La seconde partie de la vie de Dashiell Hammett est dominée par l'alcoolisme et le harcèlement dont il fait l'objet pendant la chasse aux sorcières maccarthyste. Accusé de communisme par la Commission des activités antiaméricaines dirigée par le sénateur Joseph McCarthy, il est envoyé en prison. Hammett n'a jamais caché ses sympathies pour cette idéologie et a été compagnon de route des communistes. Il a été président du Civil Rights Congress de New York. Il a fréquenté Frédérick Vanderbilt, journaliste au Daily Worker. Hammett fut traité en 1951 de « conspirateur rouge » et de « subversif très dangereux » par le magazine Hollywood Life. Ses ouvrages sont retirés des bibliothèques publiques à cette période mais y retrouveront leur place après l'intervention du président Eisenhower.

Alcoolique et malade de la tuberculose, Dashiell Hammett meurt à New York en 1961.


Best films

Watch on the Rhine (1943)
(Scriptwriter)

Usually with

Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy
(6 films)
David Snell
David Snell
(4 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Dashiell Hammett (22 films)

Display filmography as list

Scriptwriter

No Good Deed, 1h37
Directed by Bob Rafelson
Origin German
Genres Drama, Thriller, Action, Crime
Themes Heist films, Gangster films, Escroquerie
Actors Samuel L. Jackson, Milla Jovovich, Stellan Skarsgård, Doug Hutchison, Joss Ackland, Grace Zabriskie
Roles Novel
Rating53% 2.6997452.6997452.6997452.6997452.699745
Jack Friar (Samuel L. Jackson) is shown practicing Johannes Brahms' Trio #1 in B Major, Op.8 and injecting himself with insulin. His neighbor arrives and begs him to retrieve her daughter, who has been staying with her disreputable boyfriend on Turk Street. Friar protests that he is just a grand theft auto cop, and she needs to report the case to missing persons.
Miller's Crossing, 1h55
Directed by Frères Coen
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Mob film, Noir, Crime
Themes Mafia films, Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, Children's films, Gangster films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro, J. E. Freeman, Jon Polito
Roles Novel
Rating76% 3.848553.848553.848553.848553.84855
Tom Reagan is the advisor and right hand man for Leo O'Bannon (Albert Finney), an Irish American mob boss who runs an unspecified eastern city during Prohibition. When Leo's Italian rival Johnny Caspar (John Polito) announces his intent to kill bookie Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro), Leo goes against Tom's advice and extends his protection to Bernie. Bernie is the brother of Verna Bernbaum (Marcia Gay Harden), who has begun a relationship with Leo while carrying on an affair with Tom.
The Black Bird, 1h50
Directed by David Giler
Genres Comedy
Actors George Segal, Stéphane Audran, Lionel Stander, Lee Patrick, Elisha Cook, Jr., Felix Silla
Roles Characters
Rating54% 2.704642.704642.704642.704642.70464
When San Francisco private detective Sam Spade dies, his son, Sam, Jr., inherits his father's agency, including the sarcastic secretary, Effie Perine (also known as "Godzilla"). He must also continue his father's tradition of "serving minorities." When Caspar Gutman is killed outside Spade's building, his dying words are, "It's black and as long as your arm."
The Fat Man, 1h17
Directed by William Castle
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Noir, Crime
Actors J. Scott Smart, Julie London, Rock Hudson, John Russell, Clinton Sundberg, Jayne Meadows
Roles Characters
Rating61% 3.0945053.0945053.0945053.0945053.094505
Portly amateur detective Runyan is hired by dental nurse Adams to investigate the unexplained murder of her boss. Suspicion falls on disappeared patient Clark, who had been helped by probable gangster Gordon. Runyan finds Boyd, Clark’s former lover and briefly his wife, who reveals that Clark had done time in jail. The police tell Runyan it was for robbery of half a million unrecovered dollars. In jail, Clark had a cellmate Deets, with whom he shared everything. On release, Deets had claimed Clark’s share of the loot from Gordon and had promised to eliminate Clark, whose corpse he left in a burnt-out truck. When he realised Clark had been having dental treatment, so his teeth could be identified, he killed first the unfortunate dentist and then the nurse as well. Runyan tracks him down and in a final shoot-out he meets his end.
Song of the Thin Man, 1h26
Directed by Edward Buzzell
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Comedy thriller, Crime
Themes Films about music and musicians
Actors William Powell, Myrna Loy, Keenan Wynn, Dean Stockwell, Phillip Reed, Leon Ames
Roles Characters
Rating68% 3.447813.447813.447813.447813.44781
A charity benefit sponsored by David Thayer is staged aboard the S.S. Fortune, Phil Brant's gambling ship. The entertainment is provided by a jazz band led by Tommy Drake and featuring singer Fran Page and talented but unstable clarinetist Buddy Hollis.
The Thin Man Goes Home, 1h40
Directed by Richard Thorpe
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Comedy thriller
Actors William Powell, Myrna Loy, Lucile Watson, Gloria DeHaven, Anne Revere, Harry Davenport
Roles Characters
Rating72% 3.64693.64693.64693.64693.6469
Nick and Nora visit Nick's parents (Lucile Watson and Harry Davenport) in Nick's hometown, Sycamore Springs, in New England. The residents are convinced that Nick is in town on an investigation, despite Nick's repeated denials. However, when aircraft factory employee Peter Berton (Ralph Brooks) seeks out Nick and is shot dead before he can reveal anything, Nick is on the case.
Secret Agent X-9
Directed by Ray Taylor, Lewis D. Collins
Origin USA
Genres Action, Spy
Themes Spy films, Seafaring films, Transport films, Political films
Actors Lloyd Bridges, Keye Luke, Victoria Horne, Samuel S. Hinds, Jan Wiley, Cy Kendall
Roles Characters
Rating65% 3.27213.27213.27213.27213.2721
On a neutral island in the Pacific called Shadow Island (above the island of Formosa), run by American gangster Lucky Kamber, both sides in World War II attempt to control the secret of element 722, which can be used to create cheap aviation fuel.
Watch on the Rhine, 1h54
Directed by Hal Mohr, Herman Shumlin
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Spy
Themes Spy films, Political films, Films based on plays
Actors Bette Davis, Paul Lukas, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Lucile Watson, Beulah Bondi, George Coulouris
Rating70% 3.547213.547213.547213.547213.54721
In 1940, German-born engineer Kurt Muller (Paul Lukas), his American wife Sara (Bette Davis), and their children Joshua (Donald Buka), Babette (Janis Wilson), and Bodo (Eric Roberts) cross the Mexican border into the United States to visit Sara's brother David Farrelly (Donald Woods) and their mother Fanny (Lucile Watson) in Washington, D.C. For the past seventeen years, the Muller family has lived in Europe, where Kurt responded to the rise of Nazism by engaging in anti-Fascist activities. Sara tells her family they are seeking peaceful sanctuary on American soil, but their quest is threatened by the presence of houseguest Teck de Brancovis (George Coulouris), an opportunistic Romanian count who has been conspiring with the Germans in the nation's capital.
The Glass Key, 1h25
Directed by Stuart Heisler
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Noir, Crime
Actors Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake, Alan Ladd, Richard Denning, Bonita Granville, Joseph Calleia
Roles Novel
Rating69% 3.4959453.4959453.4959453.4959453.495945
Crooked political boss Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy) is determined to back reform candidate Ralph Henry (Moroni Olsen) for governor after falling in love with Henry's daughter, Janet (Veronica Lake). Madvig's right-hand man, Ed Beaumont (Alan Ladd), believes the move is a big mistake and rightly distrusts Janet's motives. She is only playing along at her father's request; she is put off by Madvig's crudity and becomes very attracted to the more eclectic Beaumont. He fends off her advances out of strong loyalty to his friend. The deluded Madvig boasts that Henry has practically given him the key to his house; Beaumont warns him that it is liable to be a glass key, one that can break at any moment.
Shadow of the Thin Man, 1h37
Directed by W. S. Van Dyke
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Comedy thriller, Crime, Romance
Actors William Powell, Myrna Loy, Barry Nelson, Donna Reed, Sam Levene, Henry O'Neill
Roles Characters
Rating71% 3.59723.59723.59723.59723.5972
Nick and Nora Charles are looking forward to a relaxing day at a racetrack, but when a jockey accused of throwing a race is found shot to death, Police Lieutenant Abrams requests Nick's help. The trail leads to a gambling syndicate that operates out of a wrestling arena, a murdered reporter, and a pretty secretary whose boyfriend has been framed. Along the way, Nick and Nora must contend with a wild wrestling match, a dizzying day at a merry-go-round (accompanied by Nick, Jr.), and a table-clearing restaurant brawl.
The Maltese Falcon, 1h40
Directed by John Huston
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Noir, Crime
Themes Films about animals, Films about birds
Actors Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Elisha Cook, Jr.
Roles Novel
Rating78% 3.948953.948953.948953.948953.94895
In 1539 the Knight Templars of Malta, paid tribute to Charles V of Spain, by sending him a Golden Falcon encrusted from beak to claw with rarest jewels—but pirates seized the galley carrying this priceless token and the fate of the Maltese Falcon remains a mystery to this day —
Another Thin Man, 1h43
Directed by W. S. Van Dyke
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Comedy thriller, Crime, Romance
Actors William Powell, Myrna Loy, Otto Kruger, C. Aubrey Smith, Virginia Grey, Ruth Hussey
Roles Story
Rating72% 3.6474353.6474353.6474353.6474353.647435
In this adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's "The Farewell Murder", Nick (William Powell) and Nora (Myrna Loy) Charles are back in New York with Asta and a new arrival - Nicky Jr. They are invited by Colonel Burr MacFay (C. Aubrey Smith) to spend the weekend at his house on Long Island. McFay, the former business partner of Nora's father, and the administrator of her fortune, desperately wants Nick to put his well-known detective skills to work, as he has been receiving threats from Phil Church (Sheldon Leonard), a very shady character. When MacFay is killed, Church seems to be the obvious suspect. However, Nick is skeptical. He suspects there is something far more complicated going on. MacFay's housekeeper, his adopted daughter, and various hangers-on all may have had an interest in seeking the old man's demise.
Have You Got Any Castles?
Directed by Frank Tashlin
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical, Animation
Themes Musical films, Children's films
Actors Mel Blanc, Michel Mella, Tedd Pierce
Roles Characters
Rating67% 3.3889953.3889953.3889953.3889953.388995
Ce dessin animé n'a pas d'intrigue à proprement parler. Il est principalement composé de blagues et de jeux de mots aléatoires sur la culture pop des années 1930, avec pour seul thème le fait qu'il se déroule dans une librairie où les personnages de chaque livre prennent vie pour une nuit de plaisir.
After the Thin Man, 1h53
Directed by W. S. Van Dyke
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Comedy thriller, Crime, Romance
Actors William Powell, Myrna Loy, James Stewart, Penny Singleton, Elissa Landi, Joseph Calleia
Roles Story
Rating75% 3.7971353.7971353.7971353.7971353.797135
Nick and Nora Charles return from vacation to their home in San Francisco on New Year's Eve, where Nora's stuffy family expect the couple to join them for a formal dinner. Nick is despised by Nora's Aunt Katherine, the family matriarch, as his immigrant heritage and experience as a "flat foot" are considered below Nora. The true reason for their invitation is that Nora's cousin Selma's ne'er-do-well husband Robert has been missing. Nick is coerced into a little quiet detective work for the family.