Hammett (1982)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writers:

Joe Gores (novel)
Dennis O'Flaherty (writer)

Release Date:

17 September 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

The mystery writer who lived his own stories ! [Video]

Plot:

The novel writter Dashiell Hammett is involved in the investigation of the mysterious disappearance...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Writer | Prostitute | Photograph | Police

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Frederic Forrest	...	Hammett
Peter Boyle	...	Jimmy Ryan
Marilu Henner	...	Kit Conger / Sue Alabama
Roy Kinnear	...	English Eddie Hagedorn
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Eli the Taxi Driver (as Elisha Cook)
Lydia Lei	...	Crystal Ling
R.G. Armstrong	...	Lt. O'Mara
Richard Bradford	...	Detective Bradford
Michael Chow	...	Fong Wei Tau
David Patrick Kelly	...	The Punk
Sylvia Sidney	...	Donaldina Cameron
Jack Nance	...	Gary Salt
Elmer Kline	...	Doc Fallon
Royal Dano	...	Pops
Samuel Fuller	...	Old Man in Pool Hall

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:AA | USA:PG | West Germany:12 (f) (bw)

Filming Locations:

American Zoetrope Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Zoetrope Studios

Trivia:

The first aborted shoot of the film co-starred Ronee Blakley and Brian Keith in the roles ultimately played by Marilu Henner and Peter Boyle. The film was apparently 90% complete, but lacked a satisfactory ending. The novel's ending could not be used for copyright reasons (it was deemed too close to Dashiell Hammett's own work). By the time shooting resumed a year-and-a-half later, Wim Wenders had divorced Blakely and her part was recast.

Quotes:

Hammett: I want two things. One, I want my story back, it's not much but its what I do. And two, I want to be left alone.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le bourreau des coeurs (1983)

So Disappointing, Wenders on a Bad Day

It is painful to have to admit this, but even Wim Wenders can make a bad movie. I saw this years ago and was terribly disappointed. I just had another look, fooling myself into thinking it must have matured in the can and it would be really good, and that I just remembered it wrong. But alas, it was even worse than I remembered. Frederic Forrest is superb and was perfectly chosen to play the main character, Dash Hammett the detective writer ('The Maltese falcon', 'The Glass Key' and the 'Thin Man' films). Forrest worked again with Wenders 15 years later in another film and he played Hammett a second time in 'Citizen Cohn' (1992). He is a good solid actor and always delivers. The other highlight of this film in terms of acting is the amazing Lydia Lei, who plays a Chinese siren even though she is Japanese. She has that something extra. She will make the hair rise on the back of your neck, and maybe more besides. But the film is a super-flop. Wenders obviously loves old noir movies and thought 'wouldn't it be nice if'. But just as 'man cannot live by bread alone', so a film director 'cannot live by homage alone'. The concept, the story, the script, are all terrible. And the interior lighting is even worse, far too harsh, and the attempts at expressionism with streaked shadows and so forth is a total failure. Above all, everything is too contrived and the characters apart from Hammett himself are pastiche people, which was doubtless intentional in a jocular homage sort of way, but Germans should never try humour, as it is not their forte, and Wenders is best when he is being earnest and serious, or portraying personal angst or hanging out with musicians. Even Wenders's flair for music wobbles here, with some dubious song choices. This was just an 'off day' for Wenders which lasts for 97 minutes, and if you make it that far you pass the endurance test.