Hammett (1982)

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

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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 | Argentina:13 | 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:

Final film of Elisha Cook Jr.

Quotes:

Crystal Ling: He was good.
Hammett: He was the best. In his prime.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le bourreau des coeurs (1983)

Underrated, undervalued, almost designed to be a cult film from the onset

In the background/historical notes to his novel, "Hammett," author Joe Gores says of one character, ". . . and if you don't know who he's based on, you need to read more Hammett." The movie, more or less based upon the novel, takes Gore's dicta to heart with several key characters. The result can be a whole lot of fun if you know your Hammett; if you're a little weak in that category, the result is merely a lot of fun.

Set in 1927 San Francisco, the film catches Dashiell Hammett in transition: Trying to firmly put his Pinkerton days behind him while establishing himself as a writer, dealing with the twin scourges of his World War I - induced tuberculosis and the alcoholism that will plague him almost to the end of his days, he finds himself drawn back into his old life one last time by the irresistible call of friendship and to honor a debt. By the time he's done, he finds himself having paid a far higher price, learning that he had only thought himself to be totally disillusioned beforehand.

"Hammett" the movie is as much an homage as "Hammett" the novel. It is a rare thing for neither a movie nor a novel to suffer by comparison to each other -- especially when the two are so divergent -- but that is exactly what happens here. The screenplay is strong, the production values uniformly excellent (check out the 1920s Market Street Railway streetcar which passes by in the background briefly in one scene, for example; only one in a thousand viewers might recognize it, and only one in possibly two thousand might appreciate the verisimilitude it provides), the direction and pacing authoritative.

Frederic Forrest is virtually perfect as Hammett; by turns ravaged and buoyant, hardboiled and outraged, at every turn ultimately unstoppable. By the film's close, he makes it very clear that, for Hammett, there will be no turning back; those moodily tapping typewriter keys which formed such an eerie backdrop for much of the action will also provide his salvation, and that this is a good thing.

And anyone who disputes that, as Joe Gores would say, needs to read more Hammett.