Synopses & Reviews
As the father of the hardboiled detective genre, Dashiell Hammett had a huge influence on Hollywood. Yet, it is easy to forget how adaptable Hammettandrsquo;s work was, fitting into a variety of genres and inspiring generations of filmmakers.
Dashiell Hammett and the Movies offers the first comprehensive look at Hammettandrsquo;s broad oeuvre and how it was adapted into films from the 1930s all the way into the 1990s. Film scholar William H. Mooney reveals the wide range of films crafted from the same Hammett novels, as when The Maltese Falcon was filmed first as a pre-Code sexploitation movie, then as a Bette Davis screwball comedy, and finally as the Humphrey Bogart classic. He also considers how Hammett rose to Hollywood fame not through the genre most associated with him, but through a much fizzier concoction, the witty murder mystery The Thin Man. To demonstrate the hold Hammett still has over contemporary filmmakers, the book culminates in an examination of the Coen brothersandrsquo; pastiche Millerandrsquo;s Crossing.and#160;
Mooney not only provides us with an in-depth analysis of Hammett adaptations, he also chronicles how Hollywood enabled the authorandrsquo;s own rise to stardom, complete with a celebrity romance and a carefully crafted public persona. Giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the complex power relationships, cultural contexts, and production concerns involved in bringing Hammettandrsquo;s work from the page to the screen, Dashiell Hammett and the Movies offers a fresh take on a literary titan.and#160;
Review
andldquo;Displays a true cinephileandrsquo;s fascination with the gunslingers and femmes fatales of film noir, and the dark, uneasy world they inhabit. Wide-ranging and packed with compelling detail, this work will be an invaluable addition to the bookshelves of fans, academics, and completists alike.andquot;
Review
andquot;Wheeler's observations illustrate how paranoia, as constructed through the lens of film noir, proves more relevant than ever. A wonderful addition to the literature on film noir and film genres. Highly recommended.andquot;
Review
andquot;In this ambitious book, Mooney seeks to give a broad-based sense of the influence of Dashiell Hammettandrsquo;s writings on Hollywood film, demonstrating both great knowledge of and enthusiasm for Hammettandrsquo;s work.andquot;
Review
andquot;William Mooney's comprehensive survey of Dashiell Hammett's afterlife in the movies combines a logical core Sam Spade would admire with a story that moves as fast as the Continental Op.andquot;
Synopsis
Wheeler Winston Dixon engages readers in an overview of noir and fatalist film from the mid-twentieth century to the present, ending with a discussion of television, the Internet, and dominant commercial cinema. Beginning with the 1940s classics, Film Noir and the Cinema of Paranoia moves to the "Red Scare" and other ominous expressions of the 1950s. The dark cinema of the 1960s reflected the tensions of a society facing a new and, to some, menacing era of social expression.
Synopsis
Noir. A shadow looms. The blow, a sharp surprise. Waking and sleeping, the fear is with us and cannot be contained.
Paranoia.Wheeler Winston Dixon's comprehensive work engages readers in an overview of noir and fatalist film from the mid-twentieth century to the present, ending with a discussion of television, the Internet, and dominant commercial cinema. Beginning with the 1940s classics, Film Noir and the Cinema of Paranoia moves to the "Red Scare" and other ominous expressions of the 1950s that contradicted an American split-level dream of safety and security. The dark cinema of the 1960s hosted films that reflected the tensions of a society facing a new and, to some, menacing era of social expression. From smaller studio work to the vibrating pulse of today's "click and kill" video games, Dixon boldly addresses the noir artistry that keeps audiences in an ever-consumptive stupor.
Synopsis
Dashiell Hammett and the Movies offers the first comprehensive study of how this iconic American writerandrsquo;s work was translated to the silver screen. Comparing multiple versions of classics like The Maltese Falcon, William Mooney demonstrates that Hammettandrsquo;s work was widely adaptable, exploited by the Hollywood studios in a variety of genres and inspiring generations of filmmakers. Packed with behind-the-scenes detail on the writing and production of each movie, this book offers a fresh take on a literary titan.
About the Author
Wheeler Winston Dixon is the James Ryan Endowed Professor of Film Studies at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He is the author and editor of numerous books, including A Short History of Film (Rutgers University Press).
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Three Early Films: Roadhouse Nights (1930), City Streets (1931), and Mister Dynamite (1935)
2and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Thin Man (1934)
3and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; After The Thin Man: From Sequel to Series
4and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Woman in the Dark (1934) and Watch on the Rhine (1943)
5and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Maltese Falcon (1931), Satan Met a Lady (1936), and The Maltese Falcon (1941)
6and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Glass Key (1935 and 1942)
7and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Hammett in Retrospect: Millerandrsquo;s Crossing
Conclusion
Notes
BibliographyIndex