Discovering The Maltese Falcon and Sam Spade: The Evolution of Dashiell Hammett's Masterpiece, Including John Huston's Movie with Humphrey Bogart (The Ace Performer Collection series) (Paperback)

~ Richard Layman (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Will make fans of the book or the film gasp as one unexpected delight succeeds another." -- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

(Starred review) "This one-stop resource is a ... dream. Highly recommended." -- Michael Rogers, Library Journal

Review

"Dashiell Hammett is as American as a sawed-off shotgun . . . he is so hard-boiled you could roll him on the White House lawn." —Dorothy Parker, The New Yorker

"A treasure beyond price for fans of both the classic Hammett novel and the three film versions of the doomed quest for a black bird. An incredible amalgam of photos, memos, letters, reviews, whatever, this will make fans of the book or the film gasp as one unexpected delight succeeds another. With this book, wonders really do never cease."  —Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

"An extraordinary book, it includes 250 illustrations and is a giant treasure box filled with pictures, lists, articles, and more."  —New York Sun

"Includes just about everything you always wanted to know . . . and about a zillion other treasures. The perfect gift for fans."  —ThrillingDetective.com

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Vince Emery Productions; Revised edition (September 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972589864
• ISBN-13: 978-0972589864
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #298,367 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must-read" for mystery movie trivia buffs, October 7, 2005

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Discovering The Maltese Falcon And Sam Spade is a tribute to the novel by Dashiell Hammett featuring the hardboiled detective Sam Spade and his involvement in the doomed quest for a mysterious artifact, as well as the three film noir movies based from it including the classic that made Humphrey Bogart a star. Chapters tell of Hammett's days as a detective, his publication in pulps, the making of the classic novel, critical views of the movies, the reverberations of The Maltese Falcon in popular culture, and much more. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs, selections of Hammett's pre-publication material, copies of news articles and other primary sources, and much more, Discovering The Maltese Falcon And Sam Spade is a "must-read" for mystery movie trivia buffs and anyone else curious about the history behind a legendary 'hard boiled PI" adventure story.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Collection of Materials on the Genesis and Legacy of "The Maltese Falcon"., January 6, 2007

By	mirasreviews (McLean, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

"Discovering the Maltese Falcon and Sam Spade" is an amazing collection of materials related to Dashiell Hammett, his greatest novel "The Maltese Falcon", the film adaptations of the book, and other spin-offs assembled by Hammett biographer Richard Layman. Layman states in his introduction, "The purpose of this volume is to provide researchers basic materials useful in studying 'The Maltese Falcon'." Not everything ever written about "The Maltese Falcon" is here, but the contents of this book are remarkably varied. The collection is probably too dense for casual fans of "The Maltese Falcon", but it's indispensable for Hammett scholars and aficionados. The only fault I find is that reproductions of newspaper and other type-written materials are sometimes poor and would have benefited from enhancement.

The book is organized into five parts. The first part, "Detective Days", provides biographical information on Dashiell Hammett, a history of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, an interview with a colleague of Hammett's at Pinkerton, excerpts from books on criminal investigation that Hammett studied, and some non-fiction pieces that Hammett wrote about his detective days. The second section, "The Pulps and the Making of the Novel", includes a history of "Black Mask" magazine, the historical basis for the Maltese Falcon statuette, comments by "Black Mask" editor Joseph T. Shaw, some reviews of Hammett's mystery fiction, and many excerpts from Hammett's stories that later inspired characters and events in "The Maltese Falcon".

"Magazine and Book Publication" begins with a copy of Hammett's book contract with Knopf and correspondence with publisher Harry Block. There are covers of "Black Mask" issues that serialized "The Maltese Falcon", examples of text that was revised between magazine publication and book publication, early book jackets, many favorable reviews of the book, Dorothy Parker's tepid review of "The Glass Key", articles about Cecil Henderson's plagiarism, and sales data for the novel. The forth section, "Critical Views of 'The Maltese Falcon'", is seven pieces of relatively recent literary criticism that explore American individualism, Sam Spade's vernacular, the novel as introverted romance, as allegory of international politics between the wars, and the pursuit of tangible wealth, among other themes.

The last section, "Movies, Stage, and Radio: Hammett's Novel in Popular Culture", follows Hammett's life after the publication of the novel, followed by discussions of the script, budget, and reviews for the first film adaptation at Warner Brothers in 1931. More letters from Warner Brothers, title suggestions, correspondence with the Breen Office, and reviews of the second movie adaptation, "Satan Met a Lady", in 1936. For John Huston's 1941 adaptation, there is a letter from Joseph Breen citing Production Code violations in the script, a budget, letters about filming, Mary Astor's recollections of the film, 3 movie reviews, and 4 critical analyses. There is a bit about an abortive stage play and the legal challenges over "The Adventures of Sam Spade" radio show. There is a list of selected publications of "The Maltese Falcon" in the back of the book as well as an index.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Question Left Unanswered, June 8, 2006

By	Rosemary Brunschwyler (Homewood, Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews

I love the story of THE MALTESE FALCON, not only as it is told in Hammett's novel but also as it is portrayed in John Huston's movie. I can never read enough about Dashiell Hammett, Joseph Shaw, Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Gladys George, Sydney Greenstreet, Elisha Cook Jr., Mary Astor, Barton MacLane, Robert and William Pinkerton, John Huston, Lillian Hellman, the Knights of Malta, BLACK MASK, San Francisco after World War I and Raymond Chandler.

This book has enough anecdotes and background material to satisfy even the most ardent enthusiast. My own favorite piece is an account by Mary Astor of her experiences while filming for her role as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in the 1941 version of THE MALTESE FALCON.