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Dashiell Hammett Biography

Samuel Dashiell Hammett (/dəˈʃiːl ˈhæmɪt/; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, screenwriter, and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), and the Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse).

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Dashiell Hammett Quotes

You don't pay a prostitute for sex, you pay her to leave afterwards.

Leave, Pay, Prostitute, Sex

When a man's partner is killed he's supposed to do something about it. It doesn't make any difference what you thought of him. He was your partner and you're supposed to do something about it. Then it happens we were in the detective business. Well, when one of your organization gets killed it's bad business to let the killer get away with it. It's bad all around-bad for that one organization, bad for every detective everywhere. Sam Spade

Differences, Killer, Men, Organization, Sam

What I try to do is write a story about a detective rather than a detective story. Keeping the reader fooled until the last, possible moment is a good trick and I usually try to play it, but I can't attach more than secondary importance to it. The puzzle isn't so interesting to me as the behavior of the detective attacking it.

Detective, Fooled, Interesting, Play, Possible, Writing

Three times I have been mistaken for a prohibition agent, but never had any trouble clearing myself.

Agents, Clearing, Prohibition, Three, Times, Trouble

We didn't exactly believe your story. ' Then --?' 'We believed your two hundred dollars. ' 'You mean --' She seemed not to know what he meant. 'I mean that you paid us more than if you'd been telling the truth,' he explained blandly, 'and enough more to make it all right.

Believe, Make, Mean, Telling, Two

The outcome of successful planning always looks like luck to saps.

Like, Looks, Luck, Outcome, Successful

Nick: "Don't you think maybe a drink would help you to sleep?" Nora: "No, thanks. " Nick: "Maybe it would if I took one.

Help, Helping, Maybe, Nick, Sleep, Thinking

The roof might fall in; anything could happen.

Fall, Happen, Might, Roof

The people who lie the most are nearly always the clumsiest at it, and they're easier to fool with lies than most people, too. You'd think they'd be on the look-out for lies, but they seem to be the very ones that will believe almost anything at all.

Believe, Lie, Lying, Nearly, Thinking

She grinned at me. 'You got types?' 'Only you darling - lanky brunettes with wicked jaws.

Brunette, Brunettes, Jaws, Lanky, Type, Wicked

Nora said: 'I love you, Nicky, because you smell nice and know such fascinating people.

Love, Love You, Nice, Nora, Smell

With what dope I got I think it fills me in pretty well.

Dope, Fills, Pretty, Thinking, Wells

Listen, Dundy, it's been a long time since I burst into tears because a policeman didn't like me.

Listen, Long, Policemen, Tears

I couldn't be fonder of you if you were my own son. But, well, if you lose a son, its possible to get another. There's only one Maltese Falcon. (Kasper Gutman)

Falcon, Gutman, Lose, Maltese, Son, Wells

I found I was repeating myself. It is the beginning of the end when you discover you have style.

Beginning, Ends, Found, Style

I haven't laughed so much over anything since the hogs ate my kid brother.

Ate, Brother, Hog, Kid, Kids, Laughed

. . . What disturbed him was the discovery that in sensibly ordering his affairs he had got out of step, and not into step, with Life.

Affair, Affairs, Discovery, Disturbed, Ordering, Steps

The boy spoke two words, the first a short guttural verb, the second “you.

Boy, Boys, Spoke, Two, Verbs, Words

Talking is something you can't do judiciously unless you keep in practice.

Falcon, Judiciously, Keep, Practice, Talking, Unless

To get what he wanted, a man had to give other people what they wanted.

Give, Inspirational, Man, Men, People

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