You're in Good Hands With These Eyes The Acme Indemnity Op Jan Dana's cynical, hard-boiled, nameless insurance op from the pulps. Any resemblance between this character and any other ficticious character by anyone named Hammett is strictly a coincidence. Thomas Banacek The smuggest dick this side of Spenser, urbane, suave, cocky Boston-based Polish/American freelance insurance … Continue reading You Better Get Some Insurance, Baby
Tag: My Back Pages
Don’t Forget the Motor City
Detroit Eyes & Other Michigan Miscreants Pete Caudill by Mitchell Barton August High by Dan Ames Lincoln Keller by Lee Meadows Charlie Mack by Cheryl A. Head Ben Perkins by Robin Kantner Ralph Poteet by Loren Estleman Jack Ryan by Elmore Leonard August Snow by Stephen Mack Jones Amos Walker by Loren Estleman Other Michigan … Continue reading Don’t Forget the Motor City
The Ensemble P.I Story
Truffaut's Stolen Kisses and Bogdanovich's They All Laughed The following is from Sam Wiebe's always interesting newsletter (available in free and paid versions), wherein he expounds on writing, crime fiction, film and whatever else catches his attention. Sam, of course, is the award-winning Canadian crime writer and the creator of Vancouver private eyes  Dave Wakeland … Continue reading The Ensemble P.I Story
Let ‘er Rip!!!
Some of My Favourite Spoofs & Parodies "Somewhere a Roscoe" October 15, 1938, The New Yorker By S.J. Perelman The humourist's affectionate tribute to pulp writer Robert Leslie Bellem and his greatest creation, Hollywood orb, Dan Turner. "The White Rabbit Caper" November 19, 1941, The New Yorker By James Thurber A parody of the tough … Continue reading Let ‘er Rip!!!
Dashiell Hammett’s Introduction to The Maltese Falcon
From the 1934 Modern Library Edition If this book had been written with the help of an outline or notes or even a clearly defined plot-idea in my head I might now be able to say how it came to be written and why it took the shape it did, but all I can remember … Continue reading Dashiell Hammett’s Introduction to The Maltese Falcon
My Scrapbook: Dashiell Hammett as The Thin Man
My Scrapbook Dashiell Hammett as The Thin Man A good part of Dashiell Hammett's initial — and ongoing —success and popularity  was not simply due to his writing, but also to the fact that Hammett himself was a former detective for the Pinkerton Detective Agency. He wasn't no oil company exec, or a CPA, or, … Continue reading My Scrapbook: Dashiell Hammett as The Thin Man
My Scrapbook: “Why, thanks. You’re looking very film-noir-ish tonight yourself.”
My Scrapbook "Why, thanks. You're looking very film-noir-ish tonight yourself." By Mort Gerberg (The New Yorker) The term "film noir" has become so pretentious, so compromised, so misunderstood and so misappropriated, used to sell everything from perfume and jewelry to yogurt and Yoyos, and its definition so sloppily applied to novels, films and television to … Continue reading My Scrapbook: “Why, thanks. You’re looking very film-noir-ish tonight yourself.”
My Scrapbook: The Maltese Falcon Tourist Trap
My Scrapbook The Maltese Falcon Tourist Trap Friend of the site Robert A. James, author of Truths and The Maltese Falcon (2023), sent along this photo, writing "My friend was visiting Mdina on the island of Malta, and sent me this photo of a completely authentic shop!" Curious? The official address is "Maltese Falcon, 27 … Continue reading My Scrapbook: The Maltese Falcon Tourist Trap
Capitol Crimes
Washington D.C. Eyes &  Other Hard-Boiled Fiction "Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country." — Mayor Marion BarryMost people probably think of espionage or legal thrillers involving politicians when they think of "mysteries" involving DC. However, in the last 15 years, DC has given rise to a … Continue reading Capitol Crimes
Politics Schmolitics
I'm just tryna hold it steady... Politics is the dog turd on everybody's sidewalk, and eventually even nice eyes step into it accidentally, but these eyes make political trouble their business, working as fixers and troubleshooters, covering up or looking for scandals... Robert Miles by David H. Everson Joe DeMarco by Mike Lawson Very preliminary … Continue reading Politics Schmolitics