Today is the birth anniversary of Dashiell Hammett (May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961). The man who brought realism to the genre of mystery writing, Hammett was born at St. Marys County, MD. His first two novels, Red Harvest (1929) and The Dain Curse (1929), were based on his eight years spent as a Pinkerton detective. Hammett is recognized as the founder of the “hard-boiled” school of detective fiction. Three of his novels have been made into films: The Maltese Falcon (1930), considered by many to be his finest work; The Thin Man (1932), and The Glass Key (1931).
The Maltese Falcon has been named one of the greatest films of all time by Roger Ebert. The story follows a San Francisco private detective and his dealings with three unscrupulous adventurers, all of whom are competing to obtain a jewel-encrusted falcon statuette. The film’s opening credits are followed by the following introductory text: “In 1539 the Knight Templars of Malta, paid tribute to Charles V of Spain, by sending him a Golden Falcon encrusted from beak to claw with rarest jewels – but pirates seized the galley carrying this priceless token and the fate of the Maltese Falcon remains a mystery to this day.” According to a PBS NewsHour report, the ‘Maltese Falcon’ bird statuette featured in the classic 1941 film sold at auction in September 2013 for more than $4 million.
Clicking on the images will direct you to the record of each title in the library’s catalog.