Hammett Poster

Hammett (1982)

PG 06/09/1982 Drama, Thriller 1h 38m
62%
User
Score
6.4/10
75%
61/100

He created "The Maltese Falcon," "Sam Spade" and "The Thin Man." But he didn't write this mystery thriller...he lived it.

Overview

Chinatown, San Francisco, 1928. Former private detective Dashiell Hammett, a compulsive drinker with tuberculosis who writes pulp fiction for a living, receives an unexpected visit from an old friend asking for help.

Wim Wenders

Director

Dennis O'Flaherty

Screenplay

Ross Thomas

Screenplay

Top Billed Cast

Frederic Forrest

Frederic Forrest

Hammett

Peter Boyle

Peter Boyle

Jimmy Ryan

Marilu Henner

Marilu Henner

Kit Conger / Sue Alabama

Roy Kinnear

Roy Kinnear

English Eddie Hagedorn

Lydia Lei

Lydia Lei

Crystal Ling

Elisha Cook Jr.

Elisha Cook Jr.

Eli the Taxi Driver

David Patrick Kelly

David Patrick Kelly

The Punk

R.G. Armstrong

R.G. Armstrong

Lt. O'Mara

Richard Bradford

Richard Bradford

Detective Bradford

Full Cast & Crew →

Media

"Hammett" (1982) Trailer

"Hammett" (1982) Trailer

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Reviews

A review by John Chard

Written on August 17, 2015

She's a disaster.

Hammett is a fictional story about the great writer Dashiell Hammett (played by Frederic Forrest). The story finds the writer retired from the Pinkerton Detectice Agency and nursing bad lungs and a taste for the liquor. When old colleague Jimmy Ryan (Peter Boyle) comes a calling, Hammett finds himself down in Frisco's Chinatown district in it up to his neck in muck and grime.

The back story to the production of Hammett is long and disappointing, all of which makes for fascinating reading and available at the click of a mouse. The film we have to view now may not be the one originally envisaged by director Wim Wenders, but on repeat viewings it shows itself to be a very loving homage to the halcyon days of film noir, a film of great technical craft and guile. Thoug...

Read the full review on TMDb →
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