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| Dashiell Hammett |
The University of South Carolina immortalized that saucy
hard-boiled detective Sam Spade. His sandpaper personality made all the ladies
quiver, and sent the bad guys scurrying for their hideouts. Humphrey Bogart got
his start by playing the rough and tough Sam Spade in the Maltese Falcon.
Spade’s author, Dashiell Hammett created and perfected the
noir genre. Hammett started out working as a detective for the Pinkerton Agency
that helped with his writing. Most of his stories were first published as
serials in magazines. He spawned many other authors in the genre including
Elmore Leonard.
In addition to the Maltese
Falcon, Hammett also wrote the Thin
Man. His main characters in the Thin
Man included a hard drinking couple Nick and Nora Charles from New York. He
loosely based the characters on his relationship with his long time girlfriend,
Lillian Hellman. Both stories became Hollywood classics.
Hammett’s literary contemporaries included Hemingway and F.
Scott Fitzgerald. Like these gentlemen, Hammett also enjoyed imbibing alcohol
and smoking cigarettes. He suffered from lung complications most of his adult
life, and died from lung cancer in 1961 at the age of 67.
The War Years
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| Hammett Grave Site Arlington National Cemetery |
Hammett declared himself to be both a patriot and a Communist,
two items not often seen linked together. He served in both the great World
Wars. He enlisted in the ambulance core in World War I where he caught the
Spanish flu and tuberculosis.
Due to his TB doctors recommended he separate from his wife,
Jose Dolan Hammett and his two daughters. He used the proceeds of his books and
films to support his two children. He later entered a relationship with Lillian
Hellman, and remained with her the rest of his life. Like many artists of this
era, Hammett joined the Communist party.
When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the
Army. Because of his TB and Communist affiliation, he needed special permission.
He was assigned to the Aleutian Islands where he edited the Army newspaper. The
Army provided close supervision to ensure no subversive Communist propaganda
found its way into print. The cold Alaskan climate irritated his lungs, and he
contracted emphysema.
Communism
In the late 1940s his activities against the Un-American
Activities Committee and his support for the Hollywood 10 earned him the
recognition of Congress. He was invited to testify, but choose to plead the 5th
amendment. For this, he served time in a West Virginia Federal Prison cleaning
toilets.
His time in prison further exacerbated his lung condition.
He spent the last few years of his life in obscurity, and wrote no more.
Hellman remained at his side the whole time. They were together 30 years. He is
buried in Arlington National Cemetery because of his military service.
The Collection
The University of South Carolina procured two collections
for an undisclosed amount of money. The first collection was obtained from Hammett’s
daughter and grandchildren. It includes family letters. The other collection
came from Richard Hayman who has spent 40 years collecting materials,
researching and recording Hammett’s biography.
The combined collection contains letters, books, family
photographs, screenplays and memorabilia including his Pinkerton badge. The
collection should be available for viewing in about a year. The University of
South Carolina also houses other fiction detective collections including Elmore
Leonard and James Ellroy.
