Hammett is a 1982 neo-noir film directed by Wim Wenders and produced by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the novel of the same name by Joe Gores. Something of a Troubled Production, as tended to happen with Coppola’s Zoetrope Studios projects, it was essentially shot twice in its entirety, as distributor Orion Pictures rejected Wenders’s original cut as having too little action.
Drinking heavily and fighting off illness, retired private investigator and fledgling writer Dashiell Hammett (Frederic Forrest), receives a visit from his old mentor Jimmy Ryan (Peter Boyle). Boyle wants Hammett’s help in a missing person’s case involving Chinatown prostitute Crystal Ling (Lydia Lei). Aided by his neighbor and lover Kit Conger (Marilu Henner), Hammett launches himself into a case that puts him at odds with both the police and with Crystal’s suave gangster pimp (Michael Chow), and ultimately with some of the richest and most powerful men in San Francisco.
The cast features a slew of characters both old and (then) new, including R. G. Armstrong, Jack Nance, David Patrick Kelly, Roy Kinnear, Elisha Cook Jr., Royal Dano, and Sylvia Sidney.
Tropes seen in Hammett:
- Author Avatar: In-universe it's suggested that Sam Spade is this for Hammett. Ryan—himself implied to be the model for the Continental Op—is the character who most often addresses him as Sam (short for "Samuel", which actually was Hammett's first name.)
- Blackmail: Crystal is the center of a scheme to blackmail some of San Francisco’s richest men, who saw stag films starring her and lined up to have sex with her themselves, unaware they’d be photographed.
- Dissonant Laughter: Hammett consults a doctor about a grisly killing that was ruled a suicide. While giving him the gory details, the doctor breaks down laughing.
- Expy: The main villains from The Maltese Falcon (1941) and its source novel have their equivalents here. English Eddie Hagedorn (Kinnear) and Winston “The Punk” (Kelly) are stand-ins for Kasper Gutman and Wilmer Cook, respectively, while pornographer Gary Salt (Nance) has Joel Cairo’s look (but not his accent). It’s implied that Hammett bases those characters on these men.
- Faking the Dead: Crystal’s body is found, beaten beyond recognition. Except it turns out she cooked the evidence and is still alive.
- Gayngster: At the very least English Eddie and his gunsel “The Punk.” This film is slightly more explicit in treating it than was John Huston’s Maltese Falcon.
- Hot Librarian: Averted with Kit. She’s literally a librarian by trade, but not particularly prim to begin with.
- Intentional Values Dissonance: Set largely in Chinatown, the word “chink” gets tossed around a lot.
- Period Piece: The film is set sometime in The Roaring '20s, before Hammett had really established himself as a writer. The costumes reflect this, although the cinematography is more reminiscent of color films of The '40s.
- Pinkerton Detective: Hammett (again reflecting Real Life) worked for Pinkerton alongside Ryan. This is also how he knows Eli the cab driver (Cook), an old Wobbly whose IWW meetings he used to bust up.
- Sexy Discretion Shot: Hammett and Kit get frisky after one night of adventures, as acknowledged by her mentioning a “roll in the hay.” By this time he’s dressed and she’s in her housecoat.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: The lost manuscript that functions as Hammett’s personal McGuffin. He does track it down eventually but it gets tossed in the water during his final confrontation with Crystal and Ryan. Which doesn’t really matter, since he just sits down at the typewriter and writes something better.
