SR51sFEB18

TheWeekInCongress.com

Week Ending February 18, 2005

Senate Resolution 51 recognizing the importance of the writings of Dashiell Hammet to American literature and culture on the 75^th anniversary of the first publication of “The Maltese Falcon.”

BRIEF

Perhaps the only thing that surpassed Mr. Hammet’s accomplishment with the Maltese Falcon (1930) is his own life.

The Maltese Falcon launched the “tough detective” detective novel in America, introduced the character Sam Spade and soon thereafter found even broader acceptance on the movie screen starring the late Humphrey Bogart as Spade.

But Mr. Hammet’s life was nothing if not exciting. Maryland born in 1894 he traveled the country as a detective for Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency, drove an ambulance in WW I and served (at age 48) in the Aleutian Islands in WWII

Sponsor: Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Vote: Passed Senate by Unanimous Consent.

Cost to the taxpayers: No discernible cost.

MORE INFORMATION

S. Res. 51

Whereas Samuel Dashiell Hammett was born in St. Mary's County, Maryland, on May 27, 1894, and died in New York City, on January 10, 1961;

Whereas Dashiell Hammett joined Pinkerton's National Detective Agency in 1915 at the age of 21 and worked for the agency in Maryland, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Montana, and California;

Whereas Dashiell Hammett served the United States in the Army Ambulance Motor Corps during World War I and, after enlisting in 1942 at the age of 48, in the Aleutian Islands during World War II, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery;

Whereas Dashiell Hammett wrote ``The Maltese Falcon'' (published on February 14, 1930), 1 of the most widely-read crime novels in history, which introduced the literary figure Sam Spade, 1 of the most famous detectives in American literature, and set San Francisco as the center of hard-boiled crime fiction;

Whereas ``The Maltese Falcon'' has appeared in hundreds of editions in 50 countries and over 30 languages and was adapted into 3 movies, including a 1941 Warner Brothers film directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, which has been recognized by the American Film Institute as 1 of the greatest movies of all time; and

Whereas ``The Maltese Falcon'' turned mystery and crime novels into a widely-recognized genre of literature and is a classic novel of American literature: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate--

(1) salutes Dashiell Hammett as 1 of the most notable authors of hard-boiled crime fiction;

(2) notes the 75th anniversary of the publication of Dashiell Hammet's ``The Maltese Falcon''; and

(3) recognizes ``The Maltese Falcon'' as a great American crime novel.

No reproduction or distribution without written permission from TheWeekInCongress.com.