I had heard years ago that one of my favorite movies, Miller's Crossing, was based on Dashielle Hammett's crime novel, The Glass Key. It wasn't until just recently that I got around to reading it for the first time. It is typical Hammett in that it has tough talking, hard drinking protagonists and shady, violent underworld figures galore, not to mention femme fatales and hard, tough talking women to boot. The plot is complex and hard to follow as well, but I think the Coens borrowed heavily from the book despite the differences in plot. For example, the relationships among the main characters, as well as some of the plot lines are different. It was entertaining, so I suppose I'll have to read The Maltese Falcon one of these days as well. I think Hammett's influence on film noir and crime literature is undeniably profound.
Post a comment
Your Information
(Name and email address are required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment.)
some of the dialog is stolen verbatim too. you should read Nightmare Town. it's awesome.
Posted by: lou | April 06, 2004 at 07:36 PM