Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Before Dashiell Hammett began writing detective novels, he was a real-life detective working for the Pinkertons. So if her were around today, he'd totally be a reality TV star.
When Ingrid Bergman landed the role of Ilsa in Casablanca, she watched The Maltese Falcon over and over to study Humphrey Bogart's performance as Sam Spade. (Source.)
Hammett's dialogue in the novel was so lively and realistic that nearly every single line appeared in the 1941 film version of The Maltese Falcon. (Source.)
Dashiell Hammett's nickname among his close friends was "Dash," and he was quite the dashing gentleman. In fact, he had a 30-year long relationship with the famous Lillian Hellman, a love affair that was made into a 1977 film called "Dash and Lilly," the directorial debut of Kathy Bates. (Source.)