CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Uriah43 When a young Chinese woman by the name of "Cristal Ling" (Lydia Lei) goes missing in San Francisco a retired detective turned novelist named "Samuel Dashiell Hammett" (Frederic Forrest) agrees to attempt to find her. However, he soon begins to realize that there is much more to this missing person's case than his private detective friend "Jimmy Ryan" (Peter Boyle) initially told him. And the fact that even the police advise him to steer clear is even more cause for caution and concern. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an interesting mystery film which benefited greatly from the 1920's backdrop. Likewise, the twists and turns along the way which continued on to the very finish certainly helped to a great degree as well. Admittedly, it could have used a bit more action and suspense but even so I enjoyed this film overall and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

blanche-2 Despite a big chaotic mess behind the scenes, 1982's Hammett starring Frederic Forrest is an entertaining noir-ish experience, bringing us back to the '40s adaptations of Hammett and Raymond Chandler novels.Wim Wenders direction did not meet the approval of the backers and delays pushed the film from its preproduction beginnings in 1975 to 1980. The first version starred Brian Keith and Ronee Blakely, but most of that was thrown out. In 1981, two-thirds of the film was re-shot. There are in essence two versions of this film, with only one released.In this story, Hammett himself is involved as a detective, called by his actual first name, Sam. His mentor, Jimmy Ryan (Peter Boyle) shows up at Hammett's San Francisco office looking for a Chinese girl, Crystal Ling, and he needs help.Crystal turns out to be a former prostitute and porn star who has engaged in fantasy scenarios with some of the richest and most influential men in San Francisco - and there are photos. So lots of people want Crystal and her photos before she can trade them in for a million dollars. Hammett comes up against the police, people trying to hurt him, and friends who aren't as he works to get the photos. The joy of this film is in its homage to movies like "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Big Sleep" and the casting of Elisha Cook, Jr., who appeared in "The Maltese Falcon" and countless noirs, in his last film. Roy Kinnear is a Sydney Greenstreet-type character, and Sylvia Sidney, an actress who had a 70-year career as a leading woman and character actress, plays a woman who runs a charity home for girls. Vets like Royal Dano and director Sam Fuller also appear. For old movie lovers, this is a treasure.This is a very stylized movie, with Forrest as a Bogart-type Hammett, Marilu Henner as his beautiful and helpful neighbor, and Peter Boyle as a hardnosed detective. The acting is all done in the manner of '40s films; along with the wonderful noir atmosphere, it all works well.Modern noirs for some reason don't always make it, for me, anyway, but this one pulls it off, due to the talent behind and in front of the camera.

Spikeopath Hammett is a fictional story about the great writer Dashiell Hammett (played by Frederic Forrest). The story finds the writer retired from the Pinkerton Detectice Agency and nursing bad lungs and a taste for the liquor. When old colleague Jimmy Ryan (Peter Boyle) comes a calling, Hammett finds himself down in Frisco's Chinatown district in it up to his neck in muck and grime. The back story to the production of Hammett is long and disappointing, all of which makes for fascinating reading and available at the click of a mouse. The film we have to view now may not be the one originally envisaged by director Wim Wenders, but on repeat viewings it shows itself to be a very loving homage to the halcyon days of film noir, a film of great technical craft and guile. Though not without issues either... Production value is high, the set design that brings late 1920s Frisco to life is a joy, as is Joseph Biroc's luscious colour photography. John Barry provides a musical score that smoothly floats around the Gin Joints and Alleyways, while costuming is on the money. Cast are led superbly by the under valued Forrest, with Marilu Henner (Biroc lights her so well), Boyle and Lydia Lei striking the requisite film noir chords, while a host of cameos and short order roles will have the keen of eye putting names to the faces from similar films of yesteryear. The story is complex, which is purposely complimented by narration, canted angles, slatted shadows, billowing smoke, and of course a number of venues that all anti-heroic detectives must traverse to unravel the mystery bubbling away under the seamy surface. The problems are evident of course, it's a very uneven picture, the re-writes etc leaving a disappointing mark. It's also like watching a performance at the theatre, akin to watching a play, the predominantly stage bound shoot - and the almost forced delivery of lines - makes it synthetic. But ultimately there's a lot of noir love here, enough to ensure that repeat viewings for those of that persuasion should find themselves rewarded for their time. 7/10

jbacks3-1 HAMMETT was one of the first books I read for pleasure back in college and I recall anxiously awaiting how it was going to be Zeotroped on screen... visually the movie reminded me of a large single set production (like 1937's DEAD END)... it's almost as if somebody like Bill Gates took a film class and decided to adapt the book as his final. Large plot chunks are missing from the book (notably a car chase and a baseball bat murder) but this movie was so unique (in those pre-Joel and Ethan Cohen days) that I remember it looking like a strange painting even after 20+ years. Forrest is a terrific under-rated actor and was a perfect choice for Dash. You won't be wasting your time checking HAMMETT out but the book has it beat. 8/10.