Dashiell Hammett

Dashiell Hammett was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, and he also worked as a screenwriter and political activist. He created Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, Nick and Nora Charles in The Thin Man, and the Continental Op in Red Harvest and The Dain Curse. His novels and stories influenced mystery films, including the style that came to be known as film noir. He died in 1961.