Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, a screenplay writer, and a political activist. Among his enduring characters were Sam Spa...ver másDashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, a screenplay writer, and a political activist. Among his enduring characters were Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), and The Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse). He died in 1961 in New York City.ver menos