[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 15 (Monday, February 14, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1357-S1358]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WRITINGS OF DASHIELL HAMMETT

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 51, submitted earlier 
today by Senator Feinstein.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 51) recognizing the importance of the 
     writings of Dashiell Hammett to American literature and 
     culture on the 75th anniversary of the first publication of 
     ``The Maltese Falcon.''

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to support passage of a 
resolution I submitted recognizing the importance of the writings of 
Dashiell Hammett on the 75th anniversary of the first publication of 
The Maltese Falcon. This novel has had a notable impact on American 
literature and culture, as well as a profound influence on my hometown 
of San Francisco--the home of hard-boiled detective stories.
  Dashiell Hammett's work exemplifies a unique and original American 
literary style. Drawing upon his own experiences in detective work and 
amateur sleuthing, Hammett brought realism and fact into the crime 
novel: He did not tolerate inaccurate details, and even once wrote a 
column for the New York Evening Post to note incorrect facts in others' 
works, to aid would-be writers who were never detectives and would not 
know the difference between an automatic pistol and a revolver.
  The Maltese Falcon, his best-known work, one of the most historically 
significant crime novels in history, portrayed its protagonist, Private 
Investigator Sam Spade, in the rough and tumble San Francisco 
underworld of the 1920s. The novel was the third of the five published 
Hammett novels. After its 1930 publication as a novel, it also appeared 
as a comic book and was syndicated in newspaper supplements. It became 
a giveaway for soldiers serving during World War II. And it has been 
printed in hundreds of editions in 50 countries and in over 30 
languages.
  It is not only in print that The Maltese Falcon has soared. Within a 
year of its initial publication, it had already been adapted for the 
screen in 1931, followed by a second adaptation in 1936. The final, and 
most faithful, adaptation is the 1941 film starring Humphrey Bogart and 
Mary Astor by first time director John Huston. The American Film 
Institute rated this version as one of the top films of the twentieth 
century and it can be found on the countless other ``Great Films'' 
listings.
  Much of Dashiell Hammett's formative experience that led to his 
stories was found in San Francisco. In fact, in one of his short 
stories, ``The Scorched Face,'' some of the action takes place in a 
house set on the street where I lived as a child. Because of Hammett's 
works, San Francisco is still the preferred setting for crime noir and 
detective stories on the page and on the screen.
  On February 14 and throughout this year, literary organizations 
across the

[[Page S1358]]

country will be celebrating this important anniversary, including a 
lecture organized by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress 
and cosponsored by the Mystery Writers of America, by Dr. Richard 
Layman, a literary scholar and Hammett specialist.
  The National Council of Teachers of English, which will hold its 
annual conference in San Francisco, has invited Hammett's daughter to 
present a lecture. The Friends of the Library USA will dedicate 891 
Post Street, where Hammett lived when he wrote The Maltese Falcon, as a 
National Literary Landmark, on March 19.
  The San Francisco Public Library will also commemorate the 
anniversary with an exhibition--The Maltese Falcon at 75--of Hammett 
memorabilia connected with the novel and will have discussions with 
Hammett's granddaughter. This collection could even become a traveling 
exhibit.
  I hope that my colleagues will join me in commemorating this 
important anniversary in American literary history.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any 
statements relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 51) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                               S. Res. 51

       Whereas Samuel Dashiell Hammett was born in St. Mary's 
     County, Maryland, on May 27, 1894, and died in New York City, 
     on January 10, 1961;
       Whereas Dashiell Hammett joined Pinkerton's National 
     Detective Agency in 1915 at the age of 21 and worked for the 
     agency in Maryland, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Montana, and 
     California;
       Whereas Dashiell Hammett served the United States in the 
     Army Ambulance Motor Corps during World War I and, after 
     enlisting in 1942 at the age of 48, in the Aleutian Islands 
     during World War II, and is buried at Arlington National 
     Cemetery;
       Whereas Dashiell Hammett wrote ``The Maltese Falcon'' 
     (published on Febraury 14, 1930), 1 of the most widely-read 
     crime novels in history, which introduced the literary figure 
     Sam Spade, 1 of the most famous detectives in American 
     literature, and set San Francisco as the center of hard-
     boiled crime fiction;
       Whereas ``The Maltese Falcon'' has appeared in hundreds of 
     editions in 50 countries and over 30 languages and was 
     adapted into 3 movies, including a 1941 Warner Brothers film 
     directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, which 
     has been recognized by the American Film Institute as 1 of 
     the greatest movies of all time; and
       Whereas ``The Maltese Falcon'' turned mystery and crime 
     novels into a widely-recognized genre of literature and is a 
     classic novel of American literature: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) salutes Dashiell Hammett as 1 of the most notable 
     authors of hard-boiled crime fiction;
       (2) notes the 75th anniversary of the publication of 
     Dashiell Hammet's ``The Maltese Falcon''; and
       (3) recognizes ``The Maltese Falcon'' as a great American 
     crime novel.

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