Hamburg Noir

The Maltese Falcon (1930)
A former Pinkerton detective, Dashiell Hammett all but invented the hardboiled crime novel -- and made Humphrey Bogart a film noir icon.

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934)
An isolated roadside diner, a penny-pinching owner, his restless young wife, a “Man Wanted” sign out front, and a no-good drifter. What could go wrong?

Thieves Like Us (1937)
In this noir gem from the Great Depression, Edward Anderson tells a rugged but touching love story about two Dustbowl Okies on the run. (CWA 10/26)

To Have and Have Not (1937)
The original adaptation of this brutal but tender tale is really a Bogey vehicle. It took a remake to convert the pulp into a classic noir film. (CWA 08/26)

Farewell, My Lovely (1940)
After Raymond Chandler cannibalized three short stories to produce this pulp classic, Dick Powell delivered the definitive Philip Marlowe film.

Build My Gallows High (1946)
This hardboiled pulp became what many say is the best noir film ever made. Why? Both the book and the screenplay were written by Geoffrey Homes.

After Dark, My Sweet (1955)
It took Hollywood 35 years to discover this classic pulp about a mentally unstable ex-boxer, an alcoholic widow, and an ex-cop turned con man. (CWA 07/26)

The Night of the Iguana (1961)
People don’t usually associate Tennessee Williams plays with pulp fiction or film noir. This one is both. It’s a dark morality play that began as a short story.

Neuromancer (1984)
William Gibson’s cyberpunk classic is a hardboiled pulp in a dystopian future. After decades of broken promises, it’s coming to your screen soon. (CWA 04/26)

Devil in a Blue Dress (1990)
Half a century after The Big Sleep hit theaters, Walter Mosley wrote a Chandleresque novel set in 1948. Denzel Washington did the rest. (CWA 01/26)

Babylon Berlin (2007)
Just when you think film noir is history, an obscure novelist brings its roots back to life in Berlin, circa 1929. The result is a cult TV series. (CWA 06/25)