Dashiell Hammett Quotes

My side felt a lot better when Nora called me at noon the next day. "My nice policeman wants to see you," she said. "How do you feel?""Terrible. I must've gone to bed sober." I pushed Asta out of the way and got up.

I distrust a man that says when. If he's got to be careful not to drink to much it's because he's not to be trusted when he does.

...I guess I can put two and two together.""Sometimes the answer's four," I said, "and sometimes it's twenty-two...

To get what he wanted, a man had to give other people what they wanted.

When a man's partner is killed he's supposed to do something about it. It doesn't make any difference what you thought of him. He was your partner and you're supposed to do something about it. Then it happens we were in the detective business. Well, when one of your organization gets killed it's bad business to let the killer get away with it. It's bad all around-bad for that one organization, bad for every detective everywhere. Sam Spade

He was the perfect soldier: he went where you sent him, and stayed where you put him, and had no idea of his own to keep him from doing exactly what you told him.

The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter.

I just tell you what happens. I don't explain it.