Francis Ford Coppola hired famed German director Wim Wenders to direct this neo noir pseudo-biographical fantasia set during a transitional period for Dashiell Hammett (Forrest) as he was trying to transition from a Pinkerton detective to a full-time writer. A troubled production history meant that this film was branded as a disaster from the get-go, but in fact it remains a fascinating and entertaining hybrid of Coppola’s soundstage artifice and Wenders’ relaxed character driven dramas full of cameos from classic noir stalwarts like Elisha Cook Jr.

Saturday: Double feature with THE MALTESE FALCON