Dashiell Hammett

“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.”

“I've been accused of being a joker. I'm not a joker. I just find life a funny thing.”

“All my characters were based on people I've known.”

“I'm not as crooked as I'm supposed to be.”

“This is going to be the most expensive rock that has ever been forged. It will be a diamond of ten thousand carats, every carat representing a sin.”

“I'll be as quiet as a mousetrap.”

“The stuff that dreams are made of.”

“I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble.”

“Keep quiet and people will think you're a philosopher.”

“The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter.”

“The problem with putting two and two together is that sometimes you get four, and sometimes you get twenty-two.”

“I'm a man who likes talking to a man who likes to talk.”

“Most things in San Francisco can be bought, or taken.”

“A good man is always a handicap.”

“It's a long while since I've been afraid of anybody.”