Dash and Lilly
Dash and Lilly is a 1999 Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-nominated biographical television film about writers Dashiell Hammett and Lillian Hellman. The film was directed by actress Kathy Bates and written by Jerrold L. Ludwig. It stars Sam Shepard and Judy Davis.
Plot
The lives of Dashiell Hammett (Shepard) and Lillian Hellman (Davis) are set against the golden era of Hollywood, HUAC and the issue of McCarthyism of the 1950s. This intimate look at the lives of two of this century's literary titans follows their tumultuous affair, drinking bouts, career highs and lows, and activities in support of left-wing causes including Hammett's public avowal of Communism and his membership in the Communist Party and Hellman's sympathies for the Stalinist regime in the Soviet Union before World War II.
Principal cast
- Sam Shepard as Dashiell Hammett
- Judy Davis as Lillian Hellman
- Bebe Neuwirth as Dorothy Parker
- Laurence Luckinbill as Joseph Rauh (Lillian's attorney)
- David Paymer as Arthur Kober (Lillian's husband)
- Željko Ivanek as Mel Berman
Awards and nominations
Wins
- Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Long Form (Ludwig)
Nominations
- Casting Society of America Award for Best Casting for TV Movie of the Week (Huffman)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor - Miniseries or Television Film (Shepard)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress - Miniseries or Television Film (Davis)
- Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing - Miniseries or Television Film (Bates)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film (Shepard)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film (Davis)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film
- Producers Guild of America Award for Best Television Producer of the Year - Longform