The Continental Op is a fictional character created by Dashiell Hammett. He is a private investigator employed as an operative of the Continental Detective Agency's San Francisco office. The stories are all told in the first person and his name is never given. The Op made his debut in the October 1923 issue of Black Mask magazine and appeared in approximately 28 short stories and two novels, Red Harvest and The Dain Curse. His final story, "Death and Company," appeared in Black Mask in 1930, marking the end of the series that established hard-boiled detective fiction.
Actors who have played Dashiell Hammett's Continental Op include James Coburn in the 1978 TV miniseries The Dain Curse, and Christopher Lloyd in the 1995 Fallen Angels episode "Fly Paper". Peter Boyle also appeared as the character, or a version of him, in the 1982 film Hammett.
The Continental Op has been suggested to play 5 roles. Click below to see other actors suggested for each role, and vote for who you think would play the role best.
