The Maltese Falcon
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- This article is about the novel. For other uses, see The Maltese Falcon (disambiguation).
The Maltese Falcon (1930) is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett that has been adapted several times for the cinema. The main character, Sam Spade, appears only in three lesser known short stories and this novel, yet is widely cited as the crystallizing figure in the development of the hard-boiled private detective genre. Spade was a departure from Hammett's perennially nameless and less than glamorous detective, The Continental Op. Sam Spade combined several features of previous detectives, most notably his cold detachment, keen eye for detail, and unflinching determination to achieve his own justice. He is the man who has seen the wretched, the corrupt, the tawdry side of life but still retains his "tarnished idealism".
Raymond Chandler based Philip Marlowe initially on Hammett's Spade and developed the character beyond its inspirational origin.
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[edit] Plot summary
Private eye Sam Spade and his partner Miles Archer are approached by Brigid O'Shaughnessy (who is using a pseudonym at the time) to follow a man (Floyd Thursby) who allegedly ran off with her younger sister. Brigid O'Shaughnessy acts very innocently, like a prim, proper schoolgirl. The two accept the assignment, but Spade also implies that the woman looks like trouble.
That night Spade gets a call from Detective Tom Polhaus and learns that Archer has been shot and killed while tailing Thursby. He calls his secretary Effie to let her know and to tell her to keep Miles's wife Iva away from him. Soon afterwards two officers visit Spade at his apartment in the middle of the night. They inquire about Spade's whereabouts in the last few hours. Spade gets defensive and asks what the visit is really about. The officers say that a few hours after Archer was killed, Thursby was also killed and that Spade is a suspect. They have no evidence against Spade at the moment, but tell him that they will be conducting an investigation into the matter. Just before they leave, they mention that if charges are filed against Spade, they will try to be understanding since most likely Thursby shot his partner, Archer.
The next day, Spade also gets a visit from Archer's wife. Apparently, Spade is having an affair with her. The widow asks Spade if he killed off Miles so that they could be together. Spade dismisses her and tells her to leave. Then Spade coldly orders Effie (his secretary) to remove all of Archer's belongings from the office.
Later, Spade is visited by another man, Joel Cairo. Cairo offers Spade $5000 if the private eye can retrieve a figurine of a black bird that has recently arrived. Spade replies "$5000 is a lot of money." While at this point Spade has no idea what the man is talking about, he plays along. Cairo leaves a card and tells Spade to contact him should anything develop.
Still later, Spade is again contacted by Brigid O'Shaughnessy. She offers her sympathies for the death of his partner, saying that she should have known that Thursby might get desperate and resort to murder. Spade coldly replies that these are the chances people take in this line of work. Spade also asks bluntly if Brigid O'Shaughnessy is really as naive as she acts. Brigid O'Shaughnessy replies that she "hasn't led a good life." Spade, then sensing a connection between Brigid O'Shaughnessy and Cairo, casually mentions that Cairo has contacted him.
Brigid O'Shaughnessy gets extremely nervous when she hears this. She tells Spade that she must meet with Cairo, and asks Spade to arrange a meeting. Spade agrees. When Cairo and Brigid O'Shaughnessy meet, they make references that the reader and Spade don't initially comprehend. Cairo says he is ready pay for the black figurine. Brigid O'Shaughnessy, however, says she does not have it at the moment. Brigid O'Shaughnessy also refers to a mysterious figure known as "G" and says he may also be in town.
The two then continue talk about some events that happened overseas. Eventually, Cairo makes an insinuation that Brigid O'Shaughnessy simply uses her body to get what she wants. This causes the two to get into a fight. At this point, the police officers that stopped by the other night drop by again. Spade greets them at the door, but refuses to let them in. The officers say they know Spade was having an affair with Archer's wife, and ask if he also killed him. Spade replies that this accusation is absurd, since there would be no rational motive for him to kill both Archer and Thursby.
Just as the officers are about to leave, they hear Cairo and Brigid O'Shaughnessy screaming in the back. At this point, they force their way into Spade's apartment. They ask what is going on, but Spade invents a story that involves describing how Cairo and O'Shaughnessy were just play-acting. One of the officers replies "horsefeathers" and slugs Spade across the face. Spade is incensed, but gets held back by the other officer. The officers seem to buy Spade's story and eventually leave, and they also want to take Cairo with them down to the station for some "grilling".
The next morning, Spade makes his way to the Hotel Belvedere where Cairo is staying. Cairo shows up dishevelled, saying that he was held in police custody through the night. Meanwhile, Spade notices that he's being tailed by some kid named Wilmer Cook. He confronts the gunsel, and tells him that both he and his boss, "G," will have to deal with him at some point.
Later, he receives a call from a Casper Gutman, who wishes to meet with him. Spade immediately arrives at Gutman's hotel. Gutman is a huge person weighing over 300 lbs. Gutman says he will pay handsomely for the black bird. Spade implies that he can get the item (though at this point this is a bluff), but wants to know what it is first. Gutman is reluctant to tell Spade what it is. Spade pretends to get angry with Gutman at this point, and storms out of the hotel in a fit of rage, grinning on his way out at the manner in which Gutman bought his bluff.
As Spade arrives back at his office, he gets a call from the district attorney. He goes down to the DA's office for an "informal chat" relating to his practice as a PI. The DA asks what Spade knows about the Archer and Thursby murders. Spade replies that he has some clue, but that he's not dumb enough to make guesses in front of a DA along with stenographer present. He goes on to say that just because he isn't saying anything doesn't make him guilty since everybody, even innocent people, always have "something to hide." Finally, he says he's tired of being called things by "every crackpot on the city payroll" and that at this point, the best way for him to clear his name is to bring all the suspects in himself, and the best way to do this is to stay as far away as possible from the police since they are all incompetent and would only "gum up the works."
After the DA visit, Spade, approached by Wilmer Cook, discovers that Gutman is ready to see him again. Spade goes back to the hotel and meets with Gutman once more. Gutman offers Spade a drink, then proceeds to tell him about the black figurine. It turns out that the figurine was a gift from the Island of Malta to the King of Spain a few hundred years ago, but was lost on ship in transit. It is really covered with fine jewels, but over the centuries, it acquired a layer of black enamel so as to conceal its value. Gutman learned of its whereabouts 17 years ago, and has been looking for it ever since. He wants the bird since it is worth millions. He traced it to the home of a Russian General, then sent three of his 'agents' (Cairo, Thursby and Brigid O'Shaughnessy) to get it. The latter supposedly did retrieve the figurine, but learned of its value and decided to keep it for themselves. Gutman then asks Spade when he is willing to produce the bird, and begins to offer him some options of paying him. Spade starts to get dizzy at this point, and passes out. Earlier, Gutman had spiked his drink.
When Spade awakens, he returns to his office and tells the story of the Maltese Falcon to his secretary, Effie. Soon afterwards, an injured man, identified as Captain Jacobi of the "La Paloma," shows up at the office carrying a package. He drops the package on the floor and then dies of gunshot wounds. Spade opens the package, and finds out it is the figurine falcon. At this point, Brigid O'Shaughnessy calls Effie (whom she was supposed to have taken shelter with earlier), and says that she's in danger. Effie begs Spade to go help her. Though reluctant, Spade agrees. He tells Effie to call the police after he leaves, and to tell them exactly what has happened but to leave out the package, and to say that he, not she, got the phone call from O'Shaugnessy. To prevent losing the item, Spade then stores the package at a bus station left luggage counter and mails himself the collection tag. (In the 1931 film he takes the bird to a post office and mails it back to himself at his office address.)
He first goes to the dock where the "La Paloma" was anchored, but learns that a fire had been started on board. He then proceeds to the place Rhea Gutman (Gutman's daughter; replaced with Brigid O'Shaughnessy in the movie) said she was when she phoned earlier, only to find no sign of her. He realizes that it was a decoy, or "bum steer." Frustrated, he then returns to his apartment.
As he arrives, he notices O'Shaughnessy waiting for him outside (in the movie, she's fainting at his doorway, and he rushes to help her). He helps her in to his apartment and finds that Wilmer Cook, Joel Cairo, and Gutman are already there. Cook attempts to be rough with Spade, but each time the kid tries this, Spade challenges him to shoot, knowing that at this point, he has the bird and that they cannot afford to kill him. Gutman hands Spade $10,000 in cash in exchange for the bird. Spade takes the money, but in addition says that they need a "fall guy" to take the blame for the murders of Archer, Thursby, and Jacobi. The others acknowledge this, but reply that it is really two murders since the police will accept that Thursby killed Archer. Spade knows that the police will not accept this as the bullets did not match up.
Spade proposes that the kid Wilmer be made the fall guy, but initially Gutman won't hear of it. Spade replies that without a fall guy, he won't produce the figurine. Gutman then threatens Spade, but Spade replies that in this situation, threats are useless without a hint of death in the background to "tie the person down." At this point, if they force Spade to do something he doesn't want to do, he won't stand for it and will make a point of their having to kill him, knowing that they can't afford to kill him. Gutman replies that this is an extremely dangerous attitude since once men's emotions get in the way, they are likely to forget their "best interest[s]." Spade, in turn, replies that he needs to make his play strong enough to tie them down, but not so strong that it makes them "kill [Spade] against their better judgement."
Eventually, during the standoff Spade attacks Wilmer and knocks him out. Reluctantly, both Cairo and Gutman agree to make Wilmer the fall guy. Gutman then proceeds to tell Spade the missing pieces of the story. It turns out that Thursby and Brigid O'Shaughnessy initially helped Gutman get the bird from the Russian General, but once they had it, they fled with it and came to the US. The night that Thursby was killed, he was first approached by Wilmer and Gutman. The latter attempted to reason with him, but Thursby remained loyal to Brigid O'Shaughnessy and refused to cooperate. Later things escalated, then Wilmer shot Thursby.
Also, Gutman says that recently, he and Cairo have joined together to get the Falcon. Gutman learned from Cairo that during their ship voyage to the US, Brigid O'Shaughnessy had seduced Captain Jacobi and hid the Falcon with him. Later, Brigid O'Shaughnessy instructed Jacobi to deliver the package to Spade. Once Gutman learned of this fact, he attempted to remove Spade from the situation with the spiked drink, and later forced Brigid O'Shaughnessy to act like she was in danger. However, Gutman was ultimately too late to intercept Jacobi. Wilmer managed to shoot the captain, but Jacobi still got to Spade's office to deliver the figurine. After finishing his story, Gutman finally warns Spade to be very careful with Brigid O'Shaughnessy as she is not to be trusted.
Spade then places a call to his secretary, Effie, and asks her to go the office and pick up the figurine, as by now the post office should have delivered the collection tag. Effie does so, and brings it to Spade's apartment. Spade hands the package to Gutman, who at this time is overwhelmed with excitement. He checks the figurine, but quickly learns that it is a fake, most likely created by the Russian as a decoy, getting criticised by Cairo at the same time, who blames it on Gutman's hyping up of the worth of the artifact overseas, which caused it to be swapped. During this time, Wilmer manages to escape from Spade's apartment. Gutman quickly regains composure, and decides to go back to Europe to continue the search. Before he leaves, Gutman asks Spade for the $10,000. Spade returns $9000, saying he's keeping the remainder for his time and expenses. Then Cairo and Gutman leave Spade's apartment.
Immediately after Cairo and Gutman leave, Spade phones the police department and tells them the entire story. Wilmer killed Jacobi and Thursby. He also tells them what hotel Gutman is staying at and urges them to hurry since Gutman and Cairo are leaving town soon. Afterwards, Spade angrily asks Brigid O'Shaughnessy why she killed Miles Archer. At first, Brigid O'Shaughnessy acts horrified at this accusation, but seeing that she cannot lie anymore, she drops the act. She wanted to get Thursby out of the picture so that she could have the Falcon for herself, so she hired Archer to scare him off. When Thursby didn't leave, she killed Archer and attempted to pin the crime on Thursby. When Thursby was later killed himself, she knew that Gutman was in town and that she needed another protector, so she came back to Spade.
However, she says that she's also in love with Spade and would have come back to him anyhow. Spade coldly replies that the penalty for murder is most likely twenty years, and he'll wait for her until she gets out. If they hang her, Spade says that he'll always remember her. He goes on to say that while he despised Miles Archer, the man was his partner, and that he's going to turn her in to the police for his murder as that was a line he could not cross in the industry of detective work. Brigid O'Shaughnessy begs him not to, but he replies that he has no choice. When the police get Gutman, Gutman will finger Sam and Brigid as accomplices. Thus the only way Spade can avoid getting charged is to say he played both sides against each other. He tells Brigid O'Shaughnessy that he has some feelings for her, but that he simply can't trust her. From what Spade has seen, Brigid O'Shaughnessy makes a profession out of using men to get what she wants, and he simply doesn't want to be another one of them. Just before the police arrive, Brigid O'Shaughnessy asks Spade if the Falcon had been real, and he'd gotten the entire $10,000, would it have made a difference. Spade replies that while she shouldn't be so sure that he's crooked, more money would have been one more item on "her side."
When the police finally show up at Spade's apartment, Spade immediately turns over Brigid O'Shaughnessy as Archer's killer. They tell Spade that the kid Wilmer was waiting for Gutman at the hotel and shot him when he arrived. Spade also hands over the $1000 in bill, and the falcon to the police as evidence.
Later, when Spade arrives back at the office, he tells his secretary, Effie, the entire story. She asks Sam if he sent Brigid O'Shaughnessy to jail. He smugly replies "Your Sam's a detective." She is disgusted by his actions, and asks him not to touch her. The novel ends when Archer's widow again shows up at the office.
[edit] Analysis
In this novel, Hammett defines many of the conventions of the "Hard Boiled" Detective genre. Spade is essentially a bitter, sardonic character who is in a world of deceit and corruption. Brigid O'Shaughnessy is the classic femme fatale. Everyone else also is manipulative and self-centered with no concern of anyone's well-being except their own.
However, unlike classic detectives who have a strong sense of idealism underneath the cynical shell, we are never truly given a glimpse of Spade's morality. At the time of Miles Archer's death, Spade is having an affair with his wife. And while he does "do the right thing" in the end, it is somewhat ambiguous as to why he does so. It is implied that he does this because the money was simply not enough ("...a lot more money would have been one more item on your side") for the risk.
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The novel has been filmed three times, twice under its original title:
- The Maltese Falcon (1931), the first version, pre-Code production starring Ricardo Cortez and Bebe Daniels
- Satan Met a Lady (1936), a light-comedy adaptation starring Bette Davis, with Sam Spade becoming Ted Shane.
- The Maltese Falcon (1941) the third version, considered to be a film noir classic, starring Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, and Sydney Greenstreet.
There have been many spoofs and sequels, including 1975's The Black Bird, a spoof sequel featuring George Segal as Sam Spade, Jr., and Elisha Cook Jr. and Lee Patrick reprising their roles from the 1941 version.
[edit] See also
- The Pickwick Hotel in San Francisco was the featured location in the novel.
