Maltese Falcon, The ~ Dashiell Hammett ~ 10/04 ~ M Export

THE MALTESE FALCON
From the Publisher
"The Maltese Falcon is considered Dashiell Hammett's finest novel. The story introduces detective Sam Spade, a man of few words who displays little emotion. Hired by a woman - Miss Wonderly - to locate her sister, Spade gives the assignment to his partner Miles Archer. Archer tails the missing sister's companion, and within a single evening both Archer and the man have been shot dead. As Spade pursues the mystery of his partner's death, he is drawn into a circle of colorful characters: Miss Wonderly, who lies prettily and pathologically about everything; a fat, well-dressed man named Gutman; a jumpy man named Cairo; and an extremely stupid, impulsive gunman. All of them are in competition to find the legendary, jewel-encrusted Maltese Falcon, hidden for many centuries. As they get closer and closer to the statue, Spade gets closer and closer to identifying the person who murdered his partner."

Discussion Schedule

October 15th - October 22nd Chapters 1 - 10

October 23rd - October 30th Chapters 11 - 20

Biography of Dashiell Hammett
Other novels by Dashiell Hammett

A Guide to Classical Mysteries

Discussion Leader: Bill H

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Welcome to the Maltese Falcon discussion. As the publisher wrote,the Maltese Falcon is considered to be Dashiell Hammett's finest novel. With your help, I believe we can have a great discussion. Let's see if we can do as well with this novel as we did with Rebecca. Although, I must admit, that will take some doing.
If you are interested in joining this discussion, please sign in.

Bill H

Yes, I would like to be a part of this discussion group. See you in October.

Count me in I loved this book..and would be glad to visit it again..and Of course remember the movie ..wasnt it Humphry Bogart and Sidney Greenstreet? And dont you think the mysteries in black and white were superior to color? At least it seems that way to "moi" anna

Scrawler and Anna, great! I'm happy you two are going to join us. Yes, it was Bogart and Greenstreet in the movie. B&W movies were always more dramatic.

Bill H

I signed on, too. I'm confident I can find a copy before October. ...Babi

I'll be here, Bill. I'm ashamed to say that I never read The Maltese Falcon so it will be a new experience for me. Of course, I saw the movie but that doesn't always mean it is like the book, does it?

See you all in October.

Will look for a copy. Look for me in Oct.

BaBi, Phyll, and FlaJean, Great, folks, we now have a quorum and I'll ask that it be moved up to UPCOMING.

Bill H

Bluebird, Good! I'm happy you are joining in.

Bill H

You know I'll be here! Would not miss it.

FrancyLou, and we would have missed you, if you hadn't joined us. Thank you.

Bill H

I shall have to read it again ,but enjoyed both the book and the movie

please count me in.gladys

gladys, I'm a little late with this welcome, but I'm glad you are joing in.

Bill H

I'm taking a course in Mystery fiction online, from UC Berkeley extension. One of the required readings is the Maltese Falcon. I've seen the movie, of course, but I've never read the book. So count me in on this discussion.

Cheryl

Cheryl, welcome aboard. It is gratifying to learn that I selected a novel that is required reading for the course you are taking. Let's hope this discussion helps you.
We have quite a few participants that have signed up for this discussion. Something tells me it will be a good one.

Thank you, Cheryl for joining in.p>Bill H

I read The Maltese Falcon many, many years ago -- hope I still have my copy. I love rereading books that I read when I was young -- one often has such a different perspective on them in "mature" years.

Shal Gal, welcome to the Maltese Falcon discussion. So glad you decided to join in. We have quite a group now and it promises to be a lively discussion.
We also have a Classical Mystery forum where we discuss all the old times mysteries and their authors.

Bill H

Hi, Bill Sorry I've been out of touch with the mystery group for a while, but I've been searching for a house in CA, and planning amove from the East Coast, so haven't had much time for reading or online discussions. I'm hoping to have gotten settled by the middle of October, and will join you if I can. I have read the book and seen the movie. I think I have read just about all of Hammett, including every biography of both him and Lillian Hellman. But this was some time ago. I'm so glad to see the mystery group is still thriving under your direction. Ann

Horselover, welcome back! So good to hear from you again. I wondered what happened to you. I'm glad you are w ell. Good luck in finding the house you are looking for.

With all the knowledge you have of Hammett and his novels, I'm sure you can make quite a contribution. I do hope you can join us.

Could not believe it was the 15th ...I wont go into all the reasons why but was surprised. Stopped at the library and picked up the book and just spent an hour or two reading it. I never know how long I read and am not sure what chapter I have reached. I am well into the book and have to laugh..How my perceptions have altered over the years. This was THE BOOK to read many years ago and I had forgotten Sam Spade was the detective. The language seems a bit outdated to me and of course it is.

I dont want to say more for I am waiting for Bill to set the pace and start the ball rolling. Rereading these books from years ago is really an interesting process. I am axious to see what the rest of you think...anna

Count me in on this one. I just checked library holdings, and they have the book. The DVD came from Netflix and I plan to watch it sometime in the next few days.

I promise not to give anything away.

Pedlin, very glad you are going to join in. I would've acknowledged sooner, but I've had a bit of a problem with Ivan )

Bill H

Am interested in discussing this mystery again. Took the Barnes&Noble course on Hammett this year.

Kidsal, welcome, welcome. We are getting quite a group togeather for this discussion. I'll be interested in hearing about your Hammett class.

Bill H

While recovering from some major dental work I read The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man. You forget how special these mysteries were until you re read them. It surprised me to see some of my favorite characters were Hammett's creations.

What a great way to start autumn ...anna

I now have a copy of "The Maltese Falcon", (actually a book of five of Hammett's stories), and have begun reading it in preparation for the starting gun next week. I found this copy had a number of ink markings in the "Maltese Falcon" story, but no notations. Looks like someone else has done a study or discussion of the story. (I'd be interested in their opinion, but you can't get much out of '[]' and '_____________'.) <g> ...Babi

BaBi, when the discussion begins, maybe we can figure out what those markings are for.

Bill H

Welcome to the Maltese Falcon discussion. I am sure you will express many pros and cons whether or not you enjoyed the novel. Critics say that it is Dashiell Hammett's finest work. It is also considered to be the hall mark of many mystery stories. I will let you, dear reader, be the judge of that. So let us begin the discussion.

Bill H

I am so enjoying reading the book. It is my fav. movie. I can just see the actors.

Well, you'll probably find me flip-flopping as much as Bush claims Kerry does. I've seen the movie, have read the first ten chapters, but am not sure what all the hullabaloo is about. I think that this will be a learning experience for me.

Why is this considered a hallmark of many mystery stories?

Whi is it considered a classic?

Right now, it seems a little slow for me.

For some reason I thought this was a SEPT offering and checked the book out from the library and read it ..but when cleaning house I found my own copy of the same book and will re read it tonight.

Pedln I had to smile at your post....I was asking the same question when I was reading it...I recall reading it at a much younger age and thinking how great it was..Why have a sort of changed my mind? But I did finish it and will again and post my opinions.

I find it really interesting in re reading books how my feelings have altered. Some I didnt like the first time around I have re read again and often a third time and others I wonder why did I think this was so special???? Now I will leave, read for my next post and give you my unbiased opinion...anna

The strongest initial impression I have is how dated the story is now. It's like reading a period piece', only I had always thought of those as being Victorian, or Edwardian, or Regency.

The clothes! The ladies with their hats, gloves and stockings. Sam Spade with his rolled cigarettes, separate collars, and trousers so wide he can put them on after he has put on his shoes. Joel Cairo with his gloves, bowler, spats and cane...not to mention the violet pastilles!

And then the slang. "Talking turkey". "Foxy crazy". I'm sure there are others some of you noticed.

It just goes to show you. Detailed description and slang does not make for a 'timeless' novel.

Babi

"Samuel Spade's jaw was long and bony, his chin a jutting V under the more flexible V of his mouth. His nostrils curved back to make another, smaller, V. His yellow-grey eyes were horizontal. The V "motif" was picked up again by thickish brows rising outward from twin creases above a hooked nose, and his pale brown hair grew down - from high flat temples - in a point on his forehead. He looked rather pleasantly like a BLOND SATAN."

I don't know about you, but this description does nothing to make me feel any trust toward this individual. Why would I take my problems to anyone who looks like "satan" let alone someone who looks like a "blond satan?"

The best description of a private investigator was stated by Raymond Chandler: "Down the mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean."

Ah! I see perhaps our "friendly neighborhood PI" only looks mean on the outside. But I still am not sure if I would "trust" the blond satan above.

When it comes down to it why would anyone go to a privite eye? By their physical description they don't come even close to the "brilliance" of a Sherlock Holmes. I guess when it comes right down to it; you would go to a private eye because you either can't go to the local police or you've gone and they couldn't help you. I guess under those circumstances I would go to a private eye in order to get results even if he did look like satan.

And oh yes by all means bring MONEY!

FrancyLou, it helps to visualize the characters in the story. It makes the novel more intimate for me.
Pedlin, I found the first few chapters slow going also. I suppose Hammett was trying to set the stage for the plot of the story but I believe he over did it.
Why is it considered a classic. Beyond me. Although I have read that is required reading for some classical mystery sites. I belive one of the readers who signed on for this discussion said it was required reading for her mystery class.

BaBi, I picked up on how dated the story was also. it was a bit nostalgic for for me to read about the wide pants legs. I was able to pull my trousers on over my shoes quite easily. I still miss that feature. I found it convenient because i could put freshly pressed trousers on last.However, I did not go for the separate collar thing.And in my younger day it was unthinkable to not to wear a hat, however, not in summer.
Anna, I think you hit the nail right on the head when you wrote that you read it at a much younger age and thought it was great.

As soon as I started reading the novel I could tell it was much a different style of myster writing than what I'm used to reading.Bill H

Scrawler, what does make the private eye detective so popular for mystery writers? Lord know we have a slew of them. These authors have given us Sherlock Holmes, Hercul Poiot, Nero Wolfe, The Thin Man novels,even the Edgar A Poe stories had them.
I always think of a private investigator as being a bit sleezy. And Spade fits this description perfectly.
I think Hammett introduced too many characters in the first few pages of his novel. Maybe I feel this way because of my aged brain.

Bill H

When re reading this I kept thinking of the earlier detective stories. Sherlock Holmes was sophisticate and erudite..And Basil Rathbone was the ultimate actor to play the part. Nothing crude about him or Dr Watson Hercule Poiret was a gentleman detective who again was calm amidst his mystery solving. I dont see him as ruffled or in casual dress. Nero Wolfe and Archie ...a grower of orchids and his helper ..again none of these could be described as rugged and certainly I dont see them with a cigarette dangling or a tough guy demeanor...now that I am re reading this I feel the reason it was given so much acclaim because the detective was so different.

Hammett left behind the above prototypes and introduced a detective of his time, and I think a perfect script for a movie..Still I think readers today might find Sam Spade not for them . I find Sam Spade rather coarse and not someone I would trust as far as I could throw him! I am searching for a word that describes him well but it is eluding me...

Yes I am enjoying reading it but mostly for this discussion ..it is worthwhile to see how we feel about what I would have called an OLD FRIEND from my past..Now I see I have left that friend behind...anna

"…In September 1929, Hammett portrayed another character in a different narrative form (the first person narration was dropped and Hammett views the detective protagonist in the book from the outside), Sam Spade, the protagonist of one of the most famous detective stories ever written: . Hammett's language was unsentimental, journalistic, moral judgments were left tot the reader…"
The above is an excerpt from Hammett's biography. I placed it here hoping we could comment on some of it.
I suppose why I found the first few chapters quite different from other mystery stories I read was explained by the journalistic style of Dashiell Hammett's writing.
However, I am still wondering why it is considered one of the most famous detective stories ever written. I found nothing in the first few chapters that made it an outstanding novel.

Bill H

I read that description of Sam Spade's 'v'-shaped face, and thought how perfectly Humphrey Bogart fit it. Right down to the 'wolf grin' he sometimes displayed. It made me wonder if Hammett had Bogart in mind when he wrote it.

Spade is very free with his hands, by today's standards, where women were concerned. And he was very manipulative. He 'comforted' Iva in such a cynical fashion, holding here and patting her shoulder while he sighed and checked his watch. Then he runs up against Wonderly/O'Shaughnessy and finds a woman even more manipulative than he is. My thought:"They make a good pair. They deserve each other!"

One thing that separates Hammett from many of the other mystery writers is that he doesn't bury his "clues." They are out in plain sight. Poe used to do the same thing in his stories. Take the following passage from "The Maltese Falcon":

"Spade nodded. "I've seen Webley-Fosberys," he said without interest, and then spoke rapidly: "He was shot up here, huh? Standing where you are, with his back to the fence. The man that shot him stands here." He went around in front of Tom and raised a hand breast-high with leveled forefinger. "Lets him have it and Miles goes back, taking the top off the fence and going on through and down till the rock catches him. That it?"

"That's it," Tom replied slowly, working his brows together. "The blast burnt his coat."

Can you guess what the clue is? Give up. Clue: "The blast burnt his coat." What it means is that whoever shot Miles had to be standing close to him. Now the question becomes who would be able to stand close to Miles to shoot him? He was after all a PI who hopefully knew what the business end of a gun was used for.

You know growing up in San Francisco a lot of this "feels" right to me. That is the way my father and mother dressed when I was little. They rolled their cigs.

Mother said the police were corrupt. So that would be why you'd go to a PI.

I agree about introducing too many in the beginning. Reading the book I can figure out who all the women were. Spade was so fake calling them all precious (I thought it meant something but not to him). Maybe him being the way he was made the women feel safe - otherwise by his description it seems "wrong" that the women would have anything to do with him.

It would of cost a fortune to rent a place in SF for a week, much less a month like O'Shaughnessy does. So makes it not hard to believe she was down to her last money.

Somewhere I got the idea Cairo was gay (in the book) but did not get that from the movie (but I was much younger).

SCRAWLER, the clue I immediately picked up on in that episode was that Archer went into that alley, supposedly pursuing a gunman, with his gun stowed away under a buttoned coat. No way would an experienced PI do something that stupid. That told me that he did not go into that alley with, or after, Thursby. Thursby did not kill him; he was killed by someone he did not see as a danger. And, as you pointed out, up close.

I suspect the producers decided against a gay character in the movie, Francy. That movie was filmed when the censors were strict about what could be shown in public. Back when this came out, I doubt if I even knew of such a thing. Age of innocence!

Another thing I found unbelievable is the scene where Tom and Lt. Dundy come to question Spade. He tells them little, but they answer pretty much all his questions. Police interrogators do not answer questions, and they are very short with people who ask them.

.Babi

I was born in San Francisco in 1943 and lived there until 1958 when my folks moved down to Santa Clara. Growing up in San Francisco there was always so much to do. For 15 cents you could ride all around the city on the the streetcars and cable cars. I don't think my parents were ever afraid of anyone hurting us - it seemed that we weren't afraid as much as parents are now. Many of my uncles were big, Irish cops who didn't hold anything back especially crimes against women and children.

"You worry me," she said, seriousness returning to her face as she talked. "You always think you know what you're doing, but you're too slick for your own good, and some day you're going to find it out."

He sighed mockingly and rubbed his cheek against her arm. "That's what Dundy says, but you keep Iva away from me, sweet, and I'll manage to survive the rest of my troubles." He stood up and put on his hat. "Have the Spade & Archer taken off the door and Samuel Spade put on. I'll be back in an hour, or phone you."

These two paragraphs say alot about Spade and his secretary. Effie Perine doesn't hold anything back when she speaks to Spade. She let's him know that she doesn't approve of his actions and that she doesn't think he takes care of himself. The fact that her job probably depended on his well being came into her thoughts when she said this to Spade.

Spade doesn't take her serious and instead responds "sighing mockingly and rubbing his cheek against her arm". Then he proceeds to tell her to take Spade & Archer off the door and Samuel Spade put on. Which tells you you how he felt about Archer. Not only does he take advantage of his partner by bedding his wife, but with Miles barely in the ground he takes over their business.

Spade perhaps best illustrates the emotional callousness characteristic of Hammett's detectives. Somerset Maugham complained that Spade was hardly distinguishable from the crooks he chased. Maugham probably didn't think very much of PI's.

Babi, aren't you the smart one, picking up on the alley and coat clue. Very perceptive. Interesting point about Cairo's movie sexuality -- or lack of it.

Scrawler, you brought up something that has been bothering me. It's very clear that Spade did not like Archer. At one point he even said, "I didn't like Miles." One wonders why they were partners.

We were talking earlier about the "datedness" -- I don't know if that's the right word -- of this book. Bill remarked that it's different from the mysteries he's reading today. I feel much the same, but most of the mysteries I read are written by women. This book certainly has a male quality about it. I can't imagine a woman writing this.

at first that bothered me---so different from the style of the mysteries that I read now---but very soon I began to drop into the rythmn of it and to become part of that time. And then I realized that I was hearing the story in my mind in the voice of Garrison Kiellor reading it to me as "Guy Noir". Do any of you listen to Prairie Home Companion on NPR Radio? Often Kiellor will do a skit about Guy Noir and he always begins this way:

"A dark night in a city that knows how to keep its secrets, but high above the empty streets, on the twelfth floor of the Acme Building, one man is still trying to find the answers to life's persistent questions Guy Noir, Private Eye."

Now I know for certain that this entire book is going to be "read" to me by Guy Noir! I'm having a lot of fun!

Phyll, I like to listen to the old time mysteries on the audio tapes especially this time of year with it's long nikghts and chill temperatures. With the audio cassettes I can rewind, pause, or pick it up again later in the night or the next day.

I believe it was Effie Perine--Spades secretary-- who first commented on Joel Cairo's sexual persuasion. Effie said, "…that guy is queer.." Immediately following her remark he was introducedas as the Levantine. Now, that word sent me scurrying to the dictionary. And I found that it meant "A native or resident of the Levant." However every time I read "Levantine" I could not help but feel it was a reference to his sexual preference. But I can't say why unless the word was used immediately after Effie's remark. Oh well, what do I know.

Bill H

The Guide to Classical Mysterie"s Pulp Fiction gave this about Dashiell Hammett.

I found it noteworthy that this guide did not list The Maltese Falcon as pulp fiction.

Dashiell Hammett
"Among Dashiell Hammett's works, I like the Continental Op stories best, and a few other works he wrote at the same era, such as "Nightmare Town" and "A Man Named Thin". The Op stories are available in four books, the story collections The Big Knockover and The Continental Op, and the story sequences Red Harvest (1927) and The Dain Curse (1928). The Op is an operative for the (fictitious) Continental detective agency, hence his name. Hammett began publishing the Op stories in the pulp magazine Black Mask in October 1923. The first story, "Arson Plus", shows the routine of a private investigator for a large detective agency. He interviews suspects and witnesses, inspects the scene of the crime, cooperates with the local police, and has operatives in other cities run side investigations. The story is low key and with an atmosphere of "realism": it looks like a major attempt to show the realistic investigative technique of a p.i. in detail. Later Hammett works, such as "The Scorched Face" (1924), continue in this vein. These stories strongly recall the realistic police work of Freeman Wills Crofts, then at the peak of his influence and prestige. "Arson Plus" contains other features the recall Crofts and the realist school of which he was a leader: the plot centers around that Croftsian standard, the alibi, and is implemented through that realist school technique, the "breakdown of identity". The last third of Crofts' best known novel, The Cask (1920), is dominated by the sleuthing of an English private investigator, but most of Crofts' books feature the police. Hammett's stories look like an attempt to do for the private investigator what Crofts did for the police. The detective technique of Hammett's hero, consisting of interviewing witness after witness, often fairly blindly, hoping to turn up clues after accumulating a mass of random details, also has roots in Crofts' books, where his policemen do the same thing. This technique was preserved and expanded in Hammett's successor Raymond Chandler, and has become a staple of today's p.i. novels. There are other perhaps more superficial signs of Croftsian influence in early Hammett, as well: the grotesquely appearing corpse in "Bodies Piled Up" recalls the one in The Cask, and the use of sinister basements in Crofts and Freeman is echoed in the basement finale of "The Scorched Face"

"…Hammett's stories look like an attempt to do for the private investigator what Crofts did for the police…"

Those words in italic were in the above article. I'll look for that as I read The Maltese Falcon.

Bill H

If you love Film Noir, the Maltese Falcon is one of the best. Question I never found an answer for is why Effie was so fond of Brenda O'Shaghnnesy? Poor Eva thinking that Sam Spade really loved her! Where was Eva when the murders took place? We see a streak of indifference in Sam when he asks for the names on the door be changed and his attitude toward Eva. Hard-boiled but with a soft spot when it came to Effie. Tension between Sam and the police but they used each other. Why does Sam say "his daughter" in chapter 5?

I was late getting started but am enjoying the book and the descriptions of that era. I'm wondering if Spade's attitude (for many men)towards women isn't more realistic today than we realize. A lot of things are covered over with political correctness. (Maybe I shouldn't express that idea but it is just a passing thought.) I don't usually read this type of mystery so it is a change and certainly different than the English classics I have read.

I suspect that Archer probably had the "money" that got the business started. It would be my guess that Spade probably had the knowledge and more experience of the PI business.

"Cairo rose and bowed. "I beg your pardon." He sat down and placed his hands side by side, palms down, on the corner of the desk. "More than idle curiosity made me ask that, Mr. Spade. I am trying to recover an - ah - ornament that has been - shall we say? - mislaid. I thought, and hoped, you could assist me.

Spade nodded with eyebrows lifted to indicate attentiveness.

"The ornament is a statuette," Cairo went on selecting and mouthing his words carefully, "the black figure of a bird."

Spade nodded again, with courteous interest.

"I am prepared to pay, on behalf of the figure's rightful owner, the sum of five thousand dollars for its recovery." Cairo raised one hand from the desk-corner and touched a spot in the air with the broad-nailed tip of an ugly forefinger. "I am prepared to promise that - what is the phrase? - no questions will be asked." He put his hand on the desk again beside the other and smiled blandly over them at the private detective.

"Five thousand is a lot of money," Spade commented, looking thoughtfully at Cairo. "It - "

In "The Maltese Falcon" the black bird is used as a prop and brings out the central theme of the novel. The theme is the destructive power of greed and the illusory nature of wealth, which is expressed in the symbol of the "black bird."

kidsal, maybe Effie just felt sorry Brigid O'

I found it difficult to accept that a private eye would take a case for anybody who refused to tell the investigator what he was supposed to look for. For example:

Bridgid O'Shaugnesey says to Spade: "I can't tell you that," " Please don't ask me that," "I didn't mean to say that. ".

Spade: "That means I'm not supposed to question you about that.">

Spade: "I've got nothing against trusting you blindly except I won't be able to do you much good if I haven't some idea of what' it's all about.

Seems to me it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. But I suppose money talks especially where Spade is concerned.

Bill H

KIDSAL, I had that same question when Spade asked about the "daughter". My eyebrows went up and I asked "Where did that come from. I finally decided that Spade was fishing, trying to fit his client into the picture. Maybe she was the daughter of this man wanting the bird back?

SCRAWLER, I think you are right on target about the theme of the book. The theme is the destructive power of greed and the illusory nature of wealth, which is expressed in the symbol of the 'black bird'" Beautifully and succinctly phrased.

I found the description of Joel Cairo regaining consciousness so realistic. It am convinced Hammett must have observed such an event first-hand. Forgive me if I don't copy the whole thing here. And I had to admire Cairo's nerve. Once he had recovered and gotten his belongings back, he immediately turned his gun on Spade and once again declared his firm intention of searching the office!

I think it is too easy to dismiss Cairo because of his dandy dress and violet pastilles. But a man who would be charged with the kind of job he was on has to be someone to be wary of.

..Babi

the voice of Peter Lorre. He always played those characters that were seemingly the wimpy, cowardly, slimy, creepy, (any other adjectives?) little guy that could turn deadly. I remember Lorre's eyes were so wide set and popped that he reminded me of a lizard or a snake. Ugh! Perfect casting for the part of Cairo.

But why would a hard-bitten, savvy PI such as Sam Spade hand him back his gun? I find that hard to understand.

Phyll, I agree with you about Spade handing the gun back to Cairo. I thought the least Sam should've done was remove the cartridges from the weapon.

Joel Cairo's first visit to Spade's office resulted in an unpleasantness resulting in Cairo being knocked out by Sam. Then Spade searched Joel's pockets. This search turned up several articles, but the one that caught my eye was the Longine watch. That name awakened memories which took me back to a bygone era when Longine and Bulova watches were quite popular. Amazing how one word in a story can be so moving.

I was surprised that Sam Spade accepted the two hundred dollar retainer from Cairo. I thought he should've realized the connection between the Levantine and Bridgid O' I'm not sure but wouldn't this be a conflict of interest?

Bill H

What do you think is "The Maltese Falcon" just escape literature or is it art?

Can we compare Tolstoy's "Crime and Punishment" to Hammlett's "The Maltese Falcon"? On the surface "The Maltese Falcon" seems like just another crime story, but if we look closely we can see an element of art.

In my last post I mentioned the "theme" of this novel. Wouldn't the theme alone be considered more than just escape literature?

How about the characters? Just as in "Crime and Punishment" the novel reveals not only what the characters do, but what they are thinking as well. There are not 2-deminsional characters. In some sense we can almost feel the depression deep inside these characters as they search for what they think is wealth in the form of a black bird.

Just as in Tolstoy's books; Hammett's theme and characters reflect a changing society. Now instead of detective's like Sherlock Holmes, we have the Sam Spade's standing up against the "evil" in the world.

Even Hammett's slang is a reflection of a changing society.

I think all of these things contributed towards making "The Maltese Falcon" more than just a crime story. Hammett's novel was accepted by a large audience which helped change the response to the novel form escape literature to the heights of art because it made not only a moral but a social comment on society much the same way Tolstoy did in his novels.

Sam probably wouldn't worry about conflict of interest but he does have a lawyer to give him advice so he doesn't cross the line (too far). Is Sam falling in love with his client? Is that why he is willing to help her even when she gives him so little info to go on?? There is the familiar distrust between the police and Sam -- however, they use one another to gather information. Cairo is more thoroughly described than any of the other characters - Peter Lorre was a perfect Cairo.

It seems evident that Ms. O'Shaughnessy's only use for Sam Spade is to cover for her and act as her shield. She gives him no information because she doesn't need him to find anything for her. She wants him to keep her out of view of the police and protect her if her rivals get ugly. Just as she used Thursby, and probably the guy before him. If Spade got killed, she would promptly latch onto another fall guy. (And there's another old-time phrase: fall guy.)

Babi

Spade becomes personally interested in Brigid when his partner is murdered while working on her case. As Spade becomes more and more involved he uncovers her lies and seems to fall in love with her.

Spade's hard pragmatism and his motivation throughout the book are expressed in terms of the tribute he must pay to live in relative freedom. Not only must he provide this tribute to the civil authorities, but also to the criminal element of the city. Just as the Hospitallers of St. John paid an annual tribute to Charles V so to must Spade.

"This is my city and my game," he tells Gutman - and Spade accepts a similar implicit agreement with those who control his city. "I never forget that when the day of recovery comes I want to be all set to march into headquarters pushing a victim in front of me. As long as I can do that I can put my thumb in my nose and wiggle my fingers at all the laws in the book..."

That blend of responsibility, pragmatism, and hard-boiled morality defines Spade's character.

Hammett had once told Lillian Hellman, after his arrest in 1951: "If it were my life, I would give it for what I think democracy is...(but) I don't let cops or judges tell me what I think democracy is."

I think as early as 1928, I see these thoughts embedded in his character Spade when he deals with the cops and the DA. He pays his tribute only to stay alive himself.

Kidsal, I believe you may be right about Sam having a crush on Brigid. Sam comes acro his client doesn't give him a clue as to what is needed or what it is all about.

BaBi, your thoughts about Bridgid is right on the mark. Perhaps Sam was blinded that she was using him because of his crush on her. The author portrays spade as knowledgeable person but, so far, he doesn't strike me as a very good private investigator.

Scrawler, your posts are so poignant They display the great amount of thought you put into this novel.

Bill H

After Spade realized he was being followed, he questioned Joel Cairo why the young man was following him. Cairo professed he had no knowledge about the boy. I felt that Spade, being a strong arm private eye, should have confronted the "kid" and demanded to know who he was and why the boy was following him.

What was Spades reason for not confronting the boy?

Bll H

The boy was a connection to the mystery -- he might come in handy later and if he confronted him he probably wouldn't have gotten much information from him.

Kidsal, that sounds like a good reason why Spade didn't confront the boy.
The 7th chapter begins with Sam Spade telling Bridgid the story of a man named Flitcraft, which bring me to ask these questions.
1. Why did Spade tell the story of Flitcraft?
2.What was the relevancy of the story?
Perhaps I missed something, but I thought the author used it as fill in.

Bill H

"It was not, primarily, the injustice of it that disturbed him; he accepted that after the first shock. What disturbed him was the discovery that in sensibly ordering his affairs he had got out of step, and not in step, with life. He said he knew before he had gone twenty feet from the fallen beam that he would never know peace again until he had adjusted himself to this new glimpse of life. By the time he had eaten his luncheon he had found his means of adjustment. Life could be ended for him at random by a falling beam: he would change his life at random by simply going away. He loved his family, he said, as much as he supposed was usual, but he knew he was leaving them adequately provided for, and his love for them was not of the sort that would make absence painful."

This paragraph is a good example of why the "The Maltese Falcon" is so much more than escape literature. This pargraph mirrors the society of the 1920s. Life was changing and Flicraft knew that in order to be in harmony with life in its changes, he knew he had to change as well.

Hammett's novels are character studies and are also studies of "manners and morals" as well. Keeping in mind that in the 1920s divorce was unheard of; the very mention of it probably shocked his readers.

But perhaps the most important item in this paragraph was the realization that life (as Flicraft knew it) could end at any time so why couldn't he change it.

Spade in telling this to Bridget was telling her exactly what Flicraft had discovered. The fact that she to could change her life as well. She didn't have to wait for a "beam" to fall on her. She could change now. Did Spade suspect even at this point what she had done?

This paragraph was embedded in the novel, much like a pearl is embedded in an oyster.

How interesting! I got something quite different from the Flitcraft story. I don't think it was 'fill in', or a hint to Brigid that she could change her life.

The ending of the story shows Flitcraft living a life that pretty much mirrored his former life. I felt that Spade/Hammett was saying that while things may happen that shake us out of our rut, people do not basically change and will eventually return to their old selves. Spade didn't think Brigid -- or himself, or anyone else -- would, in the end, be other than just what they were.

BaBi, are you saying that when Spade told Bridgid the story of Flitcraft, he was trying to tell her that he had no confdence in her?

Bill H

Scrawler, Did Flitcraft really change? I got the impression that he just switched cities, families and a business, and still played gold. I believe that his new life just mirrored his old life.
For example he was a man that had to have a wife, family and a business of his own, and still enjoyed his game. I see no change in his style of living. Did Flitcraft say he was happy in his new life?
Perhaps O'Shaugnesey figured that Spade was trying to tell her she couldn't change. Oh well, I suppose Hammett left it up to the readers to form their own opinions.

Bill H

Tomorrow begins the second half of the novel and our discussion. Would you please give us a your thoughts of the first 10 chapters, as to how you like or dislike the story?
It is interesting to note that Dashiell Hammett was named after his mother, Annie Bond Dashiell.

Bill H

BILL, answer to your question, Spade had frequently told Brigid that he knew she was lying and acting a part. I don't think there was really any question of his having confidence in her.

I think that story surfaced in Spade's mind for a reason, and in relating in I think he was speaking to himself as well as to her. Brigid (if that really was her name) was a lying, cold-blooded, greedy and deceptive b____, and he knew that quite well. He also knew that tho' he was amused by her, and in some ways admired her, San Spade would never be a patsy for anyone. Each of them was who they were, and their story was not going to end happily.

...Babi

Perhaps the word we need is not "change" but "adjustment."

"Life could be ended for him at random by a falling beam: he would change his life at random by simply going away..."

"I don't think he even knew he had settled back naturally into the same groove he had jumped out of in Tacoma. But that's the part of it I always liked. He adjusted himself to beams falling, and then no more of them fell, and he adjusted himself to them not falling."

So it was the action of the beams falling that made him act. Filcraft reacted to the events around him just as Spade does. I think he's telling Bridget that she has to do the same.

I think that we have determined in the first ten chapters that "The Maltese Falcon" is much more than just escape literature. It is a reflection of society in the 1920s.

The detective's changed character reflects the change in that society. Now we see the watchdog of evil not as a genius such as Sherlock Holmes who solves the puzzles of the day, but rather a breed of man who knows the criminal element because he personally knows the "mean streets."

Hammlett's novels not only helped the audience to change their response toward PI's but to the nature of the crime itself. To quote Raymond Chandler, "He [Hammlett] gave murder back to the kind of people that commit it for reasons, not just to provide a corpse; and with the means at hand, not with hand-wrought duelling pistols, cuare, and tropical fish." "Hammlett took murder out of the Venetian vase and dropped it into the alley."

In the past, mystery novels, showed the sole purpose of the mystery was to present a problem, to provide the clues to its solution, and then, after a proper interval, to reveal the criminal and his method. There was little place for character development, because it was only a distraction from the description of the crime and the clues. The crime, it was felt, had to be unusal to be interesting, and therefore fictional murders bore little resemblance to actual criminals, and the methods of crime in fiction often tested the reader's credibility. The setting was typically in a middle-or upper-class society, because there the crime was more shocking and more worthy of the attention of the detective.

Now take "The Maltese Falcon." The characters are more realistic and closer to what the audience of the 1920s believed were likely to be criminals and PIs. Spade is described as a blond satan. Not necessarily someone I would put my faith in to be watch dog for evil.

Miss Wonderly we see early on as a liar. Would anyone really want her as a client? But we see that Spade, at first, is really only interested in the money her case will bring in. It's only after his partner is murdered that he adjusts to the events of the case.

Cario's character would probably never be seen in a Sherlock Holmes mystery. If we believe that Hammlett's novels are a reflection of the 1920s, we must also accept that people like Cario do exist in the real world. The same can be said for "the kid" that is tailing Spade. He also is a part of this unsavory world.

But I think Hammlett's description of the "cops and the DA" are the most damaging. Holmes didn't have much use for the "local cops" but he still had respect for them. In Hammlett's novels both cops and DA's are shown to be crooked. The only way that Spade can survive against them is to pay a tribute to them just like the Hospitallers of St. John, paid an annual tribte to Charles V in the form of a falcon to ensure they would be allowed to inhabit lands under his domain.

And the falcon, itself, is a symbol of "greed" both for the PI and the criminal. It is the very theme of the novel - "the illusion of wealth" which all the characters are seeking.

I suspect quite a bit of Hammett shows up in his stories. I read a brief synopsis on Hammett, and learned that he worked for eight years as a Private Investigator, and that he also was in prison briefly for contempt of court. Does sound like Spade, doesn't it.

I have a vague impression that Hammett was also a heavy drinker. Am I correct about that?

SCRAWLER, I have noticed before that your points in book discussions are very knowledgable as to style and literary history. I can envision you as a Professor of Literature. Am I far off? ...Babi

Today starts the second half of our discussion. But before leaving chapter ten. I would like to touch on the impression I received of the care Hammett put into the writing of this novel when he described in great detail Spade's search of Brigid's apartment. The author enumerated each item that Sam examined.
I thought the thoroughness of the writing of this detailed search as a projection of the author's own self, and the examination of detail he placed in his writing. Did any of you share this thought?

Bill H

I call myself a "writer" but actually I'm a reacher who happens to write a book every couple of years. I truly love that part of my job and if I didn't have a cat who reminded me when to eat and sleep I'd probably be at 24 hours a day. But your right, if I'd had the opportunity to go to college I'd probably would have become a historian.

Hammett knew the world he wrote about. He was an operative for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. As a detective, Hammett searched for accused securities thief Nick Arnstein; he worked for the defense during Fatty Arbuckle's celebrated trial for rape and murder; and he once found $125,000 in stolen gold stuffed down the smoke stack of a ship about to embark for Australia. In 1921, tuberculosis contracted in WWI forced him to give up detective work. He was determined to be a poet, but supported himself by writing detective stories.

Hammett was most of all a realist, which is why that scene that Bill describes is so accurate.

"Hammett was most of all a realist, which is why that scene that Bill describes is so accurate"
Scrawler, I suppose your above quote is what I was striving for. At times, I feel that Sam Spade was an extension of the author.

Bill H

I agree with that, Bill. I'm beginning to think that Hammett put himself into the lead characters of all his books. Not that I've read all of his books; just that's what I've seen so far. Perhaps someone who has read all seven books can comment on that.

SCRAWLER, what type of books do you write, and under what name? Naturally, I'm curious now as to whether I might have read any of your books. And of course, if I read one of your books I can brag "I know the author, ..sort of." <bg> ..Babi

As I read along into the second half of the novel, I tend to agree with Spade that Brigid is a very deceitful person. A good actor as Spade so accurately described her.
What qualities did Brigid have that Effie was so taken in by her?

Bill H

I published "A Century to Remember" in March of last year. You can see it at barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com. I publish under my name: Anne M. Ogle. "A Century to Remember" is a collection of short stories and poems from 1900 through Sept. 11, 2001. If you like mysteries, you might be interested in my mysteries in this collection. They start about 1920 and follow through with the various changes in style and substance to 2001. For example in 1920s I portray a hard-boiled PI in "Johnny Be Good" while my 1990 mystery features a woman in "Building A Mystery."

At the present time I'm working on an alternative history involving the Lincoln assassination. Instead of Lincoln being assassinated his wife Mary Todd Lincoln is murdered by Booth. The alternative results of history is what my story is all about. I'm still in the reasearch phase, but hope to get started actually writing the novel sometime in the spring or summer of next year.

Kasper Guttman is the fat man, who is described as follows: "The fat man was flabbily fat with bulbous pink cheeks and lips and shins and neck, with a great soft egg of a belly that was all his torso, and pendant cones for arms and legs."

I thought this was an interesting description for a character. I doubt that we would see an author today describe his character like this. I got the impression that Kasper Guttman was German and when you keep in mind that we had just fought WWI the stereotype German in most American minds in the 1920s would look just like this description. We have stated that Hammlett was a realist, but was this a realist description of the Germans? I can't help but wonder what this image did to the many German-Americans here in this country. Perhaps they did not read Hammlett's novels.

I have difficulty separating from my mind Mary Astor as Brigid in the movie. In the book Brigid appears young and innocent. Perhaps Effie was trying to protect her as she appeared so young or perhaps she was trying to keep her away from Sam.

Or perhaps Effie was too innocent herself to see the phoniness that Sam recognized. I was sorry to see her so deceived, but it made me like Effie all the more.

Do you remember what Sidney Greenstreet looked like? Like Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, he so well resembled the character that again I wondered if Hammett had the actors in mind when he described the characters. It would not be surprising if Hammett was looking ahead to a possible movie from his book. Of course, Scrawler could be entirely correct that his depiction of Gutman was a slap at the Germans. I tried to 'copy' a photo of Greenstreet and Bogart (from Casablanca) to paste here but it didn't work.

I thought Cairo's menace came through very strongly in the episode in which Spade seized him by the throat after Cairo retaliated against Brigid slapping him. Even with Spade gripping him tightly by the throat, Cairo exhibited no fear. He looked Spade in the eye and said, "This is the second time you've put your hands on me." This guy is scary.

I do not understand Spade then slapping Cairo three times. This seems so excessive it is beyond my comprehension. What was the point of that? Did he think this was going to cow Cairo into submission? Hah!!

And all the slapping and kicking from Brigid. What happened to the timid, ladylike pose? ...Babi

What I don't understand is the boy so many times threatening and pointing the gun at Spade but never pulling the trigger. This kid was so full of venom towards Spade that I don't see how he could control himself from shooting Sam regardless of what Gutman said.
BaBi, was Greenstreet, Bogart and Astor actors when Hammett wrote the novel. I ask this because I don't know.
Kidsal, I think Astor was miscast as Brigid.

Bill H

Good men (and women) can't deal with bad ones because being good, they obey a different set of rules. Spade deals with the enemy on his own terms. I think in the scene that you described you have the "theme" of the story being played out. Everyone from Spade to the kid are trying to show how tough or bad they are in order to portray them as being tough.

It gives us the impression that the tougher you are the more powerful you seem to be. Kasper Gutman doesn't have to lift a finger unlike the others, he gives the impression of toughness from his size alone. Cario has to have guns to help give this impression as does "the kid." Spade on the other hand uses his physical strength without props to say the same. And dear sweet, Brigid finally shows her true self my kicking and slapping. They are all after the same thing - The Maltese Falcon - and know that if they don't show themselves as this tough-guy (girl) that they'll never get what they want. The strong destroy the weak.

For now Spade is a part of these "greedy" individuals panting after the same treasure. But just as the "bird" is an illusion of wealth; so to is Spade. Later on we hear him say: "Don't be too sure I'm as crooked as I'm supposed to be...."

BILL, yes, Bogart was definitely making movies in the thirties, when Hammett was writing. I find "The Petrified Forest" and "Body and Soul" from back then. I'm not sure when Greenstreet began making movies over here (he is British, isn't he?), but he appeared in several movies with Bogart. ...Babi

was the first movie that Sidney Greenstreet made. He was a stage actor and yes, he was English. Here is a short bio. of him: Sidney Greenstreet

He and Peter Lorre made so many movies together that I never think of one without the other. They made a perfect evil combination.

"The Maltese Falcon" was made in 1941. Personally, I can't see Hammett making his characters with Bogart and the others in mind. To me Hammett's characters reflect the criminals and PIs of some of the cases he was involved in as an operative for Pinkerton's National Detective Agency.

This is what Raymond Durgnat has to say about the film "The Maltese Falcon" in his article "Paint it Black: The Family Tree of the Film Nor":"Private Eyes and Adventurers: ...The Motif is transformed by Bogart's incarnation of Sam Spade in the misogynistic "Maltese Falcon," and the bleaker, lonelier, more anxious Hemingway adventurer in "To Have and Have Not." "The Maltese Falcon," notably, is deep camp. Huston's laughter deflates villainly into the perverted pretension of Greenstreet and Lorre who are to real villains as Al Jolson to Carmen Jones. In the scenes between Bogart and Mary Astor ( a sad hard not-so-young vamp with more middle class perm than "it") it reaches an intesnsity like greatness."

"Notes on Film Noir: Paul Schrader": "Film noir can be subdivided in three broad phases. The first, the wartime period, 1941-'46 approximately, was the phase of the private eye and the lone wolf, of Chandler, Hammett and Greene, of Bogart and Bacall, Ladd and Lake, classy directors like Curtiz and Garneet, studio sets, and, in general more talk than action. The studio look of this period is relected in such pictures as "The Maltese Falcon, Gaslight, This Gun for Hire, The Lodoger etc."

Robert G. Porfirio has this to say in his article: "No Way Out: Existential Motifs in the Film Noir": "...What unities the seemingly disparate kinds of films noirs, then, it the dark visual style and their black vision of despair, loneliness and dread - a vision that touches an audience most intimately because it assures that their suppressed impulses and fears are shared human responses." The "black vision" is nothing less than an existential attitude towards life, and it is what unifies as diverse as "The Maltese Falcon (private eye), "Detour" (crime) "The Lodger" (period piece), "Brute Force" (prison film), "Woman in the Window" (psychological melodrama) and "Pursued" (Western).

In the "Introduction" by Alain Silver for "Film Noir Reader" "...If observers of film noir agree on anything, it is on the boundaries of the classic period [of film noir], which begins in 1941 with "The Maltese Falcon and ends less than a score of years later with "Touch of Evil."

I don't see Hammett's characters as being part of this "Film Noir" since it didn't start until the movie came out in 1941. Bogart's Sam Spade doesn't resemble Hammett's "blond satan." Nor does Brigid strike me as an "it" girl. Greenstreet and Lorre can be seen only in their similar physical characteristics to Hammett's characters.

Don't get me wrong I loved Lorre, Greenstreet, and of course Bogart in the movie, but I don't see any of the characters in the book as being portrayed in the movie in the way I imagined them for myself. I didn't care very much for Astor. Lake was up for the part, but she turned it down. Now I could see her as Brigid.

Note: In case you're wondering I took a "Film Noir" class in which we had to write a script for a movie. One script was enough for me. I know that scripts can made you a lot of money, but I prefer novels and stories. Script writing drove me nuts.

Phyll, thank you for the Greenstreet link
I also agree that Hammett made the characters seem tough and a little crooked with the exception of Effie Perrine. I sometimes wonder why Hammett didn't create a bold and somewhat questionable secretary to compliment Spade. Spade may not have been as crooked as he was made out to be, however his dubious morals showed as he kept telling them that somebody had to be "the fall guy." He, Spade, was not about to take the rap for any of this no matter who was made the "fall guy." Then, too, if the bird had turned out to be real, would Spade have just settled for the five-thousand dollars?
Scrawler, the only actor that I thought fit the bill was the boy. In the movie, this role was played by Elisha Cook Jr. (Remember him as Ice Pick in the old Magnum P I televison series?) Also interesting was this actor's name in the novel was Wilmer COOK. Elisha Cook always looked as though his eyes were about to jump out of his head and he was typed cas as as a crook.
BaBi, I remember seeing The Petrified Forrest/ This was the Bogart movie I seen. I believe Leslie Howard played in that movie also.

Bill H .

"Petrified Forest" started Bogart's career and yes, Leslie Howard was in this film as well.

Hammett's detectives are romantics because they dare to believe in and hold firmly to a strict code of behavior which is in opposition to the world in which they move. The belief that criminals ought to pay for their acts is the theme of Hammett's novels. Because of this attitude of the PIs; Hammett's writing is more art than genre writing.

This sentiment is seen in the farewell lines of Sam Spade to Brigid O'Shaughnessy, the murderess he loves but turns over to the police: "I'm going to send you over. The chances are you'll get off with life. That means you'll be out again in twenty years. You're an angel. I'll wait for you...if they hang you I'll remember you."

According to Ellery Queen: "The skin of realism hides the inner body of romance. All you see at first glance is that tough outer skin. But inside -- deep in the core of Hammett's plots and counterplots -- he is one of the purest and most inhibited romantics of all."

Sam Spade serves as a standard of hard-boiled characterization. Tough, calloused, compent, and operating according to his own code of justice. He is a detective working alone making things right. When Spade is accused of murder by an incompent district attorney, the private eye explains his position this way: " As far as I can see my best chance of clearing myself of the trouble you're trying to make for me is by bringing in the murderers -- all tied up. And my only chance of ever catching them is by keeping away from you and the police, because neither of you show any signs of knowing what in hell it's all about." This also shows something of the corrupt society of the 1920s among its most influential people.

From this point on in the book, Sam takes own the part of "crusader" for justice, if only for himself. Like most hard-boiled fiction, Hammett's stories were dominated by the character of his detective, who is the first-person narrator. He is tough, cynical, and realistic. But he is not possessed that he can eliminate evil from the world; he simply does the best he can to make his small part of it livable. In other words he doesn't want to save the world just a tiny piece of it, if only for himself.

Scrawler, thank you for your informative posts.
I'm amused at the way Spade would talk to the two detectives. I suppose I should say I was amused at the way Detective Tom Polhaus would try to smooth things over between Spade and Dundy. I just can't see this sort of thing happening in today's mystery stories.
I'm still at a loss as to why this novel is considered to be the hallmark of mystery stories. I can think of many more that would fit that bill

Bill H

Hammett is considered the father of hard-boiled detective fiction. He and others like Chandler helped bring about a movement in the detective fiction away from the genteel detectives solving crimes perpretrated by masterminds, to rough, believable private eyes who dealt with common crooks.

Hammett's importance in the literary world lies in his influence as a stylist and characterization. Before this most detective novels were 2-deminsional. We never really got to know what the detective was thinking - he gathered everyone in an upper-class livingroom and simply pointed a finger at the murder and everyone gasped! End of story. On the other hand we got to know a little of what Spade was thinking about. It turns out that he may have been tough, but he also had a code of ethics.

By the end of the novel we know not only what kind of person he is, but also what he stands for. As Spade says to Brigid O'Shaughnessy, when she asks if he would have given her up to the police if the falcon had been real and not a fake: "Don't be to sure I'm as crooked as I'm supposed to be. That kind of reputation might be good business - bringing in high-priced jobs and making it easier to deal with the enemy."

And as he says to her a little earlier about the killing of his partner, Miles Archer: "It happens we were in the detective business. Well, when one of your organization gets killed it's bad business to let the killer get away with it. It's bad all around - bad for that one organization, bad for every detective everywhere."

You are right Bill, I agree there were other novels that perhaps had a better plot or better charcterization, but Hammlett's "The Maltese Falcon" was the first to make his characters more than 2-deminsional that simply solved murders and I think this is why his novel is considered art rather than just escape literature.

I guess I saw the movie as a very young person - as I was very disappointed in the book.

Curious Quotes:

From Gutman:"I distrust a man that says 'when'. If he's got to be careful not to drink too much it's because he's not to be trusted when he does."

What an odd thing to say. Can anyone be trusted when they 'drink too much'? If it is 'too much' then one has to expect poor judgment, clumsiness, and all the things that go along with 'too much'.

Also from Gutman: "An article of that value that has passed from hand to hand by such means is clearly the property of whoever can get hold of it."

What a laissez faire view of stolen property! The story of the historical "background" of the falcon is fascinating. Just enough citing of real organizations, persons and events to make it sound like it might be genuine.

..Babi

I am reading the Maltese Falcon novel which I like very much, and just reached the first 10 chapters only. I was very impressed by the Flitcraft story that Spade told Brigid while they were waiting for Cairo. I found that there are a lot of similaritis between Flitcraft and some of the characters in the novel. To some degree, Flitcraft is alike Cairo, Spade and Brigid ,I think. I don't know whether it makes sense or not when I compare Cairo with Flitcraft. Both of them do travel around, have no feeling of guilty for what they do, and be awaken by the random of life. I think the falling beam for Cairo can be Brigid . She came to his life and awaked him with the benefit from the Falcon. However unlike Flitcraft who left his family and adjusted himself to a new life not because of the problem of money, Cairo changed because he kind of be a person that money is his life.

I am sorry because the days to discuss this topic passes, but I found that noone gave any comparison between these two persons, I just wnated to show you my feedback on it. Moreover, I hope that you guys can give me some response on this. Because I just wonder that whether it is good enought to make such a comparison. Ly Tran

The Bogart movie is the third time this novel was made into a film. The first was in 1931 then again in 1936 with Bette Davis (a bomb called Satan Met A Lady). Re: http://www.imdb.com

The blend of responsibility, pragmatism, and hard-boiled code morality defines Spade's character and sets up the climactic scene in the novel between Spade and Brigid:

"You'll never understand me, but I'll try once more and then I'll give it up. Listen, 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. Then it happens we were in the detective business. Well, when one of your organization gets killed it's bad business to let the killer get away with it. It's bad all around - bad for that one organization, bad for every detective everywhere. Third, I'm a detective and expecting me to run criminals down and then let them go free is like asking a dog to catch a rabbit and then let it go. It can be done all right, and sometimes it is done, but that's not the natural thing.

Fourth, no matter that I wanted to do now it would be absolutely impossible for me to let you go wihout having myself dragged to the gallows with the others. Next, I've no reason in God's world to think I can trust you and if I did this and got away with it you'd have something on me that you could use whenever you happened to want to. That's five of them. The sixth would be that, since I've got something on you, I couldn't be sure you wouldn't decide to shoot a hole in me some day. Seventh, I don't even like the idea of thinking that there might be one chance in a hundred that you'd played me for a sucker. And eighth - but that's enough. All those one side. Now on the other side we've got what? All we've got is the fact that maybe you love me and maybe I love you."

If this were a normal detective story of the day, the story would have ended when they found the falcon or when they discovered that the falcon was fake. But the story didn't end until Spade decided to turn the killer over to the police. But the question you have to ask was why? Was it because he was really doing his duty or was it more that "it would be absolutely impossible for me to let you go without having mysself dragged to the gallows with the others."

In other words he was out for No. 1 - himself. Whatever the reason (and Spade gives us at least seven of them) he was more than just a physical, tough private eye. He was to a certain degree a thinking man who could not only figure out the problem and catch the killer but also knew why he was doing it. I wonder when he became aware of who had killed Miles? The novel doesn't really say. But I doubt seriously that he was a sucker for a dame. Sooner or later he would have figured it out.

Oh, and did you realize that all the murders were done off-stage. I doubt if the book were written today or even the movie whether we wouldn't see the murders committed up close and personal.

Ly Tran, thak you for posting that message.
Will some of you please shed some light on Ly Tan's question?

Bill H

Sorry. I read Ly Tran's post with some interest, but I can't see any similarity between Flitcraft and any of the characters, nor can I see any 'girders' falling in their lives. I still think the Flitcraft story served the purpose I posted earlier. (It's too long to repeat; please forgive my not trying.)

Babi

Babi, thank you for your answer.
Could any of the rest here give some input to Ly Tran's post?

Bill H

To view a photo of Elisha Cook Jr, the actor who played Wilmer Cook (the young boy) in the 1941 version of the Maltese Falcon, please use this link
The Boy
I believe he was the only one that fit the bill in the movie. As a much older man, he also played "Ice Pic" in the Magnum PI television series. Ice Pick was th one that Magnum would turn to when he needed the low-down on shady characters.
Do any of you remember him?

Bill H

At my age I remember all of these movies.

Sam Spade reveals that he is an educated man when he discusses the falcon and its origins. Perhaps part of his rough behavior is an act.

Kidsal, I know what you mean!

Bill H

Today brings to a close our discussion of Dashiell Hammett's novel "The Maltese Falcon." Your thoughtful and interesting posts have brought forth both your views and the questions you had of the story and the author. They have given me a new insight to the novel and the man behind the story. I'm sure that whenever I hear or read the title of this novel I will always think of you who participated in this discussion.
Therefore, I wish to thank all of you who posted in the discussion and also the readers who just read along with us and enjoyed the posts. Perhaps one day we can do another classical mystery discussion.
Thanks again

Bill H

it's so pity because there's no common between me and the rest of you guys in the Flitcraft eposide when I made such comparisons. Hopefully, I can get some other ideas on it.

The reception of "The Maltese Falcon" was flattering for Hammett. Aside from the rave notices about the novel as an exciting mystery, including Alexander Woollcott's claim that "the best detective story America has yet produced," Hammett was beginning to command respect as a mainstream writer. The St. Louis Post Dispatch wrote, "It seems a pity that this should be called a detective story...Truly, it is a story about a hard, brittle detective, but it is so much about a detective that he becomes a character, and the sheer force of Hammett's hard, brittle writing lifts the book out of the general run of crime spasms and places it aloof and above as a brave chronicle of a hard-boiled man, unscrupulous, conscienceless, unique."

I'd have to agree with the above. "The Maltese Falcon" is so much more than just a detective story. Like Hemingway and Fitzgerald, Hammett reflects or mirrors the society of the 1920s. So I would consider this novel more art than escape literature.

I loved this discussion and I hope we can all do it again soon.

October 15th - October 22nd	Chapters 1 - 10
October 23rd - October 30th	Chapters 11 - 20