The Maltese Falcon (Read a Great Movie)

Dashiell Hammett was an extraordinary writer. His short stories and novels gave birth to the concept of the `hard-boiled detective'. Another great writer, Raymond Chandler wrote that Hammett "did over and over again what only the best writers can ever do at all. He wrote scenes that seemed never to have been written before." Maltese Falcon is Hammett at the top of his game. It is a must read for those who haven't read it, or only seen the Humphrey Bogart movie. For a fan of Hammett it is certainly worth reading again.

"Everybody's looking for something. Some of them want to use you. Some of them want to get used by you. Some of them want to abuse you. Some of them want to be abused by you."

The plot of Maltese Falcon is well-known and the above bit of lyrics seems to sum up its essence. A strange, alluring woman, Brigid O'Shaughnessy, walks into the door of Archer & Spade, two San Francisco detectives. Miles Archer, a man wit an eye for the ladies, particularly those willing to pay top dollar for his services agrees to take on an assignment. He is killed that night and it is left to his surviving partner, Sam Spade, to put the matter to rest. In no time at all Spade is embroiled with a cast of characters that includes O'Shaughnessy, Joel Cairo, Kasper Gutman, and Wilmer Cook. They are all embarked on a quest, a murderous quest as it turns out, for "the Maltese Falcon" a jewel-encrusted falcon lost from view since the Middle Ages and worth more money than one can imagine.

Hammett draws each character with a vivid eye for detail and for sharp prose that comes at you like bullets from Spade's revolver. Spade has seen it all. He spots O'Shaughnessy as a sharpie from the get go but seems to fall for her despite himself. Cairo is both unctuous, effeminate and Gutman (the fat man as Spade calls him) is smooth talking and the brains behind the search for the falcon. Wilmer Cook is a vicious thug but Spade, being the hard-boiled detective quickly spots him for the minor-leaguer that he is. As the story nears its end the loose strings sort themselves out and the smoke clears. Spade is forced to make a choice but in the world created by Hammett people like Spade have a certain code. It doesn't matter that they aren't sophisticated, Ivy-League educated, parlor-room detectives. It doesn't matter that they speak the way a street-cop pounding a beat would speak and don't always observe the niceties of the Queen's English. There are rules that must be followed and tough choices must be made.

It seems impossible to review this book without reference to the movie. The John Huston directed movie was and remains a classic. It was a terrific adaptation. There are some interesting differences worth noting. Hammett was far more direct in acknowledging the illicit relationship between Sam Spade and Iva Archer, Miles' widow. Spade's cavalier love them and leave them attitude was also more in evidence in the book. He was also direct, quite blunt in fact, in pointing out the `orientation' or `preference' of Joel Cairo. The way Hammett paints the relationship between Cairo (Peter Lorre) and the gun-slinging Wilmer Cook was fascinating.

If you like Dashiell Hammett you don't need to tell you that it is worth reading again. If you are new to Hammett, this book is a terrific place to start. I do not think you will be disappointed.


A Genre Defining Novel   January 11, 2006
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

It's a normal afternoon when a beautiful woman walks into the private eye office of Sam Spade and his partner Miles Archer. She shared with them a tale of woe about a sister who has run off with a horrible man. The woman hires them to follow this man, and Archer jumps at the job.

Spade is awakened that night to learn that Archer has been murdered. A little while later, their target is also murdered. The police are intent to place the blame for one of these to crimes squarely on Spade's shoulders, a thought he doesn't relish in the least.

It's the next morning when the client walks back into the office. Sam quickly learns that her real name is Brigid O'Shaughnessy. But she still claims to be in real trouble, with men after her. It's very slowly Spade learns that she is involved in a quest to gain a statue worth millions. Many people would kill to gain this statue. Is Sam in over his head? Who has the statue? And who really killed Miles Archer?

Anyone who reads my reviews knows I prefer the cozy or comic mystery over the noir genre. But my curiosity about this classic got the better of me, so I listened to it on tape on a recent car trip. There were parts I enjoyed, but over all, it felt a little empty to me.

Of course, part of that could be the time difference. When the book first came out in 1930, the loner PI who struggles with his conscience while smoking and drinking his way through a case wasn't a cliche. In fact, Spade has many literary sons in the PI's of page and screen over the last 65 years. Even though he's now a cliche, I found I actually grew to like Sam and wanted him to find a way out of this mess alive. His quick wits and smart deductions made me like him, even if his moral flaws turned me off.

The storyline was interesting as well. There were several nice twists that I halfway expected but wasn't completely certain about. Others caught me completely off guard. There was enough action to hold my attention most of the time. Ironically, as the book neared its climax, the story seemed to slow down. The last two chapters, especially, were much slower then I would have liked.

The writing style seemed choppy to me as well. Since I listened to the book instead of reading it, some of the fault may lie with the reader. Still, the final scene seemed overly melodramatic to me. And at times, the dialogue was choppy as one character was monologing when it felt natural for another person in the scene to respond to what they were saying.

Of course, I'm more then willing to admit, the biggest problem with the book could have been me. My natural dislike of PI novels could have made me pickier when evaluating it. Those who enjoy the genre should certainly give this undisputed classic a chance. The rest of us will likely not be as enthralled by the tale, although there's certainly no harm in it's consumption.


just as good as the john houston film   December 7, 2004
 3 out of 8 found this review helpful

I'm keeping this short and sweet. This is one great production that keeps true to the original novel and might actually be better the 1941 film (don't get me wrong, I love the movie). This is a treat for anyone who wants to give this classic story a shot. You won't be dissapointed. Also notice how Tom Wilkinson's voice performance slightly echo's Jack Nicholson's J.J. Gittes in "Chinatown".


A Legendary Novel   July 3, 2004
 14 out of 15 found this review helpful

Although several of his novels have considerable merit, Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) will be best remembered for a single work: THE MALTESE FALCON.

Perhaps the single most extraordinary thing about the novel is its radical departure from the norm. In the 1920s and early 1930s, detective novels were not really considered "literary;" they were light entertainment, and they generally came in two varieties: pure pulp, which was more akin to action-adventure, and "the master detective" as created by such authors as Agatha Christie. In one fell swoop, however, Hammett not only fused these two ideas but also endowed his novel with tremendous literary style--more than enough to catch the eye of "serious" critics and more than enough to stand the test of time.

THE MALTESE FALCON is not a long novel, but Hammett packs a lot into it. The plot, which generally concerns the theft of a priceless, jewel-encrusted statue, walks a fine line between pulp mythology and modern pragmatism, never veering too far in either direction to seem impossible; the prose is lean and clean and packed with detail conveyed both simply and sharply; the characters stand out in a sort of high relief on the page. It is all memorable stuff.

It is difficult to discuss THE MALTESE FALCON without reference to the famous 1941 film version starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor. The film has been both a blessing and a curse, so famous that it has drawn thousands of readers to the novel, but so widely seen that it can become difficult to read the novel without seeing it through the lens of the film. But while the film presents the plot and much of Hammett's dialogue intact, readers will find the novel has somewhat different strengths--not the least of which is Hammett's prose itself. An essential of 20th Century American literature; strongly recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer