The Maltese Falcon by Dashielle Hammett review

    THE MALTESE FALCON is about as influential to the creation of the detective genre as we know it as MURDER IN RUE MORGUE and A STUDY IN SCARLET. Dashielle Hammett actually wrote the book as a counterpoint to Sherlock Holmes, at least according to him, as he drew on his actual experience as a private detective working for the Pinkertons. 

    I can't find the exact quote but basically Dashielle Hammett noted that private detectives were more or less the opposite of Holmes and Dupin in methodology. While the latter two are socially awkward intellectuals who have incredible observational skills, the "real" private detective is a social creature who gathers the majority of his information via interactions with people as well as tripping them up. Which means Watson would probably be far better than Holmes.

    Almost everyone knows the story of the book by cultural osmosis. Sam Spade is a private detective in San Fransisco when his partner, Archer, is murdered after a beautiful woman asks them to investigate a dangerous man. Said dangerous man turns up dead an hour later and Sam is the primary suspect. This introduces a quest for a centuries old Templar-constructed artifact called the Maltese Falcon, worth millions even in 1920s money.

    Sam Spade is one of the great characters of fiction and he's a mean, greedy, and ruthless individual who figures out the general plot of the "mystery" early on. One of the best elements of the book is he's almost immediately wise to the femme fatale  Brigid O'Shaughnessy. She acts the part of the panicked innocent but Sam never once buys her act as he explains to her in their second scene together. It's a testament to the writing that a lot of readers forget this even as Sam is constantly pointing out he's not fooled.

    Instead, Sam Spade runs the complicated game of musical chairs between Joe Cairo, Casper Gutman, Brigid, the police, and himself in order to both get him off for the murder of his partner as well as make as much money as possible. Sam is a fantastic manipulator as he doesn't have the titular Maltese Falcon but everyone is convinced he does. I like how this detective story includes murder but it's humorous that solving it is a secondary concern versus profit.

    The fact we can never assume Sam will chose money, Ms. O'Shaughnessy's affections, the right thing, or getting himself out of a murder rap is enough to make the story fantastic to read. It's also why I prefer him to Phillip Marlowe as that man seems to insert himself into events not only when it doesn't profit him but when it's none of his damned business. Either way, I absolutely love the complicated twists and turns.

    It should be noted that this is one of the movies where the adaptation is more or less note perfect. The only things missing are a few minor characters and a rather horrible scene where Sam Spade strip searches Brigid for a missing thousand dollars. Watching the Bogart film more or less renders the book unnecessary and vice versa as whole swaths of dialogue are replicated perfectly. I wish more films did this. 

10/10