The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon exhibited characteristics of a detective story from both Valley of Fear and Murders in the Rue Morgue.  Initially, I viewed Sam Spade as a Sherlock Holmes-like detective: renowned, acclaimed, and trusted.   He seems to have positive relationships with the local police enforcement, even pouring drinks for the police officers when they accuse him of involvement in the murder of his partner Miles Archer.   Sam appears calm like Sherlock Holmes, and ultimately utilizes deductive reasoning to determine that Mrs. O’Shaughnessy is to blame for the murder of Archer.  Similarly, the detective Dupin in Murders in the Rue Morgue uses deductive reasoning to suggest that an ourang-outang is responsible for the deaths of Madame L’Espanaye and her daughter.  Consequently, Sam Spade’s social standing and ability to reason is reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes’ and Dupin’s strategies.

In addition, the double plot in The Maltese Falcon mirrors how the story line is multifaceted in the Valley of Fear.  In The Valley of Fear, the first story line is that John Douglas has been murdered.  Sherlock Holmes’s involvement in the novel is solely to determine who killed John Douglas (ultimately proven that his death is a hoax).  However, there is a second part to Valley of Fear, where the history of John Douglas’s evolving identity is revealed.  Sherlock Holmes has no involvement in this part of the story.  Similarly, in The Maltese Falcon, there are multiple aspects to the mystery: uncovering who committed the murders of Miles Archer and Thursby, in addition to finding the Maltese falcon statue to sell to Cairo and Gutman.  As a result, The Maltese Falcon is not a straightforward murder mystery, as each character has ulterior motives for personal economic profit.  

However, The Maltese Falcon differs from the other two mystery stories because of how the characters are dynamic.  Sam Spade was initially viewed as the “good guy”, however was quickly pinned as a suspect in the murders of Thursby and Archer.  As a result, he did not appear invincible to authority and law.  In contrast, Sherlock Holmes always seemed smarter than the local police force, seemingly more powerful and capable of finding resolutions.  He was never questioned as a suspect in the mysteries, seemingly removed from direct involvement in the plot.  However, Sam Spade acted as both the detective and suspect: he was a detective by determining what were Mrs. O’Shaughnessy’s motives, and locating the Maltese falcon, but also the suspect in his partner’s murder.  As a result, people’s perspectives of Sam Spade being innocent or guilty fluctuated.   

I enjoyed watching The Maltese Falcon, as I have never watched a mystery movie from the 1940s.  The cinematography was very different from the high-tech movies of today, but I enjoyed the black-and-white film and almost comical action scenes.