The Maltese Falcon story
The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 film noir directed and scripted by John Huston in his directorial debut, based on the 1930 novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. It stars Humphrey Bogart as private investigator Sam Spade and Mary Astor as his femme fatale client. Gladys George, Peter Lorre, and Sydney Greenstreet co-star, with the latter appearing in his film debut. The story follows a San Francisco private detective and his dealings with three unscrupulous adventurers, all of whom are competing to obtain a jewel- encrusted falcon statuette.
11 total · 2 choice · 3 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| private investigator occupation | choice | Following PI Sam Spade, we saw an idea of how PIs may have worked in 1940s America. |
| trust in a potential foe | choice | story centered on whom Spade could trust, especially Brigid |
| femme fatale | major | Brigid was described in those exact terms |
| infatuation | major | Spade and Brigid may or may not have become besotted with each other: they were both stone cold players |
| murder | major | Sam and the police were investigating several murders relating to the Maltese Falcon. |
| collecting objects | minor | The Fat Man, Gutman, obsessively wanted to get his hands on the elusive Maltese Falcon to sell it to people who were passionate about collecting such things. |
| coping with unwelcome romantic attention | minor | Spade with Miles' besotted widow |
| extramarital affair | minor | Spade had clearly fooled around with Miles' wife before she became a widow |
| law enforcement | minor | We briefly saw a couple of police investigators at work. |
| male-male rivalry | minor | Spade and Wilmer sort of got into a pissing contest which Spade decisively won |