Catching a Mediterranean Bird

“Don't be too sure I'm as crooked as I'm supposed to be,” Sam Spade retorts to Brigid O'Shaughnessy’s accusation he would let her escape if only he was offered the right amount of money. As a matter of fact, the entire line-up of John Huston’s 1941 detective mystery The Maltese Falcon appears quite crooked. Introducing the Film Noir genre, Huston delivers a dark crime story in a low-key black and white visual style. All characters seem to be of rather cynical nature as the storyline slowly reveals their ulterior motives and moral ambiguity. Even Bogart, as the anti-hero Sam Spade, remains mysterious and unpredictable throughout the movie. The mysterious characters as well as the intriguing storyline lead to a rather successful product that stands in strong contrast to traditional good vs. evil movies.

The movie begins with a wide-range establishing shot of the San Francisco bay and Golden Gate Bridge. Zooming out from the bridge through the window, the movies initial shots introduce Sam Spade, the main protagonist, in his detective office. Brigid O'Shaughnessy, the leading actress, soon pays a visit and draws him into a rather murderous investigation. However, Sam seems to be prepared for danger, as he proclaims: “I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble.” Trouble soon evolves, when Sam’s partner is murdered, and several shady figures, such as the adventurer Joel Cairo, the “Fat Man” Kasper Gutman, and his henchman Wilmer, enter the story. In the center of the plot, the name-giving Maltese falcon advances the story as the mysterious focus of everyone’s greed for wealth.

Visually, The Maltese Falcon sets new standards regarding the coherence of cinematography and plot. The movie’s low-key black and white visual style and dark urban setting match the intriguing crime story’s character. Huston’s camerawork appears quite in tune, too, as he often uses low angels to emphasize individual character traits. In one particular scene, “Fat Man” Gutman drugs Sam with a drink. The camera deliberately does not focus on the glass in order not to give the plot away and emphasize the slow effect of the drug. When Sam begins to notice the drug and stands up, the camera moves in a similar manner, stressing his dizziness. Huston incorporated numerous shots like this, involving the audience in the character’s experience through an involved point of view.

The central object of the movie, the Maltese falcon, serves as a MacGuffin throughout the plot, a story-propelling device that motivates the characters in their action but, in the end, is of minor importance. The term Mac Guffin was coined by Alfred Hitchcock who used this plot device several movies. Numerous motion pictures have used a MacGuffin to provoke the audience, as for example the case in Ronin (1998), the content of the suit case in Pulp Fiction (1994), the artifact in Transformers (2007), or Christian Simonsen in Death Proof (2007). Similar to the MacGuffins in these movies, the Maltese falcon appears of minor importance in the end, as it turns out to be a duplicate while the true falcon remains unfound.

In conclusion, I must admit I was quite surprised by the characters cynical nature and their moral ambiguity considering the movie’s early era. Especially Sam, the main character, appears quite unpredictable or, as Gutman puts it: “By Gad, sir, you are a character. There's never any telling what you'll say or do next, except that it's bound to be something astonishing.” This impulsive nature of all characters involved supplies the story with a suspenseful dynamic maintained until the final climax. When comparing the movie with the 14 years older Sunrise (1927), the astonishing evolution in cinematic art becomes apparent. Besides the obvious visual advancement, The Maltese Falcon also provides a plot far beyond antiquated good and evil storyline, paving the way for later Film Noir works.

A few signature quotes:

Sam: Yes, sweetheart?
Effie: There's a girl wants to see you. Her name's Wonderly.
Sam: A customer?
Effie: I guess so. You'll want to see her anyway. She's a knockout.

Sam: “We didn’t exactly believe your story, we believed your $200. You paid us more than if you’d been telling us the truth and enough more to make it alright”

Sam: “You don’t have to trust me as long as you persuade me to trust you.”

Gutman: “I distrust a man who says ‘when.’ If he’s got to be careful to drink too much, it’s because he’s not to be trusted if he does.”

Sam: “I won’t play the sap for you!”

Gutman: “If you lose a son it’s possible to get another. There’s only one Maltese falcon.”

Sam: “When a man’s partner is killed he has to do something about it.”