Seems to be a con artist by trade uses everything she's got to get what she wants from people - her sexuality with men, feminine sympathy with womenĮffie Perine adult female, young, tall, lanky, and "boyish," with brown eyes and a sunburn Spade and Archer's secretary A private investigator, in business with Sam Spade, married to Iva, but not averse to extramarital dalliancesīrigid O'Shaughnessy adult female, claims to be 22 years old but may be older, blue eyes, dark red hair, long-legged and very beautiful. Miles Archer adult male, 40s, (".apparently as many years past forty as Spade was past 30."), solidly built, jowly, short greying hair. Major Characters Sam Spade adult male, in his 30s, tall, with "yellow-grey" eyes, thick brows, a hooked nose, and pale brown hair growing down from a point on his forehead - ".like a blond satan." A private investigator, in business with Miles Archer and probably involved in a romantic relationship with Archer's wife, Iva With all the loose ends tied up, Spade is left to tackle what may be his most unpleasant task - dealing with his dead partner's widow. He does so by calling the police, having determined that she was the only one who could have shot Miles Archer. Cairo and Gutman depart on another quest to find the real Maltese Falcon, taking Wilmer with them and leaving Spade to handle Brigid O'Shaughnessy. In the final exchange, it is discovered that the bird is a fake. Spade agrees to hand over the bird, but has to wait until morning, when he can have Effie deliver it. After much tortured discussion and a little bit of violence, it's decided that Gutman's gunsel, Wilmer, will take the fall. Spade refuses to turn it over unless they provide a fall guy for the murders of Archer, Thursby, and Jacobi. Sure enough, they show up together at his apartment later that evening, demanding the falcon. Spade realizes that the quartet he's been searching for can't be far behind. Spade returns to his office and relates the events to his secretary, Effie Perine as he's doing that, the ship's captain, bloody and dying, providentially staggers through the door and drops the Maltese Falcon at Spade's feet. So have O'Shaughnessy, Cairo, Gutman, and Wilmer, the young man who's been tailing Spade throughout the story. By the time Spade reaches La Paloma, the ship is burning, and Jacobi, her captain, has disappeared. In looking for her, he uses his detecting skills to determine that she has gone to meet La Paloma, a ship arriving from Hong Kong. Spade believes that O'Shaughnessy knows the whereabouts of the bird unfortunately, he doesn't know hers. The statuette had a long and bloody history that apparently ended in Hong Kong O'Shaughnessy and Thursby, hired by Gutman to acquire the bird for him, had decided to keep it for themselves and had taken it there. Gutman, who tells him a fascinating story about the provenance of the black bird - the Maltese Falcon. Business is booming for Sam Spade: the next day he finds himself with yet another client, a Mr. She tries to cut herself in on the deal, since she knows where the bird is. Once more the trail leads back to Brigid O'Shaughnessy. Spade soon finds himself with another client: a foppish man named Joel Cairo, who eventually offers him $5,000 to locate a statuette of a valuable black bird. Spade is skeptical, but agrees to help her by tracking down Thursby's killer. After telling him that her name is actually Brigid O'Shaughnessy, she informs him that Thursby was Archer's killer. Spade starts to hunt for his partner's killer, beginning with his mysterious client, Miss Wonderly. Shortly afterward, Thursby is also murdered, and Spade becomes the prime suspect in both crimes. Archer agrees to follow the man whom the sister is supposed to be traveling with, Floyd Thursby, and in the process, Archer is murdered. Private detective Sam Spade and his partner Miles Archer are hired by a beautiful client who calls herself "Miss Wonderly" to find her sister. The Maltese Falcon Cover Artist: not identified
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |