“Nah, you’ve seen everything I could.”
With these words, Sam Spade put the last nail in the coffin of “Golden Age” (fool’s gold, really) detective fiction. Gone were the days of amateur detectives somehow noticing thirty-three vital clues that the police officers had missed. Gone were the days of “Inspector Pinch-Bottle to the Rescue” and “The Triple Petunia Murder Case” as Raymond Chandler mocked in his brilliant essay The Simple Art of Murder. Gone were the days of detective fiction being nothing more than logical puzzles that required massive irrational leaps to remain logical.
To briefly explain: Sam Spade, a private detective, is standing on a hill overlooking the ravine where his partner is lying dead. The place is crawling with officers, one of whom explains the situation to Spade. Finally he asks Spade if the private eye wants to examine the scene for himself. Spade’s reply rings true.
The Maltese Falcon is not the best film noir or detective story ever filmed/written. But it made the rest possible, and its place in history as both a novel and a movie, along with its snappy dialogue, classic Bogart performance and willingness to begin detective fiction’s descent into the underworld make it a joy to watch, time and again. Film noir would become Hollywood’s trump card for years. Sam Spade started it all.
Up Next: Better Than The Book
~Right Thumb~
It is hard to add to or argue with your review. This movie will always be one of my very favorites. Sam Spade is really just too.... can't even find a good enough word.
ReplyDeleteAnother movie I have to see! Somehow I missed this blog and skipped ahead.
ReplyDeleteBogart-fest, when I get home.