Abstract This paper discusses the heroic qualities of Sam Spade in DashiellHammett's mystery thriller "The Maltese Falcon." The paper examines the Spade's persona; his morally ambiguous life and his moral code.
From the Paper "It is an accepted fact that Dashiell Hammett helped invent what is referred to as hard boiled mystery fiction. In laconic and knowing prose, hard boiled fiction presents a cynical worldview, a picture of human behavior that resonates with sordidly plausible violence and a pattern of events that in the tradition of adventure stories encourages reader interest in outcomes. In significant part what holds readers in suspense, is the figure of the detective who is at the center of the mystery."
Abstract This paper provides three short essays that relate to the topic of mystery and detection novels and film noir. The paper looks at the hard boiled detective found in these genres. The paper refers to the work of Raymond Chandler, DashielHammett, Walter Mosley and others, as well as to select films.
From the Paper "The novels of Raymond Chandler, hard-boiled detective fiction in the vein of Dashiel Hammett focus on the experiences of detective Philip Marlowe. If Chandler's novels featuring Marlowe like "The Big Sleep" have a moral, the moral appears to be that there are intelligent and stupid criminals and law enforcement officials and those that are the most intelligent usually wind up victorious."
Tags: Raymond Chandler, film noir, DashielHammett, Walter Mosley, Ross MacDonald, hard boiled detective, myth of America
From the Paper "The 1940 version of The Maltese Falcon was the third version of the novel to be filmed and the most successful. It was also the film truest to the spirit of the novel, though the 1931 version (with the same title) followed the plot very closely without capturing the inherent spirit of the piece. The second version--Satan Met a Lady in 1936--was very poor and made what had been a dark detective story into a comic romp with a detective more buffoon than threat. John Huston returned to the original novel for his version of the story and clearly tried to stick closely not only to the story but also to the spirit of the piece, with its moral ambiguities intact as they had not been in the 1931, more traditionally hero-vs.-villain rendering. Yet, Huston had of necessity to make changes by curtailing certain scenes, altering the order and point of view to a degree, and..."
Abstract This paper acknowledges how, for a plot in a film or a novel to be effective, it needs character development, dramatic action or excitement, and thematic tension or the tone or feeling of the work. It examines how the film, "The Thin Man" effectively captures these elements of plot development within the introductory scenes. It also discusses how the book on the other hand does not entirely capture these elements until the start of the third chapter.
From the Paper "The tone of the film versus the book also builds upon the plot progression. The tone of the film at the beginning depicted more conformability, yet with mysterious undertones between characters especially Wynant and Dorothy. The mysterious undertone quickly becomes apparent as Wynant gets ready to leave, and then the tone turns into dreadfulness with the murder of Julia Wolf. The tone in the movie helps the suspense or the "what happens next" for the audience, so interest is not lost, and the plot succession transpire effectively. Since the movie sets the tone and the plot development early on, it carries on throughout the entire movie. While watching the movie, the viewers connect emotionally to the characters, determining between protagonists and antagonists."
Abstract It may seem at first as though John Huston's film "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) is a detective story about the search for the title object; a story with a fatalistic ending in which the object is found to be a fake. The paper shows, however, that the search for the falcon is not nearly as important as the search for the killer of Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan) and the story is, in fact, a triumphant account of Sam Spade's (Humphrey Bogart) defense of his masculinity, and of American masculinity in general, against those who would destroy, distort, question, or undermine it.
From the Paper "The third group is the trio of homosexuals involved in the search for the falcon: the effeminate Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre), the erudite and frightening Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet), and his "gunsel" Wilmer Cook (Elisha Cook, Jr.). Arranged like a bizarre version of a family, this trio represents the various ways in which someone can be male but still fail to meet the requirements of the masculine code Spade adheres to. The fourth group is the trio of law enforcement officials: Detective Tom Polhaus (Ward Bond), Detective Lieutenant Dundy (Barton MacLane), and District Attorney Bryan (John Hamilton) who questions Spade in an 'informal' hearing. They function as official representatives of society and of the world of normal, acceptably masculine men who, throughout the film, question Spade's actions and motives."
