Maltese Falcon Thesis

The Maltese Falcon is a drama filled mystery that will have you both sitting at the edge of your seat awaiting answers and scratching your head in order to figure out if you missed a vital piece of information. Other than the excitable and puzzling effects the film generates, its intriguing storyline and witty dialogue creates an enjoyable viewing experience. In classic film noir fashion, The Maltese Falcon documents a detective engulfed in a hunt for an expensive object, that is one of the primary causes for his business partner’s life being taken at the hand of the femme fatale of many names, Mrs. O’Shaughnessy.

Moments of The Maltese Falcon such as the scene in which a mysterious and bloody man wobbles into Spade’s office with a large wrapped

object and dies seconds later cause confusion in even the most attentive viewers; for the reason that this character is just as much a mystery as the package he is wielding. Before this scene occurs we have only heard about the value and importance of the namesake of the film, and in this scene, it just falls in our laps bundled in a manner way less than its worth. Although this scene is rather confusing it is extremely exciting as it is the first time we are about to see the falcon we have waited for the entire film to see. Also, Effie and Sam’s bewilderment and investigation of the man who just delivered the falcon prolongs the time before Sam opens the parcel, further builds up anticipation for the big reveal.
The acting within The Maltese Falcon was done very well, especially by the actress that portrayed Mrs. O’Shaughnessy. Mrs. O’Shaughnessy’s character had the task of playing with two personalities an innocent and docile school girl who just happened to get mixed up in the game of bad guys and the role of the criminal mastermind who could easily flirt than kill and terrorize and bruise a man with just her shoe. At times the she came across as a little dramatic, but knowing her role now, it makes sense that she had to be dramatic not only to convince us that she was innocent but also to convince Sam Spade.
All in all, there are still aspects of The Maltese Falcon that I have not figured out yet, but that is what makes it a great film noir. I am so used to either being given happy endings or left desperately seeking closure and The Maltese Falcon has left me with a hybrid of those two feelings. It provided an ending that was relatively happy, while leaving me questioning the true personalities of the characters. In the end, The Maltese Falcon is a very entertaining movie that will leave you confused, but that is only because it is doing its job as a proper film noir.