Who Is Sam Spade In The Maltese Falcon

Maltese Falcon is a classic original film. The film’s theme is about greed, love, and deceit. This classic black and white film has great dialogue and scenery. Camera affects and angles add to the film as well. The final scene where Sam Spade is telling Brigid O’Shaugnessy that he is going to turn her in is a powerful scene. This is my favorite scene of the semester because of its climatic end as well as Sam Spade revealing his true side.

Sam Spade the main character is fascinating as the viewer has to decide what kind of person he is. From the beginning he is portrayed as a great detective. He knows the cops and seems to know everyone on the street. When he is sitting at his desk it resembles his power. He is always a step ahead of everyone. Until the very end it is unclear to the viewer what kind of man and detective Sam Spade is. He is involved with the plot of the falcon statue with Gutman and other criminals.

In the final scene the movie reaches its climax.

The viewer figures out what kind of a person Sam Spade really is and what his intentions were all along. The camera is focused on the face of Sam Spade and Brigid O’Shaughnessy. Spade tells Brigid O'Shaughnessy that she is being put away for killing his partner. Sam Spade describes his reasoning and talks out loud about how it’s the “detective business” and how “your supposed do something about it when your partner is killed”. He goes on to say in threatening voice “it’s bad business to let the killer get away with it, bad all around, bad for every detective everywhere”. Brigid O'Shaughnessy is weeping with a quivering voice tries to intervene and talk him out of reporting her, but says in a stern tone “wait until I’m through then you can talk”. He continues on with a serious tone through the whole scene, talking honestly. At one point he says “maybe I love you, and maybe you love me” but the viewer can tell that Spade is not going to let the woman

off.
This scene is probably my favorite scene of the whole semester. I think it is because the film at first glance did not seem to be my type of film to watch. I think it was because it was black and white and it seemed too romantic. However as the film continued on and eventually lead to the final scene I realized how great it was. To me Sam Spade as a detective seemed corrupt and a greedy man that didn’t care about his partner. But the final scene is powerful to watch as his dialogue explains everything and explains his respect for the detective business.