Original subtitles

Good evening, I'm Ben Mankiewicz. Thanks for joining us tonight on TCM, where

we've reached the fourth film in our slate of movies starring B .B. Daniels.

next, a title you know, but likely not the picture you expect.

This is the first screen adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 detective novel.

From Warner Brothers in 1931, Ricardo Cortez stars as Sam Spade in The Maltese

Falcon. The version most of us know well, released ten years later in 1941,

considered by many the... First American film noir, certainly the first major

studio film noir.

Directed by John Huston, it stars Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, and Mary

is the standard bearer for all the femme fatales to follow.

B .B. Daniels plays the Mary Astor part in this 1931 adaptation.

She was the top -billed cast member, too.

This is not a film noir. It can't be if we agree that John Huston's movie is the

first film noir.

That's just math.

The two movies...

feel like very different pictures, even though they both track Hammett's novel

pretty closely.

From what I recall of the book, the 1931 version has more of the book's plot

points and suggestive dialogue, but the 1941 film captures more of the book's

feel, its mood.

That's because this version with B .B. Daniels is very much a pre -code crime

thriller made three years before the Hollywood censors at the production code

office started flexing their moralistic Victorian muscle.

Therefore, any suggestion of sex is pretty much gone from the 1941 film,

it's quite evident in this picture.

Also gone from the John Huston, Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor film are any overt

inferences about the sexual preference of the villains.

Once the production code had teeth, clever screenwriters and directors had

work hard to convey even a hint of gay characters on screen.

With most of the sexually suggestive material excised from the 1941 movie,

Writer -director John Huston created a much darker, more suspenseful film.

That's not to say this one isn't worth your time. It certainly is.

For example, there is no scene of Mary Astor taking a bath in the 1941 film.

You'll get that here with B .B. Daniels.

The studio wanted a strong actress to play the female lead, and Daniels, who

just signed a new contract with Warner Brothers, proved to be an inspired

choice. From 1931, directed by Roy Delruth.

The Maltese Falcon.

I'll see you later.

Effie?

Yes, Sam?

Honey, have I any more important engagements this afternoon?

Not that I know of.

Yes, sir.

There's a girl outside to see you, Sam. Her name's Wonderly.

A customer? I guess so.

You'll see her anyway. She's a knockout.

Okay, honey.

Send her in.

Will you come in, Miss Wanderley?

How do you do?

Won't you sit down?

Thank you.

Could you... I thought... I mean, I...

Perhaps it would be easier if you started from the beginning.

That was in New York.

She met him there.

She? My sister.

Oh, I see. Then it's your sister you're concerned about.

Terribly. And I must get her back home before mother and father return from

Europe. When will that be?

The first of the month.

That's two weeks.

Oh, that's plenty of time.

Aidan Archer. Hello, Effie.

This is Ivor Archer speaking.

Say, is my husband there?

No, he isn't, Ivor. He isn't back from his trip yet.

Well, then put Sam on the phone.

He's in conference now.

Well, that's all right. Tell him it's very important.

All right. Hold the wire. I'll switch your call to his office.

Excuse me.

Mrs. Archer on the phone. She says it's important.

Excuse me just a minute.

Hello? Hello, Sam.

Oh, I'm terribly lonesome and I just had to talk to you.

Yeah.

Oh, hello, Mr. Archer.

Have a good trip?

Yeah, yes, I had a good trip.

Found out what I wanted to know.

Will you put these in on my desk, please?

And get out the other papers in the case, too, will you? Yes, Mr. Arthur.

Now, you be sensible about it, please.

Don't do anything rash.

Things will work themselves out.

You sound so cold.

Don't you love me anymore?

Is there somebody there that you can't talk to me like you used to?

Yes, yes.

Well, goodbye, honey.

Call me soon. I'll be waiting.

Very strange case.

Woman lost a dog last night and wants us to find it for her.

Excuse me, I thought you were alone.

Come on in.

Miss Wonderly?

My partner, Miles Archer.

How do you do?

How do you do, Mr. Archer?

Miles, Miss Wonderly's sister ran away from New York with a man named Floyd

Thursby. Thursby?

Yes. They're here in town. She located Thursby. But he won't tell her where her

sister is.

Is that right?

Yes.

She wants a man to follow Thursby until we find out just where he's hiding her

sister. Well, how do we pick up this man, Thursby?

Miss Wonderly's going to meet him tonight at her hotel at 8 o 'clock.

And I think it would be safe for you if you met him in the lobby.

But you must be careful.

I'm so afraid of what he might do.

To her.

You think he's dangerous?

I don't think he'd stop at anything to save himself.

We know how to take care of him, all right.

Now, don't you worry, Miss Wonderly.

Mr. Spade.

Could either you or Mr. Archer, could either of you handle this matter

personally? I'm so afraid about the whole thing, and I feel so much safer.

I'd be willing to pay most anything if you would.

Would that be enough?

Oh, yes.

I'd look after this myself.

Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Archer. It's all right. And thank you, Mr. Spade. Not

at all.

You've both been very kind.

Goodbye.

Goodbye. Goodbye.

Goodbye.

Any phone calls for me, Sam?

Oh, yes.

Your wife called.

Yeah?

What did she have to say?

Oh, wanted to know when you were coming home?

And she said she missed you an awful lot.

Yeah?

speaking.

What?

Yes.

Yes, I'll be right over.

Yes, I'll hurry.

Hello, Sam.

Hello, Tom.

I thought you'd want to take a look at the body before we took it away.

Got him right through the pump with this.

He was fired so close, the powder burned his overcoat.

Archer didn't have time to draw.

His gun was tucked away in his hip pocket.

Better take it.

I don't want it.

Oh, I know how you feel.

I guess it's up to you to break the news to the widow, ain't it?

Yeah, I guess so.

Say, ain't you going to take a look at him before you go?

What's the use, Tom? You've seen him.

Nothing I can do to bring him to life.

Come on in,

precious.

Who were you expecting, darling?

You, sweetheart.

Was, um... Was Archer working tonight, Sam?

Supposed to be tailing a guy named Thursby. What for?

Well, for the swell reason that we've got a client that's paying us good old

-fashioned American coin to have him tail.

Did you...

Break the news to Archer's wife, Sam?

Yeah.

How'd you take it?

Oh, I don't know much about these women.

The devil you don't.

I warned you your foot would slip sometime, Spade.

Everybody's foot slips sometime.

Yeah, and this is your time.

What kind of a gun do you carry?

None.

Don't happen to have one around here anyplace?

No. Are you sure of that?

Well, have a look around.

If you find one, I'll make you a present of it. I told you I didn't have any.

You've told me a lot of things tonight that didn't mean anything.

I tell just what I want to tell.

You'll tell me just what I want to know.

Or you'll tell it in court.

This is murder, and don't you forget it. Listen, Dundee.

It's a long time since I burst into tears because a policeman didn't like

Yeah?

Well, you listen to me, Spade.

At one o 'clock tonight, Archer was murdered.

Another man named Floyd Thursby was shot down in front of his hotel 35 minutes

after you left Archer in the alley. Ah, take that dirty pause off me. What am I

going to do about all this?

Tom says you were in such a hurry you didn't even stop to look at your dead

partner.

I couldn't get sentimental over Archer dead or alive.

And you didn't go to Archer's house to tell his wife?

You sent the girl from your office.

Well, now that you got it all figured out, maybe you can tell me how I killed

Thursby. I've forgotten.

As he started to go into his hotel, he was shot three times in the back with a

.45 from across the street.

Nobody saw it, but that's the way it figures.

You may as well know it if you don't.

Thursby died before he could tell anybody who shot him. I never saw

or alive.

Now get out of here and let me get some sleep, will you? You can't give us the

runaround this way.

The D .A. is going to hear about this. Yeah?

Well, what I said to you goes for the D .A. double in spades. What do you think

of that, Mr. Dundee?

Who is it?

Mrs. Faye.

Oh, good morning, Mrs. Faye. Hello, how are you?

I didn't expect to see you. I thought Mr.

Archer was to call.

Mr. Archer couldn't come.

Won't you sit down?

Thanks.

Too bad we couldn't find that little sister of yours.

Mr. Spade, I have a terrible confession to make.

That story I told you yesterday wasn't true.

We didn't believe you.

But we believed your $200.

You know, darling, for that amount of money, I'd let you tell me a lie every

day.

Well... When I told you that I expected Mr. Archer, I lied again.

I know what's happened. But you'll go on with the case just the same, won't you?

That all depends.

There have been two murders committed. That stirs up the police and makes

more expensive and harder to handle.

You don't think I had anything to do with those murders?

I forgot to ask you that. Did you? Oh, no, of course not.

Good.

Say, listen.

There are a flock of policemen, assistant district attorneys and

outside running around with their noses to the ground.

What are we going to tell them?

Can't you keep me out of it?

Maybe. But I've got to know what it's all about.

But I can't explain.

Not just now I can't.

I'm sorry.

Please help me.

You must.

I haven't anyone else and I need help so badly.

I'll explain later when I can.

But I can't. Not just now.

I'm afraid.

You see, I trusted Thursby, and he betrayed that trust.

But I'm depending on you to save me. Why, if I hadn't believed that with all

heart, I would have run away yesterday instead of coming to you.

I know I haven't any right to ask you to help me blindly, but I do ask it.

Oh, be generous, Mrs. Spade.

You won't need much of anybody's help.

You're pretty good.

As a matter of fact, you're very good.

It's chiefly your eyes, I think, and the throb that you get in your voice when

you say, Oh, be generous, Mr. Spade.

I really needed your help.

Needed it desperately.

Goodbye. Now, now, now, now, don't get your feathers up.

Tell me all about Thursby.

Tell me the truth.

I met him in the Orient.

We came here together from Hong Kong about a week ago.

Why did you want him shadowed? By the time we landed, I was afraid I couldn't

trust him. Did he kill Archer? Of course.

With a gun he always carried in his overcoat pocket.

Oh, you've seen it then, huh?

Often. He never wore an overcoat without it.

Why all the guns?

Well, he was afraid of being caught unaware.

He always covered the floor around his bed with crumpled newspapers.

So no one could approach without making a noise.

You picked a nice playmate.

The only kind that could help me.

Help you do what?

Say, how bad a hole are you actually in?

As bad as it could possibly be.

Physical danger?

I'm not heroic.

I don't think there's anything worse than death.

Well, then it's that, eh?

As surely as we're sitting here unless you help me.

How am I going to help you? You haven't told me anything. Who killed Thursby?

I don't know.

Your enemies are his. I don't know.

His I hope, but I'm afraid.

Oh, you're impossible.

You won't go to the police, will you? Go to them?

Why, all I have to do is stand still and they'll be swarming all over me like a

bunch of bees.

I'm going to tell them all I know when you take your own chances.

Ray, have you got any money?

I've only got about $500 left.

Let me have it.

What for?

Now, don't ask any questions.

Hey, there's only $400 here.

Well, I have to have something to live on.

Haven't you got anything you can raise the money with?

A few pieces of jewelry.

I'm afraid you'll have to hark him, honey.

I'll call you when I get some news for you.

Bye. Goodbye.

Goodbye.

Hello, sweetheart.

Hello, Sam.

Oh, look, Effie.

Have them take Spade and Archer off the door and put Samuel Spade on instead,

will you, honey?

All right.

Sam. Yeah?

It's a gorgeous new customer.

Gorgeous? A knockout.

Send her right in, honey.

Will you step in, please?

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

Sit down, Doctor.

Thank you.

Well, sir, what can I do for you? Allow me first to offer condolences for your

partner's unfortunate death.

Oh, yes.

Thanks. Watch there as the newspapers indicate it.

Any connection between his death and the death of the man Thursby?

Oh, I don't know. Why should there be?

I'm not merely curious, Mr. Spade, but it occurred to me that the two, shall we

say, accidents might have something to do with a certain ornament that I'm

trying to recover.

Not for myself, but for the rightful owner.

What kind of an ornament?

A statuette.

The black figure of a bird.

I'm prepared to pay on behalf of the owner the sum of $5 ,000 for its

$5 ,000? And I can promise you that no questions will be asked.

Come in.

Anything else? Not a thing, honey.

Good night.

And lock the door as you go out.

Good night.

Five thousand dollars is a lot of money. You will please clasp your hands

together at the back of your neck.

What are you doing? Kidding me?

You will please clasp your hands together at the back of your neck.

Okay, doctor.

I'm going to search your office, Mr. Spade.

And if you attempt to prevent me, I shall certainly shoot you.

Stand up, please.

I must see that you're not armed.

Why did you strike me after I was disarmed?

I'm sorry.

But you can imagine my embarrassment, Doctor, when I found your $5 ,000 offer

be nothing but a lot of baloney.

You're mistaken.

It was a genuine offer.

I am prepared to pay you $5 ,000 for the statuette's return.

Do you have it?

No.

If it's not in this office, why should you risk your life to prevent my

searching for it?

What do you expect me to do? Sit around here and let people come in and stick me

up?

I see you've got my apartment address.

Have you been there, too?

Yes.

While I'm ready to pay $5 ,000 for the statuette, I naturally wanted to save

owner that expense.

Who is the owner?

I cannot answer that question.

What does this black bird look like?

It's a figure about 12 inches high in black enamel.

All right.

It's a deal.

But remember, you're not hiring me to go out and murder or steal.

You simply want me to get the Blackbird for you in a lawful and honest way. Is

that right?

If possible.

At least with discretion.

Okay.

I'm at the Hotel Belvedere, if you should wish to communicate with me.

Fine.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Doctor.

Oh, may I have my gun, please?

Sure. Thank you.

You will please clasp your hands together at the back of your neck.

I'm going to search your office, Mr. Spade.

Go ahead and search, Doc. You're paying for it.

Hello.

Sorry I'm late.

Been waiting long?

I came over the moment I got your message.

I saw your friend Cairo today.

Oh.

Do you know Cairo?

Yeah.

He offered me $5 ,000 for the blackbird.

Surely you're not considering it.

$5 ,000 is a lot of money.

And, Mr. Spade, you promised to help me. I trusted you.

Now, don't let's try to figure out how much you've trusted me.

I promised to help you.

Sure.

But you didn't say anything about me, Blackbird.

You won't. Why, you can't treat me like this.

$5 ,000 is a lot of money.

Yeah.

It's more than I can afford to pay you for your loyalty.

That's good coming from you.

Haven't you tried to buy my loyalty with money and nothing else?

Well, if I'm peddling it, I'm selling to the highest bidder.

I love your apartment, Sam.

Don't you ever get... lonesome?

Sometimes.

Hello, Tom. Hello.

Hello.

Saw your light.

Thought we'd come up and talk to you.

Go ahead and talk.

Love them, Mike. You're not going to make us stand out here, are you?

Afraid you'll have to, Tom. I can't let you in.

So you won't play along with us.

Still going it alone.

Say what's on your mind besides your hat.

Just this.

There's a lot of talk going around that you and Archer's wife were pretty thick.

Any truth in it?

No.

There's even talk that's why he was put on the spot.

Why don't you stop trying to be a hog, Dundee?

You shouldn't try to pin more than one murder on me.

I haven't pinned anything on you. I know you haven't.

Or they'd better sneak around here after hours and ask me a lot of silly

questions. And get a lot of lying answers.

Well, maybe you're right, Buckinghus.

Think it over.

Glad to see you anytime, Lieutenant.

Drop around when I'm not so busy.

I'll let you in.

Any more of your tricks and I'll finish you.

What's all this?

Maybe you can tell me. She hit me over the head. She would have killed me. What

for? What did you do?

Nothing. Nothing on my word of honor.

Well?

Miss Wonderly, I'd like you to meet Lieutenant Dundee and Detective Sergeant

Polehouse. Miss Wonderly is an operator in my employ.

And an old college chum of mine, Dr. Cairo from back east.

The two of them indulging in a friendly little argument, eh?

I can easily explain that, Lieutenant.

I'll bet you can.

Miss Wonderly never saw Dr.

Cairo before.

And when he came into my apartment by the back way, well, naturally she was

frightened. Oh, I was.

I was terribly afraid.

I'm so glad you aren't a burglar, Dr. Cairo.

You will forgive me, won't you?

Most certainly, Mademoiselle.

Why should your dear old college chum go and come through the back door?

I'm sure I don't know.

Joe, why did you?

Why, as a matter of fact, I have a large sum of money on me, and naturally I was

alarmed at being trailed. I'm not usually timid, but in a strange city,

never knows.

If I may go with you when you leave, I'll feel much safer.

Rather a brief visit your old school friend is making.

You won't mind, Sam, will you, if I go along with these gentlemen?

Not at all, Joe.

Come and see me again sometime soon.

I certainly will. I'm sorry this little thing happened.

Oh, that's all right. That's all right.

And Miss Wonderly, is she also afraid to go home in the dark?

Miss Wonderly is taking some notes that I haven't finished as yet.

I see.

In that case, we'll leave you to your conference.

Good night.

Good night, Lieutenant.

If those detectives are waiting outside for me, they're going to have a long

wait.

You can take my bedroom. I'll sleep out here.

I hope I won't be putting you out.

Are you comfortable, honey?

Come on, dear.

Tell me all about that blackbird.

Oh, I'm so tired, Sam.

Tired of everything.

Of myself.

Of lying. Of thinking up lies.

Until I don't know a lie from the truth.

I wish I...

Sam! Don't shoot, honey. It's only Sam, the grocery man.

Where have you been?

I went down to get the groceries.

I'm telling you, I frightened you, babe.

I'll get breakfast ready if you run my bath for me. That's fair enough, sugar.

Hello, Sam.

Hello, Ivor.

How are you, honey? I'm glad to see you.

I came to talk to you, Sam.

Can I go in? I'm very busy right now.

Don't be silly. I came to talk to you, and I'm not going to stay out here.

Come here.

I saw.

Who's that dame wearing my kimono?

Now, behave yourself, honey.

Oh, I suppose I haven't any right where you're concerned.

Well, I thought I had. I thought your pretending to love me gave me some.

let's not talk about that now. What do you want?

Oh, just to talk to you, Sam. I must. I've got to. I haven't got the time.

All right. If you won't listen to me, I know someone who will.

Lieutenant Dundee might be interested in what I've got to say.

I'll be seeing you.

Everything's under control, honey.

You have a lot of trouble with your women, don't you, Sam?

Here's to plain speaking and clear understanding.

Okay.

At the gar, sir.

Thanks.

You're a close -mouthed man, sir.

No. I like to talk. We'll talk if you like.

And I'll tell you right now that I'm a man who likes to talk to a man who likes

to talk.

Fine. Let's talk about the Blackbird.

Splendid. Splendid.

No beating about the bush. Straight to the point.

Let's get to the point. By all means.

You, uh... You are here, Mr. Spade, as Miss Wonderly's representative?

No.

I'm here looking out for myself.

Oh, that's wonderful, sir. That's wonderful.

I do like a man who says right off he's looking out for himself.

Don't we all?

Let's talk about the blackbird, huh?

Of course.

Mr. Spade, have you any idea how much that little blackbird is worth?

Oh, I know it's valuable, but I don't know what it is. You don't know what it

is? What do you know, sir, of the ancient order of St. John of Jerusalem,

afterwards called the Knights of Rhodes?

Nothing much.

They were crusaders or something.

Right.

And when the Emperor Charles gave the island of Malta to these crusading

knights, he made the condition that each year they were to pay him the tribute

of one.

One falcon.

An acknowledgment that Malta was still under Spain.

You understand?

Yeah, sure.

Have you any idea, sir, of the immense, the immeasurable wealth of the Order of

St. John?

As far as I can remember, they were pretty well fixed.

They were pretty well fixed.

For years, they had taken the cream of the East as spoils of victory.

We all know that to them, the Holy Wars were merely a matter of loot.

Holy Wars?

I'll bet that was a great racket.

The knights wanted to express their gratitude to the emperor.

So the bird they sent him for the first year's tribute wasn't an insignificant

live bird, but a glorious golden falcon encrusted with the

finest jewels in their coffers. The finest, largest jewels out of Asia.

Those are historical facts.

All right, all right.

All right, you say?

But the falcon never reached the emperor.

Pirates captured the boat on which it was shipped to Spain and took the bird.

I've traced the history of that bird all over Europe, sir. In 1840, it turned up

in Paris.

By that time, to hide its real identity, it was enameled over to look like

nothing more than a fairly interesting statuette. And it's still the same way.

Under that disguise, it was kicked around the gutters of Paris for 70

And then what happened? In 1911, a Greek falcon... and discovered its real

value. His home was raided, and he was murdered.

No one else knew what the bird was, and so it was lost again.

And it's still lost. That was 20 years ago, sir.

It took me that time to locate it, but I hid it.

I traced it to the home of a Russian in Constantinople. He wouldn't sell it, so

I sent some agents to get it for me.

They got it, and I haven't got it.

So it doesn't belong to any of you.

Belongs to General Camadoc.

Belongs? You might as well say it belongs to the King of Spain.

But I don't see how you can say it belongs to anyone except by right of

position. Then it belongs to Miss Wonderly now.

No, sir.

Except as my agent.

Oh, I see.

You're sure she has it?

I'm not sure of anything.

Yeah, but you know where to get it. At the right time and for the right price.

Ah.

Well, now...

And before we begin talking price, how soon can you deliver the Falcon?

A couple of days.

That's satisfactory.

Now, I have two proposals to make, sir.

I will pay you $25 ,000 when you deliver the Falcon to me, and another $25 ,000

when I get to New York.

That's one.

And the other?

I will give you 25%, one quarter of what I realize on the Falcon.

Now, take your choice.

Either an immediate $50 ,000 or a much greater sum within, say, a couple of

months. How much greater?

Who can tell?

If I were to tell you the probable minimum, you'd call me a liar.

No.

Not even if I'd thought so.

Well, what do you say, sir, to a half a million as your share?

A half a million?

And you really believe this bird is worth $2 million?

Easily. All right.

It's a deal.

Now, Mr. Gutman, what about a deposit to cinch this deal? Oh, certainly,

certainly, sir. What was I thinking?

How about $1 ,000?

Okay.

Now I have your word that you won't back out. My word?

You've got my thousand dollars besides.

The doctor is here.

The doctor?

Oh, yes.

Oh, dear me.

Excuse me, sir. I have a medical appointment.

Don't go away.

I'll be right here.

I'll be right back.

Joe, my boy.

Does this mean that you've come back to the fold?

Get rid of him.

Why?

I just offered him $25 ,000 for the falcon.

And I offered him $5 ,000.

We were both of us fools.

He hasn't got it. He hasn't got it.

Well, I just gave him a thousand bucks to bind the deal. He says he can get it

within two days.

We can get it without him today.

How? You remember Jacobi? Captain Jacobi?

Jacobi? I mentioned him in my report from Hong Kong.

I wrote you I'd seen the wonderly girl there with him. Jacobi? Yeah, I

His boat was La Paloma.

Exactly.

And look.

Well, what's all this got to do with it?

Oh, you don't connect it with the Falcon in any way, huh?

Miss Wonderly has the Falcon.

No, she hasn't.

I've searched her apartment.

The Falcon is not there because she gave it to Jacoby in Hong Kong.

Gave it to him?

To bring back to America while she and Thursby took another boat.

What time is the Paloma dock?

I phoned the harbor. She's expected in before midnight.

We'd better hurry.

Well, he's still got my money.

Wilma can take care of him.

No.

No.

I know a better way.

My technique is not so abrupt as Wilma's.

My apologies for the interruption, Mr. Spade.

Had we finished our little deal, or hadn't we?

We certainly had.

I'm delighted to hear you say that, sir. We shall drink to an affiliation which

will prove, I am sure, a pleasure and a benefit to us both.

Okay.

Well,

here's to clear understanding.

Yes, sir.

All successful business deals are floated on the wave of good fellowship.

Do you agree with me, Mr.

Spade? Perfectly.

I thought

you would, Mr. Spade.

Hey, what are you doing here this hour of the night?

Well, you told me to stick around until you came back.

He's dead, honey. Oh, but Sam, don't you think we ought to get a doctor?

Well, a doctor won't do any good.

Quick, lock that door.

Sam, who is he?

John Jacoby, captain of the La Paloma, arrived San Francisco from Hong Kong.

Let's have a look at the bag.

Ruth Wonderling.

One last time.

It's the Blackbird they're all after.

I don't know why it's so valuable, but it's worth a fortune.

Sam, whoever shot that captain will do the same to you.

I'm afraid. Get rid of it. Oh, stop worrying, honey. I'll take care of it.

What are you going to do with it? Now, don't ask questions.

Take this. Take this.

Hello, Tom.

Writing love letters, Sam?

Yeah.

Don't go too far with that. It's one of the best ways of getting in trouble.

Are you telling me?

I'm looking for you all night to tell you something.

From Dundee?

No, the district attorney this time. He wants to see you.

What's he want to see me for?

It's Ive Archer, Sam. She's been dishing plenty of dirt.

Babe, who killed Miles Archer?

I don't know.

You certainly could make an excellent guess.

My guesses might be excellent, but I'm not silly enough to make them in front

a district attorney.

I don't think I'm convinced yet that the police have the right theory.

Well, I'm glad of that.

They've narrowed the solution down to just two things.

Number one, Archer was killed by a woman who wanted him out of the way.

Number two,

The wife's paramour committed the crime with the object of removing Archer as an

obstacle to their illicit relations.

And number three, Archer died of old age.

You're not serious.

Spade, you're concealing information that will enable us to solve this.

And by withholding that information, you make yourself an accomplice to a

murder. I thought this was going to be an informal talk.

I'm a sworn officer of the law 24 hours a day.

And neither formality or informality justifies you in withholding from me

evidence of a crime.

Unless, of course, you're afraid of incriminating yourself.

I've got nothing to tell you or the police.

Now, if you have anything more to say to me, why, have me pinched and I'll come

down here with my lawyer.

I've been thinking of doing that.

Well, when you make up your mind, let me know.

And when I do, Spade...

You know that we have information about you and Miles Archer's wife.

It will require a lot of explanation.

Well, the only chance I see of saving myself would be to bring in the

all tied up in a nice little bouquet.

I'll give you just 24 hours to do that.

Thanks. I'll make a note of it on my cuff.

And remember this, Spade.

If you don't come through by this time tomorrow...

I'll order you arrested for the murder of Miles Archer.

You can always get me at my office or my home, Mr. Bryan.

I aim to give service at all times, night and day.

Goodbye, sweetheart.

Sam, I didn't think you'd ever get here.

I've been waiting hours for you. Where have you been? I've been looking all

for you.

I think there's someone following me. Take me upstairs quick.

Okay.

have company, huh?

Well, sir, we're all here.

Shall we sit down and be comfortable while we discuss the matter?

What matter?

We know, of course, that you have the falcon.

Oh, have I?

Well, when can you make the first payment?

You know we were talking of... More money than this.

We were, sir.

But we were just talking.

This is actual coin.

Commitment to remind you, Mr. Spade, you may have the falcon, but we most

certainly have you.

I'm not going to let that worry me.

Now listen to me carefully, every one of you.

There's an angle to this deal you've all overlooked.

And what is that, sir? We've got to have a fall guy.

A fall guy?

Certainly. We've got to feed the police a victim.

Somebody they can stick for those three murders.

You can't expect us to believe that you're afraid of the police and not able

handle them.

I'm not afraid of the police, and I can handle them. But you've got to toss them

somebody to hang the works on.

You can't be serious, sir.

A fall guy, as you call it, would only lead them to the falcon.

Now, we leave well enough alone.

Well, get this through your brain, Gutman. The police are not asleep.

They're laying low and waiting, and I'm in this mess up to my neck, and they

know it.

You're not a man that worries about a little trouble, sir.

You'll manage that.

Oh.

Why, you skipped to New York or China someplace, huh?

Well, I'm in business here, remember that.

This is my town and my racket, and I know what's best for us.

Gutman, we're sunk unless we hand over a fall guy.

Well, uh... None of us exactly qualifies for the part, sir.

My dear sir, it's too ridiculous.

Why, I feel toward Wilmer exactly as if he were my own son.

Well, you can easily pick another son, but there's only one Blackbird. Remember

that. If your scheme were practical, which it isn't, what would prevent

from telling the police about the falcon and all of us? Oh, we can have him shot

for resisting arrest.

My fondness for Wilmer...

renders it impossible.

Well, I have another suggestion to make.

Why don't you give him Cairo?

Why not you?

Or Miss Wonderly?

I don't care anybody.

All I insist on is a fall guy. You seem to forget that you're not in a position

to insist on anything.

I'm in a swell position, and don't you forget it. Let's settle this.

You've received your money.

Why can't we have the Falcon now?

I said I want... Twenty thousand bucks.

And besides, I couldn't get the bird before daylight.

Daylight?

Well, in that case, perhaps it will be best for us all if we don't get out of

each other's sight until our business has been transacted.

Wilma, lock that door.

See that nobody leaves or enters.

You, uh, you have the envelope?

I have it. Honey, it's a long wait before daylight.

We'd better go and fix some eggs and sandwiches and some coffee.

We must entertain our guests.

Why, of course.

You'll all excuse me, won't you?

Now, just a moment, my dear.

Better leave the envelope.

You don't want to get any grease spots on it.

Oh, how stupid of me.

There are only nine bills here now.

But when I gave them to you, there were ten.

Wait a minute.

You had the money last. Now one of the bills is missing. Where is it?

I didn't take it, Sam.

Maybe you didn't, but I have to find out.

You won't take my word for it?

No, I won't take your word for it. Take off your clothes.

I will not.

Oh, yes, you will.

Well, I certainly won't.

All right.

I'll have them take them off for you.

Sam.

Very well.

You palmed it, Gutman.

Ridiculous.

I said you palmed it. Now, if you don't admit it, I'm going to frisk you.

Yes, sir. Yes, I did.

I was curious to know what you would do.

That's a trick I'd expect from somebody the skunk's age.

So you tried to frame Miss Wonderly, huh?

Frame her?

You were going to let her be the fall guy.

Well, I'm going to decide right now who it's going to be. It's going to be

Wilma.

What do you think of the idea, Wilma?

Funny, eh?

I'll give him something to laugh at. Now, Wilma, you shouldn't attach so much

importance to these things.

The gentleman is only joking.

I'll make him lay off me or I'll fog him.

And nothing will stop me. Now, now, Wilma, now, now, sit down.

Sit down.

a two -to -one, they're selling you out, kid.

Well,

here's

our fall guy.

But, uh... There's no but about it. You say yes right now or I'll turn the

Blackbird and the whole gang of you in.

You can have him, sir.

What about you, Cairo?

Are you with us or against us?

I'm with you. That's swell. Now we're getting someplace.

Berkeley 007.

Poor Wilma.

Hello? Hello, honey.

I'm sorry to get you out of bed.

Oh, that's all right. What is it?

Listen, dear.

In our general delivery box at the post office, there's an envelope in my

handwriting. There's a baggage checker for that suitcase we got last night.

Mm -hmm. I want you to bring it over to my apartment early this morning.

All right.

Atta girl.

Goodbye, honey.

I'll take the envelope now. With the greatest of pleasure, sir.

All right, Gutman, sit down. Thank you.

Now, let's get the details fixed.

Just why did Wilma kill Thursby, and how did he kill Captain Jacoby?

Thursby was a notorious killer, sir, and Miss Wonderly's protector.

We tried to persuade him to join us, but we couldn't. So Wilma followed him to

his hotel and did what he did.

If Wilma killed both of them with the same gun, then the bullets will match.

Captain Jacoby's death was entirely Miss Wonderly's fault.

Just how do you mean that?

He would never have been killed if she hadn't entrusted the falcon to him in

Hong Kong.

Oh, I see.

Then he was in on the deal with all of you. No, sir. He knew nothing about it.

But after he came under the influence of Miss Wonderly's charm, he agreed to

bring the falcon to America while she came on a fast boat.

With Thursby?

The falcon went from Thursby to Jacobi.

And from Jacobi...

At her instructions to you.

Then I was next in line after Captain Jacobi. Miss Wonderly's admirers have

many, sir.

And she has used them all to her great advantage.

What's the matter with you?

Just a fly.

Hello, Sam.

Hello, honey. Here it is.

Thanks a lot. Anything else? No, I'll see you later at the office. All right,

goodbye. Goodbye.

Well, here's your Blackbird.

Clear the table.

It's the fashion, all right.

But we'll make sure.

Get a knife.

This is not the real fountain.

Well, it's the only one I know about.

You've had your little joke. Why don't you tell them where the real one is?

Oh, no, Sam.

I swear this is the one I got from Kamadov.

That's it.

It was the Russian.

Kamadov.

You have bungled the whole thing, you fathead.

You let him know it was valuable, and he made a duplicate.

And what fools he's made of it. Chasing each other around the world for a lump

of lead.

Yes.

Yes. It's the Russian.

There's no doubt of that.

Well, I have to admit, the fault is mine.

Well, shall we stand here and call each other names, or shall we go back to

Constantinople and Chemidov?

You're going to try for it again? Certainly. Why not?

I am with you.

Wilma, you'll go, of course.

Your little boyfriend, uh, checked out.

Oh.

Oh, well, that's too bad.

Yeah.

Yeah, his services would have been invaluable.

And I... I loved him like a son.

I'll, uh... I'll trouble you for that envelope, sir.

Don't be silly, Gutman.

It's your hard luck, not mine.

No.

My 10 ,000, please.

I deeply regret that you are left without a Paul guy.

I'll do all right.

Union 2000.

Right.

Hello? Hello, Tom.

Sam Spade. Hello, Sam.

Listen. Move up fast on three crooks leaving town.

Gutman Palace Hotel, room 900.

And Cairo.

Yes, you met the guy over here.

And a kid named Wilmer Cook.

That's right.

Cook shot Thursby and Jacoby. I've got the gun the kid used.

I've got it right here in my place.

Yeah. Well, you better step on it. Thanks for the tip.

Listen, honey.

Let me get this straight with you.

What, darling?

You and Cairo double -crossed Gutman. And then you ditched Cairo in favor of

Thursby. Is that right?

Something like that, yes.

Just why did you give the blackbird to Jacoby?

I was afraid that Thursby couldn't be trusted.

That Gutman might buy him over.

That's a lie.

You had him hooked and you knew it.

What was your scheme for disposing of Thursby?

I thought if he saw that Archer was following him, it might frighten him

leaving town.

I didn't think he'd really shoot Archer.

Well, if you thought that, you were right.

Thursby never killed Archer.

Oh, I know Archer was dumb, but not dumb enough to let Thursby catch him up a

blind alley with his gun stuck away in his hip pocket and his overcoat

But he'd have gone up that alley with you, honey.

Sam, don't talk to me like that.

And if you had asked him to go up that alley with you and he knew no one else

was there, he would have gone.

And then you could have stood with your body close up against his and he would

have grinned from ear to ear and you could have shot a hole right through

How did you know he grinned? I know, Archer, and I want to know why you

him.

Well, you did kill him, didn't you?

I didn't mean to at first.

I meant what I said when I told you that I just wanted Thursby frightened.

But when I found out I couldn't, I... Oh, stop lying.

I'll tell you why you shot him. You figured that Thursby would be nailed for

killing, and then you could get the Blackbird for yourself.

But when you found out Thursby was shot, you needed a protector, and so you came

back to me, right?

I would have come back to you sooner or later.

You know, from the first time I saw you, I knew that sometime I'd come back to

you.

You ain't.

Well, with a lucky break, you ought to be out of San Quentin in 20 years.

And then you can come back to me.

I hope they don't hang you, honey.

You know, it'd be a shame to stretch that pretty little neck of yours.

Sam, don't say such things.

Not even in fun.

You can't.

Not after what we've been to each other. Don't be silly, sister.

You're going to take the fall.

You mean you're really going to send me over?

I don't mean anything else but.

Then you've been pretending.

You don't care.

You don't love me.

Oh, I think I do.

But what of it?

I'm not Thursby or Jacoby, and I won't play the sap for you.

You know down in your heart that in spite of everything I've done, I love

Maybe.

You haven't been on the level with me for a half hour to stretch.

Why, you double -crossed every man that was fool enough to fall for you. Not

you, Sam. I couldn't.

I'm mad about you.

Oh, it's easy enough to be nuts about you, too.

Whatever.

That'll all pass.

Oh, I'll have some rotten nights.

They won't mean anything.

I'll get over you in time.

Oh, hello, boys. Come on in.

Hello.

Oh, Spence.

Here you are, Tom.

Exhibit A.

These are the guns the kid used to kill Thursby and Jacoby.

Yeah, well, he used another one since.

The hotel says Gutman is dead.

Shot to death by Wilmer Cook.

Kid got him, eh?

Yeah, him and Cairo.

We grabbed the kid just as he was leaving the hotel.

Well, I guess that settles everything.

Not quite.

There's another murder to clear up before noon.

What's on your mind?

Archer. Got it all figured out how I did it? I've done a lot of figuring.

All right.

Gentlemen, you know Miss Wonderly. Yeah. Yeah.

I do.

She killed Archer with Thursby's gun.

She's an accomplice of Cairo and the kid.

Have you got enough on her to make a pinch?

Don't worry, Dundee.

I've got enough evidence to cinch everything that I say.

Yeah?

Yeah. All right.

Come on, sister.

Let's be going.

What a pity the detective agencies haven't more men with your strength of

character, Mr.

Spade. Don't worry about me, Miss Wenderly.

There's nothing phony about this.

Why don't we see her?

I'll be down later.

She's in number 10, Sam. Right.

Say, kid, got a cigarette?

Thanks. Hello.

Cigarette, honey?

How's the food? Rotten?

You just couldn't keep away from me, could you?

Well, not when I've got good news for you.

Good news?

You just made me chief investigator for the district attorney's office.

Oh.

Well? They couldn't find a better man for the job.

Thanks, baby.

I thought you'd like to know. You helped me get it.

I assure you it was a label of love.

Love?

Just that, Sam.

Well, if there's any little thing you need, why, let me know.

Farrah? Yes, Sam?

I want you to be very nice to that girl on number 10.

Give her anything she wants.

Good food.

Figarette. And candy.

You know what I mean. Very well, Sam, just as you say.

But who will I charge it to?

Send the bill to the district attorney's office.

I'll okay it.

But would that be all right?

Yes, sir.

For those of you who are huge fans of John Huston's 1941 version of The

Falcon with Humphrey Bogart, and, you know, who isn't, it's hard not to do a

scene -by -scene comparison with the movie we just showed, the first

of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel.

As I mentioned before the movie, the 1941 film does not have a scene with

Astor taking a bath, as B .B. Daniels did in the 1931 picture.

That's really the difference between a pre -code film made before 1934 and just

about every movie released in Hollywood for roughly 25 years starting in 1934.

The two versions are very different experiences, though each remains fairly

to Hammett's novel. This one tracks the novel nearly scene for scene.

Originally, Warner Brothers wanted John Barrymore to play Sam Spade, but at the

time, Barrymore was committed to appearing only in historical

the role, played so indelibly by Humphrey Bogart ten years later, went to

Ricardo Cortez.

In a biography of Cortez, he gave another take on the story, saying

was rumored to be leaving Warner's, so the studio reshaped the film as a

for B .B. Daniels.

Coming up, our night of B .B. Daniels movies continues.

She's dressed all in white as a health care worker with a secret in a hospital

melodrama from 1934.

Registered Nurse is next on TCM.