The Maltese Falcon

Dashiell Hammett has been called "the father of the hard-boiled detective novel" and creator of one of the 20th century's most famous sleuths, Sam Spade. Last week I found and finished one of his most well known works, The Maltese Falcon. Within a dozen years of publication it had already been made into three motion pictures, the most famous featuring Humphrey Bogart as the personification of Sam Spade.

Hammett purportedly worked for seven years with the Pinkerton detective agency, so he brings realism to his stories in a first-hand manner that conveys a believable jadedness. Even so, when I initially read The Thin Man years ago, it failed to make a deep impression. And I can't say I found this book compelling either. Maybe it was the story itself, or maybe Spade didn't hook me like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Holmes.

Perhaps Hammett's significance is that of creating a genre, the tough guy detective who is his own man, in cahoots with no one, the modern existential hero solving life's problems against the backdrop of a murder mystery setting. Evidently someone considered his work significant enough to have him listed among the greats (501 Great Writers) and there are critics who rave over him, but this Amazon.com review by a typical reader seemed to adequately capture my mood on finishing it.

"The Maltese Falcon is nothing to write home about. It's a good book, and I recommend it, but it is nothing discernibly 'special.' You don't finish it and go, 'Wow!'"

On the heels of completing the book I decided to track down and revisit the Bogie film of the same name. I perked up when I saw that John Huston (The African Queen, Moby Dick, Under the Volcano) directed the film. The casting was pretty much perfect, even if Bogart is not blond. But to be honest, I don't know what all the fuss is about.

Yes, there are a lot of raves about this film. It's considered by many critics to be one of the top one hundred of all time. And many of the reviews at imdb.com support this claim. Still, there are naysayers such as Jake, who wrote, "After having heard so much about this movie over the years I was surprised to find it so dull and so poorly executed."

This review, by someone named dogspit, also indicates disappointment. "I tried to like The Maltese Falcon, but it didn't quite do it for me. Bogart & Astor each were plastic in their roles, and the rest of the cast fared little better. The film lacked ANY character development and tried to push the pace too much to be very enjoyable. Watch it for the nostalgia of it, but do not expect a lot."

Actually, I don't entirely agree with dogspit. I found the opening section compelling. Bogart does reek with an aura of smooth cool. But the noir style has so pervaded the Hollywood atmosphere I just can't get past the caricature. Whereas the setup drew me in, the story made me tired.

Though more can be said, for now I let it pass. What's your take?