# Please Spoil The Maltese Falcon for Me -- Open Spoilers Welcome **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2007, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-spoil-the-maltese-falcon-for-me-open-spoilers-welcome/394953 "2007-03-07T15:09:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-spoil-the-maltese-falcon-for-me-open-spoilers-welcome/394953/41 "2007-03-09T00:29:28Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] It was scented, was it not? Maybe that was the hankie… [/QUOTE] Gardenias IIRC I thought the final confrontation scene in BRICK was a straight replay of MF ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-spoil-the-maltese-falcon-for-me-open-spoilers-welcome/394953/42 "2007-03-09T01:12:20Z")
How did Floyd Thursby know that Spade was looking or the bird? And how did he get so far with a knife in his back? Did Guttman actually believe that sPADE HAD THE BIRD? Finally, the story was ready for a sequel-did the studio ever plan one? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-spoil-the-maltese-falcon-for-me-open-spoilers-welcome/394953/43 "2007-03-09T01:40:46Z")
By the way, for many years, [John’s Grill](http://johnsgrill.com/) in San Francisco (which was where Sam Spade ate, at least in the book) displayed a plaster copy of the falcon (used by the studio for publicity) that was given to the restaurant by Elisha Cook Jr. but this copy was stolen from the restaurant about a month ago. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-spoil-the-maltese-falcon-for-me-open-spoilers-welcome/394953/44 "2007-03-09T01:54:02Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] the story was ready for a sequel- [/QUOTE] It has been suggested that Mile’s widow shot Sam off stage, as it were, after the “Shoo her in.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-spoil-the-maltese-falcon-for-me-open-spoilers-welcome/394953/45 "2007-03-09T15:46:14Z")
It’s a sled. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-spoil-the-maltese-falcon-for-me-open-spoilers-welcome/394953/46 "2007-03-09T16:15:21Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] What was the reaction? I don’t remember. [/QUOTE] There is a very knowing reaction to the scent on the card, implying it signifies more than that he liked perfume. Also, Lorre plays the role in a very soft-spoken way – “effeminate” according to the assumptions of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-spoil-the-maltese-falcon-for-me-open-spoilers-welcome/394953/47 "2007-03-09T16:21:14Z")
This is one of my favourite movies of all time. One of the many cool things about it is how much sex, both gay and straight, is alluded to, all the while remaining within the bounds of the Production Code. It’s quite possible for someone who doesn’t understand the conventions that the Code necessitated to miss it all, but it’s all there once you understand what to look for. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-spoil-the-maltese-falcon-for-me-open-spoilers-welcome/394953/48 "2007-03-09T18:53:17Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] How did Floyd Thursby know that Spade was looking or the bird? And how did he get so far with a knife in his back? Did Guttman actually believe that sPADE HAD THE BIRD? Finally, the story was ready for a sequel-did the studio ever plan one? [/QUOTE] It wasn’t Thursby that delivered the falcon to Spade’s office, it was Captain Jacoby, master of _La Paloma_, the freighter that brought O’Shaughnessy and Thursby to San Francisco. He wasn’t knifed, he was shot (presumably by Wilmer) and Spade commented at the time it was a miracle he’d made it to the office “with those holes in him.” How he knew about Spade or where to find his office is was not mentioned. Presumably he’d been given the bird by O’Shaughnessy and instructed to get it to Spade if anything unusual happened (like the ship catching fire). Archer, Spade’s partner, was shot by O’Shaughnessy after it was apparent he and Thursby wouldn’t grapple and either Thursby would be taken out by Archer or Archer be taken out by Thursby, and Thursby arrested by the cops for it. After that action, Thursby was killed by Wilmer which sent O’Shaughnessy scuttling back to Spade because she then knew Gutman was in town. Despite all this, Thursby is never seen on screen. I’m not sure where Cairo fit in with all this. He and O’Shaughnessy worked together to get the bird (replica) from Kemidov. I’m thinking they were both working for Gutman at the time and presumably he had ideas of taking it for himself, same as O’Shaughnessy did. Trivia point: Jacoby was played by Walter Huston, appearing in his kid’s first directorial effort. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-spoil-the-maltese-falcon-for-me-open-spoilers-welcome/394953/49 "2007-03-09T19:14:20Z")
[QUOTE=DesertDog] It wasn’t Thursby that delivered the falcon to Spade’s office, it was Captain Jacoby, master of _La Paloma_, the freighter that brought O’Shaughnessy and Thursby to San Francisco. He wasn’t knifed, he was shot (presumably by Wilmer) and Spade commented at the time it was a miracle he’d made it to the office “with those holes in him.” How he knew about Spade or where to find his office is was not mentioned. Presumably he’d been given the bird by O’Shaughnessy and instructed to get it to Spade if anything unusual happened (like the ship catching fire). . [/QUOTE] Actually Spade pieces this together, and though it isn’t overtly acknowledged, it does appear to be what happened: - O’Shaughnessy and Jacoby had gotten caught by Gutman, Wilmer, and Cairo at the La Paloma. But they managed to escape (except Wilmer did manage to shoot Jacoby a couple times). - in order to rendezvous, O’Shaughnessy directs Jacoby to Spade’s office, and then calls the office to send Spade on the wild goose chase (to get him out of the office). But Jacoby makes better time than anticipated, and Spade ends up with the bird - the call comes after Jacoby had arrived. So the plan was to meet up at Spade’s after the escape. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-spoil-the-maltese-falcon-for-me-open-spoilers-welcome/394953.md?page=2)