Synopsis
Let's talk about the black birds!
Roger Ebert said the plot of The Maltese Falcon is "almost impossible" to lay out in a logical and linear fashion. In this collection of essays Rob James takes up the task and presents a complete analysis beginning with the Crusader knights and finishing with the culminating scenes of both the Dashiell Hammett novel and the John Huston-Humphrey Bogart screen classic. Colorful maps of a bygone era reveal as if by animation the progression of the falcon around the world, and of Sam Spade as the plot unfolds from Wednesday to Monday and from apartments to shipboard to hotels. A Victorian history chapter rife with Orientalism takes you back to the falcon's origin story. Fasten your trench coat (though Bogie never wore one in this flick) and prepare to step out into the San Francisco fog, finally to understand what was going on in this complex detective story and iconic film noir.
"Better tie a rope around your waist for this deep, deep dive into Hammett's iconic novel, as the author unleashes a series of essays that ‘triages the layers of truth,’ even unearthing a chapter from an 1858 book that relates the ‘peculiar rental agreement’ between King Charles of Spain and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem that may have inspired Hammett. Generously illustrated with color maps and illustrations, a bibliography, and a play-by-play summary of the lies in the novel (complete with plenty of color commentary), it's an enthusiastic and ambitious labour of love, one that any real fan of Hammett's masterpiece or the 1941 film adaptation will appreciate."—Kevin Burton Smith, thrillingdetective.com
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