06-23-2011, 12:38 PM | #16 |
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I had seen the Humphrey Bogart film several times, and so was concerned about that impacting enjoyment of the book. Fortunately once I started reading it I realized that, apart from knowing that “The McGuffin” was a small statue of a bird (In an interview I once saw with Alfred Hitchcock he used the term “McGuffin” for the thing that everyone in one of his films was after; it really made no difference to the story just what the “McGuffin” was), I had no memory of the plot.
So anyway I thought it was alright. The writing wasn't that great and I thought the various characters were over drawn to the point of being caricatures. But maybe that is part of the 'hard boiled detective' genre that this novel is the archetype of. I was surprised several times, including the ending where it was revealed that it was Miss Wanderly murdered Miles Archer. So it was entertaining, but it did not make me want to read any more Hammett. I was pleased that it was so short. |
06-23-2011, 12:50 PM | #17 |
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I hae and have watched the 1931 movie version. I was not overly impressed. The characters were not true to the book. Imagine Sam Spade leering (and I do mean leering) at every girl that walks by...
To understand the Wilmer character, look up the yiddish term gonsel (slipped into the 41 movie as gunsel). |
06-23-2011, 01:17 PM | #18 | |
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06-23-2011, 01:43 PM | #19 | |
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06-23-2011, 02:18 PM | #20 |
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In the '41 film, a question is raised as to whether O'Shaughnessy has pocketed some of the money that Gutman paid him. Spade looks at her once, then looks back and says with confidence that Gutman palmed it. The scene as well as Spade's certainty makes little sense without the complete search of Ms. O'Shaughnessy's person that occurred in the book.
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06-23-2011, 02:24 PM | #21 | |
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Getting back to the book (as opposed to films and radio series) .....
One thing I always found hard to swallow was the need for a "fall guy"" Quote:
So, here we have Gutman - a notorious villain - and Spade - who is still himself a suspect in at least one of the murders, and we're asked to believe that the police (and subsequently a jury) will accept their word for who the real murderer is. Doesn't sound very likely, does it? |
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06-23-2011, 02:32 PM | #22 | |
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Talking of the "fall guy" scene, I'd like to nominate as the best line in the book Gutman's speech when he agrees that it should be Wilmer:
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06-23-2011, 02:35 PM | #23 |
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06-23-2011, 02:37 PM | #24 | |
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06-23-2011, 02:51 PM | #25 | ||
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06-23-2011, 03:12 PM | #26 |
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06-23-2011, 03:38 PM | #27 |
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Maybe. But giving the police, which knows nothing about the falcon and suspect Spade, a pissed boy who knows the whole story and is willing to talk - That does not seem like a clever idea to me.
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06-23-2011, 03:54 PM | #28 | |
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By the way, I once visited Dashiell Hammett's grave at Arlington. |
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06-23-2011, 03:55 PM | #29 | |
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(Are we expected to hide big spoilers? I don't remember the rules). Last edited by Nyssa; 06-23-2011 at 04:22 PM. Reason: Removed spoiler tags. |
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06-23-2011, 04:05 PM | #30 | |
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I don't think so; not in the discussion thread. In the nominations thread, yes. |
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