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I suppose villains are usually more interesting than heroes - actors certainly seem to find them a lot more fun to play.
The actor in the Bogart film, Mary Astor, was 35 when the film was made. (I didn't know that off the top of my head, just looked it up and did the sums.) She was certainly a more believable age to have done all the things that Brigid had done.
I got the distinct feeling that having all the women swooning over Sam Spade was perhaps a bit of wish fulfilment on Hammett's part. I can't think of any woman I have ever met who would still be utterly devoted to a boss that grabbed hold of her hard enough to bruise her, to say nothing of all the extra jobs she was supposed to take on at the drop of a hat.
I can only assume that Effie (and Iva) were masochists. They were obviously supposed to enjoy be pushed around and roughed up a little.
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