Detective stories, especially gritty, noir-inspired ones, have always intrigued me but never been a genre I have passionately sought after. The extent of my experience is the modern renditions of the Sherlock Holmes movies, starring Robert Downey Jr. as the titular character, or Rockstar’s open-world detective video game, L.A. Noire. However, you could probably argue that both of these aren’t even in the same vein as The Maltese Falcon. After all, neither the book nor movie are truly noirs, despite its detective genre and setting. It feels more like a thriller combined with elements of Indiana Jones and a bit of drama too, but that’s what really hooked me about the story of The Maltese Falcon.

My personal taste is a little old school regarding stories. I was born in 1999, but I raised by my dad who grew up in the 70s and 80s. Classic movies that center around MacGuffins are my bread and butter- the Ark of the Covenant, the plans to the Death Star, the One Ring, the Gray Sports Almanac, etc. The concept of someone chasing after an item of grand importance always strikes a chord with me. The concept of a detective chasing after a cool relic in the early 1900s while also solving a murder mystery? I was all in. Besides, I needed a break from reading exclusively fantasy novels and Star Wars books (I know, I’m predictable.)

As I said, the concept of the book reminded me a lot of Indiana Jones, albeit much less adventurous. The story grounds itself pretty well in reality. The actual Falcon is probably the most far-fetched aspect of the whole story, but even then Hammett superbly explains its backstory. The characters are not going through hidden temples to find this legendary treasure. They’re simply just trying to steal it from one another. Even better, Sam Spade does not care for it at all. He’s simply doing the job at hand and seeking justice for his partner. He couldn’t care less about the Falcon. That demeanor makes Sam Spade a fascinating and complex character, at least for me. This was the era when people started to like reading stories where their protagonists were more “gray”, metaphorically speaking. Almost a century later, we have an exuberant number of these types of characters, but I appreciate seeing an original version of the archetype.

When I started reading, I’ll admit it was a jarring change from other novels I had just finished. Initially, the biggest hurdle to get past was their old-timey lingo and dialect, but after a bit, I got used to it. You have to get used to an author’s writing style anyway when reading them for the first time. Eventually, the characters’ voices grew on me. My favorite was Gutman, who had that southern, joyous charm with a slight hint of shadiness and malice. He isn’t a bad guy but you never quite trust him. He’ll drink with you but stab you in the back a second later. Hammett does an incredible job of giving life to all of his characters. They translate especially well to the movie too. The castings feel nearly spot-on, except for Wilmer, who seemed a little too old for what was described in the novel.

For storytelling junkies like me, I loved The Maltese Falcon but watching the movie frankly felt like a chore. The story itself is highly enjoyable the first time around, but considering the movie was almost identical to the novel, I lost interest rapidly since I knew the full story already. I don’t imagine myself ever going back to experience the story again, but if someone ever made a prequel about the crew going to steal the Falcon from Kemidov? Count me in.