Tipping the Scales

We're going to give you a huge amount of detail here, but that's only fitting in a discussion about The Maltese Falcon—the ending to this film is basically one big plot info-dump.

So here goes. Ahem-hem-hem:

Gutman reveals everyone's intentions, and explains all that has been happening behind the scenes. The basic gist is this: Brigid and Thursby stole the Falcon, so Gutman had Thursby killed to get it back. But Thursby didn't have the Falcon; Captain Jacoby did. So they killed him too. But not before Jacoby gave the Falcon to Spade.

We've heard of killing two birds with one stone, but this is killing two people for one bird. It's a lot of killing for a fairly ugly statue. And when the bird, which has been often discussed but never shown, is finally revealed, Gutman and Cairo paw at it like it's the Holy Grail. But the bird turns out to be fake, and Gutman and Cairo leave to continue pursuing their treasure.

However, Spade, who seems cold and amoral throughout the movie, quickly calls the police and turns Gutman in. We're unsure if the fuzz catches Gutman, but the giant man can't move that fast, can he?

In the movie's most shocking turn—at least it's shocking for Brigid—Spade turns her in too. Remember all the killing we talked about? Well, one murder remained unsolved—the murder of Spade's partner, Miles Archer. Spade deduces that Brigid did it.

One of Brigid's many lies was that her partner, Floyd Thursby, was going to betray her for the Falcon. But when Spade learns that Thursby was loyal to Brigid, he realizes it was she who wanted the Falcon for herself. So she killed Archer to pin the blame on Thursby. This is the lie that breaks the detective's back. If she killed one partner, what would stop her from killing another—Spade himself?

Nothing, that's what. He realizes he can't trust her, and turns her in to the cops. Spade may not be amoral, but he is cold. He tells her,

SPADE: Well, if you get a good break, you'll be out of [prison] in twenty years and you can come back to me then. I hope they don't hang you, precious, by that sweet neck. The chances are you'll get off with life. If you're a good girl, you'll be out in twenty years. I'll be waiting for you. If they hang you, I'll always remember you.

Hanging would be a decidedly bad break.

In the movie's final shot, Brigid is put into the elevator, and its doors, which look like the bars of a jail cell, close in front of her. While we're not sure if she hangs, this imagery can only mean that she's going to jail for a long time.

The detective asks Spade what the Falcon is. How can anything like that have caused so much trouble? In a final line dripping with irony (and Shakespeare allusions—check out the "Symbols and Tropes" page for more) Spade describes it as "the stuff that dreams are made of."

And the end of the movie is like waking up from a dream. Spade is basically back where he started, sans partner, and everyone else is in jail. If it's a dream, it's a bad one…and Spade is probably glad it's over.

And us? We're definitely not glad that this ur-noir drama, and the film that rocketed Bogie to superstardom, is over. This is around the time that we readjust our fedoras, reapply our femme fatale-red lipstick, and start the movie from the beginning.