We have changed our privacy policy. In addition, we use cookies on our website for various purposes. By continuing on our website, you consent to our use of cookies. You can learn about our practices by reading our privacy policy.

The Maltese Falcon Scene 1 Summary

  • After the opening credits and some seriously dramatic music, we get a quick backstory summary scrolling across the screen like the beginning of Star Wars, except there's a statue of a bird in the background instead of outer space.
  • The text tells of a time when the Knights Templar sent Charles V of Spain a Golden Falcon bedazzled with gemstones.
  • But…
  • Pirates seized the Falcon. (What's a pirate's favorite gemstone? The gaaarrrnet.)
  • Its location is a mystery.
  • Now we're in San Francisco, in the office of Edaps & Rehcra. Oh, those names are backward—it's the office of Spade & Archer.
  • The receptionist, Effie, tells Sam Spade he has a new client—Ms. Wonderly.
  • She's gorgeous and sad and in need of a private detective.
  • Ms. Wonderly is from New York, but her sister, Corrine, is missing.
  • Wonderly believes she's with a man named Floyd Thursby.
  • She has been sending her letters, but the sister never showed up for her mail.
  • However, Floyd Thursby did: he told Ms. Wonderly that Corrine didn't want to see her.
  • Thursby says he'll meet her for dinner, and bring Corrine if she wants to come. But she probably won't.
  • Miles Archer, Sam Spade's partner, enters, interrupting Ms. Wonderly's story.
  • The men plan to trail Thursby and find Corrine.
  • Ms. Wonderly pays the detectives and leaves.