The Maltese Falcon

Yes, sweetheart?

A girl wants to see you. Her name's Wonderly.

A customer?

I guess so. You'll want to see her, anyway. She's a knockout.

Shoo her in, Effie, darling. Shoo her in!

Will you come in, Miss Wonderly?

Thank you.

- Won't you sit down, Miss Wonderly? - Thank you.

I inquired at the hotel for a reliable private detective.

They mentioned you.

Suppose you tell me about it from the very beginning.

I'm from New York.

I'm trying to find my sister.

I believe she's here in San Francisco...

...with a man by the name of Thursby, Floyd Thursby.

I don't know where she met him.

We've never been as close as sisters ought to be.

If we had, Corinne would have told me she was running away with him.

Our parents are in Honolulu. I must find her before they return.

- They'll be back on the first. - You've had word of your sister?

A letter from her about two weeks ago.

It said nothing except that she was all right.

I sent a telegram begging her to come home.

I sent it to a general delivery address, the one she gave.

I waited a week and no answer came so I decided to come out here myself.

I wrote her that I was coming. I shouldn't have, should I?

It's not always easy to know what to do.

You haven't found her?

No. I wrote in my letter that I'd be at the St. Mark and for her to meet me there.

I waited three days. She didn't come. She didn't even send a message.

It was horrible. Waiting.

I sent her another letter.

Yesterday afternoon I went to the post office.

Corinne didn't call for her mail, but Floyd Thursby did.

He wouldn't tell me where Corinne was.

He said she didn't want to see me.

I can't believe that.

He promised to bring her to the hotel if she'd come.

He said he knew she wouldn't. He promised to come if she didn't.

Excuse me.

It's all right, Miles. Come in.

Miss Wonderly, my partner, Miles Archer.

Miss Wonderly's sister ran away with a fellow named Thursby.

They're here in San Francisco.

Miss Wonderly has a date with Thursby tonight.

Maybe he'll bring the sister. The chances are he won't.

Miss Wonderly wants us to find the sister, get her away from him and back home.

- Right? - Yes.

Now it's simply a matter of having a man at the hotel tonight...

...to shadow him when he leads us to your sister.

If, after we've found her, she still won't leave him...

...well, we have ways of managing that.

You must be careful.

I'm deathly afraid of him, of what he might do.

She's young, and his bringing her here is a serious...

Mightn't he do something to her?

Just leave that to us. We'll know how to handle him.

But I want you to know he's a dangerous man.

I honestly don't think he'd stop at anything.

I don't think he'd hesitate to kill Corinne if it would save him.

Could he cover up by marrying her?

He has a wife and three children in England.

They usually do, though not always in England. What does he look like?

He has dark hair and thick, bushy eyebrows.

He talks in a loud, blustery manner. He gives the impression of being violent.

He was wearing a light gray suit and a gray hat when I saw him this morning.

What does he do?

I haven't the faintest idea.

- What time's he comin' to see you? - After 8:00.

All right, Miss Wonderly. We'll have a man there.

I'll look after it myself.

Thank you.

Oh, yes.

Will that be enough?

- Thank you. - Not at all.

It'll help some if you meet Thursby in the lobby.

You don't have to look for me. I'll see you all right.

Thank you.

- Thank you so much. - Good-bye.

They're right enough.

They have brothers in her bag.

- What do you think of her? - She's sweet.

Maybe you saw her first, Sam, but I spoke first.

You've got brains.

Yes, you have.

Hello.

Yeah. Speaking.

Miles Archer dead?

Where?

Bush and Stockton?

Yeah.

In 15 minutes.

Thanks.

Hello, Effie?

It's me.

Now, listen, precious.

Miles has been shot.

Yeah, dead.

Now, don't get excited.

Yeah.

You'll have to break the news to Iva. I'd fry first.

And keep her away from me.

That's a good girl.

Now, get right over there.

You're an angel.

Good-bye.

- What do you want here? - I'm Sam Spade. Tom Polhaus phoned.

I didn't know you at first. They're back there.

Hello, Sam. I figured you'd want to see it before we took him away.

Thanks, Tom. What happened?

Got him right through the pump with this.

It's a Webley.

English, ain't it?

A Webley-Forsby.45 automatic, 8-shot. They don't make 'em anymore.

- How many gone out of it? - Just one.

Let's see. Shot up here, huh?

Standing like you, with his back to the fence.

The man who shot him stood here.

Went backwards down the hill, takin' the fence with him, got caught on the rock.

That's it. The blast burnt his coat.

- Who found him? - Man on the beat.

- Anybody hear the shot? - Somebody must've. We just got here.

You want to look at him before we take him away?

No, you've seen everything I could.

His gun was still on his hip. Hadn't been fired.

His overcoat was buttoned.

I found a $100 bill in his vest pocket and about $30 in his pants.

Was he workin', Sam?

Well?

- He was tailing a guy named Thursby. - What for?

What for?

We wanted to find out where he lived. Don't crowd me, Tom.

I'm goin' on down to break the news to Miles' wife.

It's tough, him gettin' it like that, ain't it?

Miles had his faults like any of us, but he must've had some good points, too.

I guess so.

Miss Wonderly, please.

Checked out? What time?

Any forwarding address?

Thanks.

Hello, Tom. Hello, Lieutenant. Come in.

Sit down.

Sit down.

Drink?

You break the news to Miles' wife, Sam?

How'd she take it?

- I don't know anything about women. - Since when?

What kind of gun do you carry?

None. I don't like 'em. There are some at the office.

You don't have one here? You sure about that?

Look around. Turn the dump upside down. I won't squawk if you got a search warrant.

We don't want to make-

Why are you suckin' around here? Tell me or get out!

You can't treat us like that. It ain't right. We got our work to do.

Why were you tailin' Thursby?

I wasn't. Miles was 'cause we had a client-

- Who's the client? - Sorry, I can't tell you that.

Be reasonable, Sam. Give us a break, will you?

How can we turn up anything if you don't tell us what you got?

Tom says you were in too much of a hurry to stop and look at your dead partner.

You didn't go to Archer's house to tell his wife.

We called your office and the girl there said you told her to do it.

I'll give you 10 minutes to get to a phone and talk to her.

I'll give you 10 minutes to get to Thursby's joint.

You could do it easily in that time.

What's your boyfriend gettin' at?

Just this: Thursby was shot down in front of his hotel...

...half an hour after you left Bush Street.

Keep your paws off me.

What time did you get home?

A few minutes ago. I was walkin' and thinkin' things over.

We know. We tried to call you.

- Where'd you walk? - Bush Street.

- Did you see anybody- - No. No witnesses.

Well, I know where I stand now.

Sorry I got up on my hind legs, but you tryin' to rope me made me nervous.

Miles gettin' killed upset me, then you birds crackin' foxy.

It's all right now that I know what it's all about.

Forget it, Sam.

- Thursby die? - Yep.

How'd I kill him? I forget.

He was shot in the back four times with a.44 or.45 from across the street.

Nobody saw it, but that's how it figures.

- Hotel people know anything? - Just that he lived there a week.

- Alone? - Yeah, alone.

Did you find out who he was? What his game was? Well, did you?

- We thought you could tell us that. - I've never seen Thursby, dead or alive.

You know me, Spade.

If you did it, or if you didn't, you'll get a square deal and most of the breaks.

Don't know if I'd blame you, a man that killed your partner...

...but that won't stop me from nailin' you.

Fair enough.

But I'd feel better about it if you'd have a drink with me.

Success to crime!

She's in there.

- I told you to keep her away from me. - Yes, but you didn't tell me how.

Don't be cranky with me. I've had her all night.

Sorry, angel. I didn't mean-

Hello, Iva.

Sam!