In the spirit of the book, I drank a bottle of whisky and smoked a dozen roll-ups before recording this. If only... sadly, I only got covid before recording this, hence the Sexy Voice.
Your series has been great. Thanks. This book is a particular favorite of mine. Sam himself summed up his moral code: _When a man's partner is killed, he's supposed to do something about it. It doesn't make any difference what you thought of him. He was your partner and you're supposed to do something about it._
There's another Hammett novel I'd recommend. "Red Harvest" features an unnamed narrator/protagonist working for a Detective Agency who contends against competing gangs, taking them all down with murders all over the place. It's not so much a "Mystery" as such - more an account of the narrators actions and their consequences. If you want "Morally Ambiguous" or "Dark", this is one for you....
I saw the film The Maltese Falcon with Humphrey Bogart, it was great. It’s from 1941, so a classic in itself. I don’t remember reading the book, now I should. Love your idea of this series!
There is a campy feel to most of noir film like the Maltese Falcon, I like the Big Sleep too and it is very campy and no one really knows what it is about on top of it and yet it is satisfying, I think that shows the talent of those writers back then. It's part of the fun. Have you seen the movie with Humphrey Bogart? By the way, he made a career of having fun playing these characters, he was a well brought up, college educated, really bright man playing both Sam Spade and Philip Marlow. He knew there was a joy to it and he enjoyed it as much as the viewer. I hope that helps a bit.
Hammett was a detective for the Pinkerton Agency before he was able to make a living from writing. That could explain his very visual, observational style (how Sam rolled his cigarettes, cataloging all the items in someone’s pockets, etc.) My favorite if his books is The Glass Key. Hope you are feeling better by now.
I will put this on my list. There is a movie called 'Chinatown' made in the 70s which is incredible and was influenced by this genre of novels. I would love to hear your opinion on Du Maurier's Rebecca, which is a novel I keep thinking of since reading it a year ago
My father loved Humphrey Bogart or Bogie as he was affectionately called who played Sam Spade in the movie version. Not having read the book I wonder how the figure of the femme fatale is portrayed. While you described Sam as being built like a fridge the femme fatale displays the emotion of one.😉
I’m only familiar with the Maltese Falcon via the Humphrey Bogart movie. Perhaps I should give the book a read as well. From the way you describe it, it seems like the book was pretty much destined to become a movie
I was actually super unimpressed by this. It was my second Hammett and I haven't liked either of them and so I think his writing style isn't for me. I liked the movie, though.
![The Problematic Practice of Posthumous Publishing [CC]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Rk16EM-m5d0/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Problematic Practice of Posthumous Publishing [CC]](/img/tr.png)
![What even is a classic and why you're wrong about it [CC]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/JP1HBBJ8vaU/mqdefault.jpg)
In the spirit of the book, I drank a bottle of whisky and smoked a dozen roll-ups before recording this. If only... sadly, I only got covid before recording this, hence the Sexy Voice.
Oh bless. Wishing you well! 💛💛
😂
Your series has been great. Thanks.
This book is a particular favorite of mine. Sam himself summed up his moral code:
_When a man's partner is killed, he's supposed to do something about it. It doesn't make any difference what you thought of him. He was your partner and you're supposed to do something about it._
There's another Hammett novel I'd recommend. "Red Harvest" features an unnamed narrator/protagonist working for a Detective Agency who contends against competing gangs, taking them all down with murders all over the place.
It's not so much a "Mystery" as such - more an account of the narrators actions and their consequences.
If you want "Morally Ambiguous" or "Dark", this is one for you....
I saw the film The Maltese Falcon with Humphrey Bogart, it was great. It’s from 1941, so a classic in itself. I don’t remember reading the book, now I should. Love your idea of this series!
There is a campy feel to most of noir film like the Maltese Falcon, I like the Big Sleep too and it is very campy and no one really knows what it is about on top of it and yet it is satisfying, I think that shows the talent of those writers back then. It's part of the fun. Have you seen the movie with Humphrey Bogart? By the way, he made a career of having fun playing these characters, he was a well brought up, college educated, really bright man playing both Sam Spade and Philip Marlow. He knew there was a joy to it and he enjoyed it as much as the viewer. I hope that helps a bit.
Hammett was a detective for the Pinkerton Agency before he was able to make a living from writing. That could explain his very visual, observational style (how Sam rolled his cigarettes, cataloging all the items in someone’s pockets, etc.)
My favorite if his books is The Glass Key.
Hope you are feeling better by now.
I will put this on my list. There is a movie called 'Chinatown' made in the 70s which is incredible and was influenced by this genre of novels. I would love to hear your opinion on Du Maurier's Rebecca, which is a novel I keep thinking of since reading it a year ago
This sounds interesting, and I kind of love when serious books become funny as views change over time 😂
My father loved Humphrey Bogart or Bogie as he was affectionately called who played Sam Spade in the movie version. Not having read the book I wonder how the figure of the femme fatale is portrayed. While you described Sam as being built like a fridge the femme fatale displays the emotion of one.😉
Im glad I'm not the only one who found parts of this book confusing! 😉
I’m only familiar with the Maltese Falcon via the Humphrey Bogart movie. Perhaps I should give the book a read as well. From the way you describe it, it seems like the book was pretty much destined to become a movie
Yes, I haven't seen the film (yet) but I imagine it translates very well.
I would be interested to hear what you think of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, where we do get to know what he's thinking.
Ciao Claudia ❤
I was actually super unimpressed by this. It was my second Hammett and I haven't liked either of them and so I think his writing style isn't for me. I liked the movie, though.
Certainly an acquired taste and a bit of a strange reading experiencew.