The Maltese Falcon (novel) The Maltese Falcon (novel) The Maltese Falcon is a 1930 detective novel by American writer Dashiell Hammett, originally serialized in the magazine "Black Mask" beginning with the September 1929 issue. The story is told entirely in external third-person narrative; there is no description whatever of any character's internal thoughts or feelings, only what they say and do, and how they look. The novel has been adapted several times for the cinema. The main character, Sam Spade (who also appeared later in some lesser-known short stories), was a departure from Hammett's nameless detective, The Continental Op. Spade combined several features of
The Maltese Falcon (1931 film) Just then, Cairo arrives and tells Gutman privately that Spade does not have the falcon, that Captain Jacoby (Agostino Borgato), whose ship "La Paloma" arrives from Hong Kong that night, does. Gutman then slips Spade a mickey in a celebratory drink, and retrieves his $1000. Later that night, Spade arrives back in his office, where he finds Effie asleep behind his desk. Suddenly, a man staggers in, collapses to the floor and dies—it's Captain Jacoby, having been shot several times. The suitcase he was carrying has the precious black bird in it. Spade checks the bag at a baggage check