Sam Spade Sam Spade Sam Spade is a fictional private detective and the protagonist of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel, "The Maltese Falcon". Spade also appeared in four lesser-known short stories by Hammett. "The Maltese Falcon", first published as a serial in the pulp magazine "Black Mask", is the only full-length novel in which Spade appears. The character, however, is widely cited as a crystallizing figure in the development of hard-boiled private detective fiction—Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, for instance, was strongly influenced by Spade. Spade was a departure from Hammett's nameless and less-than-glamorous detective, The Continental Op. Spade combined several features of previous
The Maltese Falcon (1941 film) way to prison and possible execution. Huston and Edeson crafted each scene to make sure the images, action and dialog blended effectively, sometimes shooting closeups of characters with other cast members acting with them off camera. Fred Sexton (June 3, 1907 – September 11, 1995) was an American artist and sculptor of the Maltese Falcon statuette prop for "The Maltese Falcon." During the 1930s and 1940s, Sexton was championed by "Los Angeles Times" art critic Arthur Millier, and his work was acquired by Los Angeles-area art collectors including actor Edward G. Robinson and movie director John Huston. Sexton also taught