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 Gentle Falcon as a "sparkling, poignant fictionalized biography" and "princely reading fare." while the Wisconsin library bulletin reprinted a review by the Bulletin of the Children's Book Center that called it "An intriguing story..." The British Broadcasting Corporation produced a seven-episode television series based on "The Gentle Falcon", which was broadcast from 15 June 1954. Glen Alyn played the adult Isabella, while Victoria Nolan played her as a girl. The Gentle Falcon The Gentle Falcon is a historical novel for young readers by Hilda Lewis, based on the story of King Richard II and his child bride, Isabella, written in first person