Character Analysis in The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett is a thrilling movie full of twists and turns and deceits. Each character wants the Maltese falcon for the rewards it will bring. Almost everyone is a villain in some way or another.

I will start with Sam Spade. He is the hero of the story, but I would say he is more of an anti-hero. He plays by his own rules. He is tough and a bit hard-nosed. He doesn't seem to be upset that his partner is dead. I feel that he knew Brigid killed his partner from day one, but for some reason he didn't let on until the end. Knowing this he still put up with her lies and melodrama. He obviously isn't a man of scruples as he was having an affair with his partner's wife. At the end I wonder did he love Brigid as he claims or was he just playing with her? I'm also left wondering was he redeeming his character by turning Brigid over to the police or was he saving his own skin? I like his character but I'm not entirely sure about his motives at all points in the movie. I'm not sure how much I would trust him.

Next we have Brigid. From the beginning of the movie until the end she is deceitful. She is a woman of no morals and seems to have no conscious. She is a murder; she killed Mr. Archer. She plays games and manipulates or tries to manipulate Sam through the whole movie. She even has Effie fooled into thinking she is a nice woman. Everything that she does is for her own personal gain. She has a treacherous heart. She says that she is in love with Sam, but how could anyone belief anything she says after all the lying that she has done? She even calls and pretends that she is danger so that he will leave the office and go to an abandoned lot. Personally I feel that she was just using him to save her own skin, because the whole movie, that is the type of character that she has shown.