RARA-AVIS: Re: RARA-AVIS Digest V5 #420

From: Frederick Zackel ( fzackel@wcnet.org)
Date: 15 Dec 2003


Miker writes:
"An excellent example of this would be THE MALTESE FALCON. I'm not an expert on any kind of noir, and in film noir I am on very shaky grounds, but I believe that it's considered a noir film, isn't it? I have also heard it said that nothing Hammett wrote was noir, that his characters were simply too tough to be noir. I think the implication was that his writing lacked the sweat, fear, and desperation that the dark and sinister atmosphere is supposed to gen- erate."

Just like to remind folks that the last lines of The Maltese Falcon read:

"Spade, looking at his desk, nodded almost impreceptably. 'Yes,' he said, and shivered. "Well, send her in.'"

Oh, he's sweating, afraid, and desperate all right!

I think it was Esquire magazine some years ago who claimed Sam Spade was murdered on the very next page. Iva, of course!

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