The code was instrumental in making noir darker. Because the
code demanded
the bad guys get it. All who crossed the line were doomed. If
it wasn't the
police, it was self distruction. Generally the stronger the
wrongful deed,
the stronger the punishment. In "Gun Crazy" (1949) by the end
of the movie
they couldn't be just arrested they had to be destroyed.
Under the code it
was a God thing. If the police couldn't get you a rock from
God would.
Which is why "Maltese Falcon" fit in. All of the "bad guys"
were caught or
killed. The defender of the good survived. If Spade had been
as crooked as
pretended he would followed the others doomed fate.
Joseph
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