The Maltese Falcon Scene 16 Summary

  • When Spade hangs up the phone, he turns to Brigid and grabs her. He wants the truth.
  • He says she wanted Thursby eliminated so she could keep the loot to herself.
  • She admits that's true. She thought if he knew he was being followed by Archer that he'd be scared into leaving.
  • But he wasn't scared.
  • Brigid says she'd never have done it if she thought Thursby would have killed Archer.
  • Spade says Thursby didn't kill Archer. Archer wasn't stupid to enough to be caught unawares…
  • The only person who could have surprised him was…Brigid.
  • She shot him with Thursby's gun to set him up for the murder.
  • But when she found out Thursby had been killed, she knew Gutman would be after her next, so she ran to Spade for protection.
  • He's done protecting her. He's going to turn her in to the police. If she doesn't hang for the murder, she can come back to him in twenty years.
  • She starts crying and says she loves him, but he won't fall for it.
  • "How can you do this to me, Sam?" she says, crying more, saying his partner was worth more to him than she is.
  • Spade says a detective has to do something to defend his partner. "It's bad business to let the killer get away with it."
  • Also, more importantly, he doesn't trust her one bit.
  • The doorbell buzzes. It's the fuzz.
  • Spade turns in Brigid and shows them all the evidence—the guns, the money, and the statue.
  • The cops lead Brigid away.
  • One of the detectives picks up the Falcon and remarks on how heavy it is. "What is it?" he asks.
  • "The stuff that dreams are made of," says Spade.
  • The end