Sam Spade is a fictional character and the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade ('' ...

'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 by Hammett in which Spade appears. The character, however, is widely cited as a crystallizing figure in the development of

hard-boiled Hardboiled (or hard-boiled) fiction is a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction (especially detective fiction and noir fiction). The genre's typical protagonist is a detective who battles the violence ...

private detective fiction—

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

Philip Marlowe Philip Marlowe () is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler, who was characteristic of the hardboiled crime fiction genre. The hardboiled crime fiction genre originated in the 1920s, notably in ''Black Mask'' magazine, in which Dashiel ...

, for instance, was strongly influenced by Spade. Spade was a departure from Hammett's nameless and less-than-glamorous detective,

The Continental Op The Continental Op is a fictional character created by Dashiell Hammett. He is a private investigator employed as an operative of the Continental Detective Agency's San Francisco office. The stories are all told in the first person and his name i ...

. Spade combined several features of previous detectives, most notably his detached demeanor, keen eye for detail, and unflinching determination to achieve his own justice.

Portrayals

Spade was a new character created specifically by Hammett for ''The Maltese Falcon''; he had not appeared in any of Hammett's previous stories. Hammett says about him:

Spade has no original. He is a dream man in the sense that he is what most of the private detectives I worked with would like to have been and in their cockier moments thought they approached. For your private detective does not—or did not ten years ago when he was my colleague—want to be an erudite solver of riddles in the Sherlock Holmes manner; he wants to be a hard and shifty fellow, able to take care of himself in any situation, able to get the best of anybody he comes in contact with, whether criminal, innocent by-stander or client.Introduction to ''The Maltese Falcon'' (1934 edition)
/ref>

From the 1940s onward, the character became closely associated with actor

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

, who played Spade in the third and best-known film version of ''The Maltese Falcon''. Though Bogart's slight frame, dark features and no-nonsense depiction contrasted with Hammett's vision of Spade (blond, well-built and mischievous), his sardonic portrayal was well-received, and is generally regarded as an influence on both

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

and the genre's archetypal private detective. Spade was played by

Ricardo Cortez Ricardo Cortez (born Jacob Kranze or Jacob Krantz; September 19, 1900 – April 28, 1977) was an American actor and film director. He was also credited as Jack Crane early in his acting career. Early years Ricardo Cortez was born Jacob K ...

in the first film version in 1931. Despite being a critical and commercial success, an attempt to re-release the film in 1936 was denied approval by the

Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

Office due to the film's lewd content. Since

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

could not re-release the film, a second version was made. For the comedy ''

Satan Met a Lady ''Satan Met a Lady'' is a 1936 American detective film directed by William Dieterle and starring Bette Davis and Warren William. The screenplay by Brown Holmes is a loose adaptation of the 1929 novel '' The Maltese Falcon'' by Dashiell Hammett ...

'' (1936), the central character was renamed Ted Shane and was played by

Warren William Warren William (born Warren William Krech; December 2, 1894 – September 24, 1948) was a Broadway and Hollywood actor, immensely popular during the early 1930s; he was later nicknamed the "King of Pre-Code". He was the first actor to play Perry ...

. The film was a box-office failure. On the radio, Spade was played by Edward G. Robinson in a 1943 ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

'' production, and by Bogart in both a 1943 ''

Screen Guild Theater ''The Screen Guild Theater'' is a radio anthology series broadcast from 1939 until 1952 during the Golden Age of Radio. Leading Hollywood stars performed adaptations of popular motion pictures. Originating on CBS Radio, it aired under several dif ...

'' production and a 1946 '' Academy Award Theater'' production. A 1946-1951 radio show called ''

The Adventures of Sam Spade ''The Adventures of Sam Spade, Detective'' was a radio series based loosely on the private detective character Sam Spade, created by writer Dashiell Hammett for '' The Maltese Falcon''. The show ran for 13 episodes on ABC in 1946, for 157 episod ...

'' (on ABC, CBS, and NBC) starred

Howard Duff Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

(and later Steve Dunne) as Sam Spade and

Lurene Tuttle Lurene Tuttle (August 29, 1907 – May 28, 1986) was an American actress and acting coach, who made the transition from vaudeville to radio, and later films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's more versatile a ...

as Spade's devoted secretary Effie Perrine, and took a considerably more tongue-in-cheek approach to the character.

George Segal George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as ''Ship o ...

played Sam Spade, Jr., son of the original, in the film spoof, ''

The Black Bird ''The Black Bird'' is a 1975 comedy film written and directed by David Giler and starring George Segal and Stéphane Audran. It is a comedic sequel to the John Huston film version of ''The Maltese Falcon'' (1941) with Segal playing Sam Spade's ...

'' (1975). ''The Black Bird'' was panned by critics.

Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running television series ''Columbo'' (1968–1978, 1989–2003), for which he ...

delivered a more successful spoof the following year as Sam Diamond in

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

's ''

Murder by Death ''Murder by Death'' is a 1976 American comedy mystery film directed by Robert Moore and written by Neil Simon. The film stars Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, David Niven, Peter Sellers, M ...

''. This was preceded by the spoof character Sam Diamond in ''

The Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over a ...

'' episode " Thing Is Missing" (1965) portrayed by Tommy Farrell. In 2009, with the approval of the estate of Dashiell Hammett, the veteran detective-story writer

Joe Gores Joseph Nicholas Gores (December 25, 1931 - January 10, 2011) was an American mystery writer. He was known best for his novels and short stories set in San Francisco and featuring the fictional "Dan Kearney and Associates" (the "DKA Files") privat ...

published ''Spade & Archer: The Prequel to Dashiell Hammett's THE MALTESE FALCON'' with

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

, the original publisher of Hammett's ''The Maltese Falcon''.

Books

* ''The Maltese Falcon'' (1930) ** Serialized in five parts, in the September 1929 to January 1930 issues of ''Black Mask'' * ''Spade and Archer'' by

(2009) * ''The Radio Adventures of Sam Spade'' (2007) by

Martin Grams Martin Grams Jr. (born April 19, 1977) is an American popular culture historian who wrote and co-wrote over thirty books about network broadcasting and motion-pictures. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Grams is the son of a magician, Martin Grams Sr. ...

, Jr., OTR Publishing, Churchville,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Short stories

* "A Man Called Spade" (July 1932, ''

The American Magazine ''The American Magazine'' was a periodical publication founded in June 1906, a continuation of failed publications purchased a few years earlier from publishing mogul Miriam Leslie. It succeeded ''Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly'' (1876–1904), ' ...

''; also collected in ''A Man Called Spade and Other Stories'') * "Too Many Have Lived" (October 1932, ''The American Magazine''; also collected in ''A Man Called Spade and Other Stories'') * "They Can Only Hang You Once" (November 19, 1932, ''Colliers''; also in ''A Man Called Spade and Other Stories'') * "A Knife Will Cut for Anybody" (Unpublished in Hammett's lifetime—published in 2013)

Collections

''A Man Called Spade and Other Stories''
(1944) (contains three Sam Spade stories from ''The American Magazine'' and ''Colliers''—listed above) * ''Nightmare Town'' (1999) (contains three Sam Spade stories from ''The American Magazine'' and ''Colliers''—listed above)

Films

* '' The Maltese Falcon'' (1931,

) (also known as ''Dangerous Female''), starring

as Sam Spade * ''

'' (1936, Warner Bros.) (based on ''The Maltese Falcon'', with the character names and the object of their search changed), starring

in the lead role * '' The Maltese Falcon'' (1941, Warner Bros.), starring

as Sam Spade * ''

'' (1975, Columbia), a comedy

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the 1941 film, starring

as "Sammy" Spade, Jr. * ''

The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It ''The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It'' is a 1977 comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring John Cleese. It is a low-budget spoof of the Sherlock Holmes detective series, as well as the mystery genre in gener ...

'' (1977), played by Mike O'Malley; a

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

spoof in which Spade is killed by the granddaughter of

Professor Moriarty Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...

Radio

* ''Screen Guild Theater'': "The Maltese Falcon" (1943,

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

: 30-minute version of the story, starring

as Spade,

Mary Astor Mary Astor (born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 – September 25, 1987) was an American actress. Although her career spanned several decades, she may be best remembered for her performance as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in '' The Maltese ...

as Brigid O'Shaughnessy,

Sydney Greenstreet Sydney Hughes Greenstreet (December 27, 1879 – January 18, 1954) was a British-American actor. While he did not begin his career in films until the age of 61, he had a run of significant motion pictures in a Hollywood career lasting throu ...

as Casper Gutman, and

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...

as Joel Cairo.) * ''Lux Radio Theatre'': "The Maltese Falcon" (1943,

): a 60-minute version of the novel, starring Edward G. Robinson as Spade and

Laird Cregar Samuel Laird Cregar (July 28, 1913December 9, 1944) was an American stage and film actor. Cregar was best known for his villainous performances in films such as ''I Wake Up Screaming'' (1941) and '' The Lodger'' (1944). Cregar's screen career ...

as Gutman * ''Academy Award Theatre'': "The Maltese Falcon" (1946, CBS): 30-minute version of the story, starring

, and

* ''

'' (1946, ABC): 13 30-minute episodes, starring

* ''The Adventures of Sam Spade'' (1946–1949, CBS): 157 30-minute episodes, starring

* ''The Adventures of Sam Spade'' (1949–1950, NBC): 51 30-minute episodes, starring

* ''The Adventures of Sam Spade'' (1950–1951, NBC): 24 30-minute episodes, starring Steve Dunne * ''Suspense'': "The House in Cypress Canyon" (December 5, 1946, CBS): 30 minutes, featuring

* ''Suspense'': "The Kandy Tooth Caper" (January 10, 1948, CBS): 60 minutes, starring

* ''Maxwell House Coffee Time'' (aka The Burns And Allen Show): "Gracie Sends Sam Spade to Jail" (February 10, 1949

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

) a 30-minute episode starring

—both as himself and as Sam Spade.http://radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p2.cgi?ProgramName=Maxwell+House+Coffee+Time * ''The Adventures of Babe Lincoln'' (circa 1950, CBS): unaired, starring

* '' Charlie Wild, Private Detective'' (September 24, 1950, NBC): premiere broadcast only, guest appearance

* BBC Radio 4: "The Maltese Falcon" (1984): starring

Tom Wilkinson Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson (born 5 February 1948)Born January–March 1948, according to the ''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com is an English actor of film, television, and stage. He has rece ...

Jane Lapotaire Jane Elizabeth Marie Lapotaire (née Burgess; 26 December 1944) is an English actress. Biography Lapotaire was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, the daughter of Louise Elise (Burgess). Her stepfather, Yves Lapotaire, worked in the oil industry and was ...

, and

Nickolas Grace Nickolas Andrew Halliwell Grace (born 21 November 1947) is an English actor known for his roles on television, including Anthony Blanche in the acclaimed ITV adaptation of ''Brideshead Revisited'', and the Sheriff of Nottingham in the 1980s seri ...

* ''The Maltese Falcon'' (2009):

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominated audio play, starring

Michael Madsen Michael Søren Madsen (born September 25, 1957) is an American actor. He has starred in many films and television series, frequently collaborating with director Quentin Tarantino, most famously in the latter's debut film ''Reservoir Dogs'' (19 ...

as Spade,

Sandra Oh Sandra Miju Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Canadian–American actress. She is best known for her starring roles as Rita Wu on the HBO comedy '' Arliss'' (1996–2002), Dr. Cristina Yang on the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005� ...

as Brigid and

Edward Herrmann Edward Kirk Herrmann (July 21, 1943 – December 31, 2014) was an American actor, director, and writer. He was perhaps best known for his portrayals of Franklin D. Roosevelt in both the miniseries '' Eleanor and Franklin'' (1976) and 1982 film ...

as Gutman, produced by The Hollywood Theater of the Ear and published by

Blackstone Audio Blackstone Audio is one of the largest independent audiobook publishers in the United States, offering over 30,000 audiobooks. The company is based in Ashland, Oregon with five in-house recording studios. Blackstone distributes directly to consu ...

Comics

* ''The Maltese Falcon'' (1946, Feature Books #48, David McKay Publications) Artist: Rodlow Willard * Sam Spade Wildroot Hair Tonic Ads (1950s) ** Single-page comic strips, appeared in newspapers, magazines, comic books. Tie-in with radio show ''

'', which Wildroot also sponsored. Artist:

Lou Fine Louis Kenneth Fine (November 26, 1914 – July 24, 1971)Louis Fine
at the United States

Detective Conan ''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective fiction, detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' ...

'' manga's edition of "

Gosho Aoyama is a Japanese manga artist best known for his manga series ''Detective Conan'' (1994–present), also known as ''Case Closed'' in some English-speaking countries. As of 2017, his various manga series had a combined 250 million copies in print wo ...

's Mystery Library", in the section (usually the last page) where the author introduces a different detective (or occasionally, a villain) from mystery literature, television, or other media.

Notes

External links

Thrilling Detective Website

Dashiell Hammett Tour of Sam Spade's San Francisco
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spade, Sam Fictional private investigators Characters in American novels of the 20th century Literary characters introduced in 1930 Characters in pulp fiction Fictional characters from San Francisco Thriller film characters Dashiell Hammett characters Male characters in literature Male characters in film