I'm not sure, but this might be a chicken or the egg kind of
question:
Are Hammett's characters so good because of the way he wrote
them or because of the way they were portrayed in the Bogart
version of the movie?
I think Hammett made them work and in the Bogart version, the
actors took them off the page.
A few months ago, I saw all three versions of the story.
Neither of the first two were as on-target at the Bogart
vesion--or should I call it the John Huston version?
In the first, Gutman was a woman.
In the second Brigid was Bette Davis, as I often say, "when
she was good looking." Both were played for humor. In the
second version Brigid
"kind of" planned an escape from jail for her.
Using my old argument, that Spade deduced almost immeditately
that Brigid killed Archer, Spade in version two, discusses
"something" with an old Chinese Gentleman in the alley after
Archer is found dead.
In retrospect, and knowing the story, it seems that was when
Spade knew. I thought it was a matter of decuction.
Jack Bludis
=====
"Shadow of the Dahlia," Sept 30th. "Munchies," Shamus and
Anthony nominee, Best Short Story http://www.jackbludis.com
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