Spade beat up Joel Cairo and Wilmer because they pointed guns
at him. It is obvious in the film (both the Bogart one and
the earlier version) that Cairo, Wilmer and Gutman are
homosexual. It's fairly explicit, but it's not like Spade
took an aluminum baseball bat to the pride parade or
anything. That said, Spade is not particularly heroic. Also,
I never realized what Gunsel meant. Interesting.
On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 2:09 PM, Aaron Finestone
<
microbrewjournalism@gmail.com> wrote:
> My friend got me into the Maltese Falcon. After
reading the book twice and
> viewing the movie three times, I have realized that
the story has a sublte
> but deeper theme. Sexuality. Gay sex. Straight
sex.
>
> An article is Wikipedia
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Maltese_Falcon>reveals
the key--the
> gunsel. Joe Cairo was obviously gay, but the
gayness
> goes beyond Cairo. Sam Spade repeatedly refers to
Wilmer as "gunsel." I
> thought the term related to gun. Since the Maltese
Falcon was filmed, the
> term has come to mean a petty crook and gunman. It
turns out that an older
> meaning of the word is a young gay man who takes
care of (or services) an
> older gay man. That term explains a lot.
>
> In the movie, Sam Spade abuses and demeans Wilmer.
Sam Spade takes pleasure
> in beating up Joel Cairo. In the movie, Sam Spade
shows an evil grin while
> hassling Wilmer and speaking to Joel Cairo. It
originally occurred to me
> that Caspar Gutman may have been gay, but primarily
he was a wealthy
> collector and probably a lawyer. Now it all comes
together. Wilmer was the
> gunsel for Gutman. Even if the relationship was not
sexual, Wilmer was more
> than a body guard. The relationship of Wilmer to
Gutman is about bonding.
>
> The story is full of sexual tension. The
promiscuously heterosexual Sam
> Spade beating up the gay Wilmer and Joel Cairo. The
competition for the
> Black Bird between the flaming heterosexual Brigid
O'Shaughnessay and the
> gay Caspar Gutman. The straight team of Sam Spade
and Brigid O'Shaughnessy
> versus the gay team of Joel Cairo, Caspar Gutman and
Wilmer.
>
> Caspar Gutman is the most interesting character. I
like his laugh and how he
> avoids answering questions. Imagine him on a witness
stand. Maybe Wilmer and
> Cairo follow him for the money--but maybe for
more.
>
> Then, there is the sexual tension around Sam Spade.
Sam Spade is unfaithful
> to a succession of women--- Effie, Iva and Brigid
(who he sells out to the
> cops)---all in 90 minutes of film.
>
> Beating up people because they are gay is evil. Sam
Spade is evil. Unlike
> other Bogart characters, there is nothing heroic
about him.
>
> Does anyone have any thoughts on the sexual angle of
the Maltese Falcon?
>
> --
> Gra
>
> AARON FINESTONE
>
> Visit my websites:
> www.microbrewjournalism.com
> www.themightyzed.com
> www.usshermitage.com
>
> and my blogs:
> babagafish.blogspot.com
> themightyzed.blogspot.com
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been
removed]
>
>
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