Professional Integrity and Its Limits

The Maltese Falcon

Spade’s code combines loyalty to his dead partner, resistance to police control, and a refusal to let Brigid’s appeal make him an accomplice.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Client Secrecy Client Secrecy from "The Maltese Falcon". Client Secrecy Information withheld Spade refuses to tell Lieutenant Dundy who hired Archer until he has spoken with the client.

Client Secrecy from "The Maltese Falcon". Client Secrecy Information withheld Spade refuses to tell Lieutenant Dundy who hired Archer until he has spoken with the client.

Client Secrecy Information withheld Spade refuses to tell Lieutenant Dundy who hired Archer until he has spoken with the client. A professional boundary His conduct places client confidentiality above cooperation with the police, even when the withholding increases their suspicion of him.

Self-Directed Investigation Self-Directed Investigation from "The Maltese Falcon". Self-Directed Investigation Police kept at a distance Spade searches hotels, questions staff, studies newspaper evidence, and follows the falcon’s trail…

Self-Directed Investigation from "The Maltese Falcon". Self-Directed Investigation Police kept at a distance Spade searches hotels, questions staff, studies newspaper evidence, and follows the falcon’s trail…

Self-Directed Investigation Police kept at a distance Spade searches hotels, questions staff, studies newspaper evidence, and follows the falcon’s trail without turning his investigation over to the authorities. Control defended He argues to Bryan that the police do not understand the case and that he must find the killers if he expects to clear himself.

The Fall-Guy Rule The Fall-Guy Rule from "The Maltese Falcon". The Fall-Guy Rule A public accounting planned Spade insists that the police need a victim and that he must eventually bring them someone they can charge.

The Fall-Guy Rule from "The Maltese Falcon". The Fall-Guy Rule A public accounting planned Spade insists that the police need a victim and that he must eventually bring them someone they can charge.

The Fall-Guy Rule A public accounting planned Spade insists that the police need a victim and that he must eventually bring them someone they can charge. Reputation as a working tool He describes a record of surviving official scrutiny because he can produce a culprit when the reckoning comes. His freedom depends on a practice that is effective but morally uneasy.

No Surrender to Romance No Surrender to Romance from "The Maltese Falcon". No Surrender to Romance Brigid pleads for release Brigid argues that their intimacy should matter and appeals to whatever love Spade feels for her.

No Surrender to Romance from "The Maltese Falcon". No Surrender to Romance Brigid pleads for release Brigid argues that their intimacy should matter and appeals to whatever love Spade feels for her.

No Surrender to Romance Brigid pleads for release Brigid argues that their intimacy should matter and appeals to whatever love Spade feels for her. A conscious refusal Spade says that he will not let himself become another man she manipulates. His decision is shaped by self-preservation as well as professional duty.

The Police Called In The Police Called In from "The Maltese Falcon". The Police Called In Evidence and suspects delivered Spade contacts Tom Polhaus, identifies the people involved, and gives the police the guns and Brigid.

The Police Called In from "The Maltese Falcon". The Police Called In Evidence and suspects delivered Spade contacts Tom Polhaus, identifies the people involved, and gives the police the guns and Brigid.

The Police Called In Evidence and suspects delivered Spade contacts Tom Polhaus, identifies the people involved, and gives the police the guns and Brigid. Code tested in public The handover resolves the murder investigation but leaves Spade to face its personal consequences. His code is shown as a decision, not a claim of purity.

Early morning after Archer’s death

After both murders are known

The final night

The final morning

The final morning, moments later