Truth, Evidence, and the Lie

The Maltese Falcon

The investigation distinguishes performed confession, persuasive stories, physical clues, and finally the admissions that allow Spade to identify the killers.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Sister Story The Sister Story from "The Maltese Falcon". The Sister Story A fabricated account Brigid says her sister has run away with Thursby, framing her request as a family emergency.

The Sister Story from "The Maltese Falcon". The Sister Story A fabricated account Brigid says her sister has run away with Thursby, framing her request as a family emergency.

The Sister Story A fabricated account Brigid says her sister has run away with Thursby, framing her request as a family emergency. Truth withheld The story recruits Spade’s help while concealing the falcon. Its eventual exposure teaches him to examine what the client’s performance is designed to obtain.

The Discarded Clue The Discarded Clue from "The Maltese Falcon". The Discarded Clue Newspaper fragment recovered Spade finds part of a shipping list in Cairo’s wastebasket and compares it with a complete copy of the paper.

The Discarded Clue from "The Maltese Falcon". The Discarded Clue Newspaper fragment recovered Spade finds part of a shipping list in Cairo’s wastebasket and compares it with a complete copy of the paper.

The Discarded Clue Newspaper fragment recovered Spade finds part of a shipping list in Cairo’s wastebasket and compares it with a complete copy of the paper. Inference checked Rather than rely on Cairo’s account, Spade reconstructs the missing information and follows the ship named in the notice. The method makes evidence answerable to comparison.

The Conflicting Accounts The Conflicting Accounts from "The Maltese Falcon". The Conflicting Accounts Accusations multiply Brigid and Cairo each claim the other attacked first when the police enter Spade’s apartment.

The Conflicting Accounts from "The Maltese Falcon". The Conflicting Accounts Accusations multiply Brigid and Cairo each claim the other attacked first when the police enter Spade’s apartment.

The Conflicting Accounts Accusations multiply Brigid and Cairo each claim the other attacked first when the police enter Spade’s apartment. Spade offers a comic account that neither fully describes what happened. A practical fiction The officers cannot easily establish the truth from the participants’ stories. The episode shows that an agreed lie can temporarily protect people even when everyone knows it is false.

The False Bird Tested The False Bird Tested from "The Maltese Falcon". The False Bird Tested An object examined Gutman cuts through enamel and into the statuette rather than accepting its appearance or its historical story.

The False Bird Tested from "The Maltese Falcon". The False Bird Tested An object examined Gutman cuts through enamel and into the statuette rather than accepting its appearance or its historical story.

The False Bird Tested An object examined Gutman cuts through enamel and into the statuette rather than accepting its appearance or its historical story. Physical evidence settles the question The metal proves to be lead. The test defeats the claims of every person who expected the delivered object to be the treasure.

A Confession Reconstructed A Confession Reconstructed from "The Maltese Falcon". A Confession Reconstructed Motive and method confronted Spade challenges Brigid with the rent receipt, the staged tail, and the circumstances of Archer’s death…

A Confession Reconstructed from "The Maltese Falcon". A Confession Reconstructed Motive and method confronted Spade challenges Brigid with the rent receipt, the staged tail, and the circumstances of Archer’s death…

A Confession Reconstructed Motive and method confronted Spade challenges Brigid with the rent receipt, the staged tail, and the circumstances of Archer’s death until she acknowledges her role. A case becomes provable The confession is paired with weapons and testimony about the other murders. Spade’s reconstruction converts conflicting stories into a course of action for the police.

The first afternoon

Saturday morning

During the apartment confrontation

Near the ending

Immediately before the police arrive