Quotes from The Maltese Falcon

“He looked rather pleasantly, like a blonde satan.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“Joel Cairo: You always have a very smooth explanation ready.
Sam Spade: What do you want me to do, learn to stutter?”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“We didn't exactly believe your story.'
Then --?'
'We believed your two hundred dollars.'
'You mean --' She seemed not to know what he meant.
'I mean that you paid us more than if you'd been telling the truth,' he explained blandly, 'and enough more to make it all right.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“When a man's partner is killed he's supposed to do something about it. It doesn't make any difference what you thought of him. He was your partner and you're supposed to do something about it. Then it happens we were in the detective business. Well, when one of your organization gets killed it's bad business to let the killer get away with it. It's bad all around-bad for that one organization, bad for every detective everywhere.
Sam Spade”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“My way of learning is to heave a wild and unpredictable monkey-wrench into the machinery.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“He felt like somebody had taken the lid off life and let him see the works.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“I distrust a man that says when. If he's got to be careful not to drink to much it's because he's not to be trusted when he does.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“Brigid O'Shaughnessy: “I haven't lived a good life. I've been bad, worse than you could know.”
Sam Spade “You know, that's good, because if you actually were as innocent as you pretend to be, we'd never get anywhere”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“I couldn't be fonder of you if you were my own son. But, well, if you lose a son, its possible to get another. There's only one Maltese Falcon. (Kasper Gutman)”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“Listen, Dundy, it's been a long time since I burst into tears because a policeman didn't like me.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“He said: "I'm going to send you over. The chances are you'll get off with life. That means you'll be out again in twenty years. You're an angel. I'll wait for you." He cleared his throat. "If they hang you I'll always remember you.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“Talking is something you can't do judiciously unless you keep in practice.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“Yes,' Spade growled. 'And when you're slapped you'll take it and like it.' He released Cairo's wrist and with a thick open hand struck the side of his face three times savagely.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“That's wonderful. I do like a man that tells you right out he’s looking out for himself. Don’t we all? I don’t trust a man that says he’s not. And the man that’s telling the truth when he says he’s not I distrust most of all, because he’s and ass and an ass that’s going contrary to the laws of nature.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“You always have, I must say, a smooth explanation ready."
"What do you want me to do? Learn to stutter?”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“The hell of it, Miss- Is your name Wonderly or Leblanc?' She blushed and murmured: 'It's really O'Shaughnessy - Brigid O'Shaughnessy”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“-Desapareció - dijo Spade - como desaparece un puño cuando se abre la mano.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“But that's the part of it I always liked. He adjusted himself to beams falling, and then no more of them fell, and he adjusted himself to them not falling.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“Samuel Spade's jaw was long and bony, his chin a jutting v under the more flexible v of
his mouth. His nostrils curved back to make another, smaller, v. His yellow-grey eyes were
horizontal. The V motif was picked up again by thickish brows rising outward from twin creases
above a hooked nose, and his pale brown hair grew down--from high flat temples--in a point on
his forehead. He looked rather pleasantly like a blond Satan.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“He turned to face her. The two vertical lines above his nose were deep clefts between red wales. "I don't give a damn about your honesty," he told her, trying to make himself speak calmly. "I don't care what kind of tricks you're up to, what your secrets are, but I've got to have something to show that you know what you're doing."
"I do know. Please believe that I do, and that it's all for the best, and--"
"Show me," he ordered. "I'm willing to help you. I've done what I could so far. If necessary I'll go ahead blindfolded, but I can't do it without more confidence in you than I've got now. You've got to convince me that you know what it's all about, that you're not simply fiddling around by guess and by God, hoping it'll come out all right somehow in the end.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“Gutman smiled benignly at him and said: “Well, Wilmer, I’m sorry indeed to lose you, and I want you to know that I couldn’t be any fonder of you if you were my own son; but—well, by Gad!—if you lose a son it’s possible to get another—and there’s only one Maltese falcon.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“You're good. You're very good. It's chiefly your eyes, I think, and that throb you get into your voice when you say things like 'Be generous, Mr. Spade.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“[Spade] scowled at Gutman and burst out irritably: "Jesus God! is this the first thing you guys ever stole? You're a fine lot of lollipops! What are you going to do next-- get down and pray?”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“And when you're slapped you'll take it and like it." - Detective Sam Spade”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“Samuel Spade’s jaw was long and bony, his chin a jutting v under the more flexible v of his mouth. His nostrils curved back to make another, smaller, v. His yellow-grey eyes were horizontal. The v motif was picked up again by thickish brows rising outward from twin creases above a hooked nose, and his pale brown hair grew down—from high flat temples—in a point on his forehead. He looked rather pleasantly like a blond satan.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“We begin well, sir," the fat man purred … "I distrust a man that says when. If he's got to be careful not to drink too much it's because he's not to be trusted when he does. … Well, sir, here's to plain speaking and clear understanding. … You're a close-mouthed man?"
Spade shook his head. "I like to talk."
"Better and better!" the fat man exclaimed. "I distrust a close-mouthed man. He generally picks the wrong time to talk and says the wrong things. Talking's something you can't do judiciously unless you keep in practice.”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“You're not going to go around poking at the fire and straightening up the room again, are you?”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

“Cairo: You have always, i must say, a smooth explanation ready.

Spade: What do you want me to do? Learn to stutter?”
― Dashiell Hammett, quote from The Maltese Falcon

About the author

Popular quotes

“Nom, do say something funny so she can admire!”
― Shannon Hale, quote from River Secrets

“We have reason. It is the entire meaning and purpose of Shangri-La. It came to me in a vision long, long ago. I foresaw a time when man exalting in the technique of murder, would rage so hotly over the world, that every book, every treasure would be doomed to destruction. This vision was so vivid and so moving that I determined to gather together all things of beauty and culture that I could and preserve them here against the doom toward which the world is rushing. Look at the world today. Is there anything more pitiful? What madness there is! What blindness! A scurrying mass of bewildered humanity crashing headlong against each other. The time must come, my friend, when brutality and the lust for power must perish by its own sword. For when that day comes, the world must begin to look for a new life. And it is our hope that they may find it here.”
― James Hilton, quote from Lost Horizon

“In his opinion if a man didn't have the balls to make a move he didn't deserve the woman he desired.”
― R.L. Mathewson, quote from Playing for Keeps

“life leaves you without directions, without guideposts or signs. When this happens, you just have to pick a direction and run like hell.”
― Maureen Johnson, quote from 13 Little Blue Envelopes

“No one actually saw it land, which raised the interesting philosophical point: When millions of tons of angry elephant come spinning through the sky, but there is no one to hear it, does it - philosophically speaking - make a noise?”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Fifth Elephant

Interesting books

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.