5 Minutes of Gender Constructs: A look into Cairo and Spade’s first meeting in John Huston's The Maltese Falcon by Dana

Dana Strauss

Noir, Film and Novel

Essay #2

The Maltese Falcon

5 Minutes of Gender Constructs:

A look into Cairo and Spade’s first meeting in John Huston's The Maltese Falcon

In The Maltese Falcon, director John Huston is deliberate in his interpretation of Cairo and Spade’s first encounter.  This is a pivotal meeting in the film, both characters being central to how the plot unfolds with the search for the Maltese falcon.  Spade and Cairo, played by Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, create a tenuous dynamic that highlights Spade’s imposing masculinity, and Cairo’s paradoxical effeminate qualities.  This scene is pivotal in understanding how gender constructs influence both characters development.

Spade and Cairo’s first scene is in the first 30 minutes of the film, where the majority of the characterization is revealed.  Effie first introduces Cairo by bringing Spade his business card.   The business card, smelling of gardenia, is immediately the center of focus, highlighting the differences between Spade and Cairo.  Effie and Spade’s curious reaction helps the audience to pick up on the peculiarity of a man in the 1940s having a perfumed card.  As Cairo is called in, the camera zooms in on Spade’s face, his expression one of curiosity as he looks up from his seated position to where Cairo is walking in.  This allows the camera to then tilt as Spade rises from his seated position, creating the illusion of Spade’s imposing height over Cairo.  Placing Spade closer to the camera helps the image of Spade being a massive man, adding to the theme of Spade being more masculine than Cairo.  As Cairo and Spade interact, Spade is relaxed in his chair, smoking a cigarette and calmly regarding Cairo.  Spade is comfortable enough to dismiss Effie from the office, leaving himself alone with the man.  Even as Cairo pulls a gun on Spade, the camera focuses on Spade from an undershot, revealing that while Spade is seemingly vulnerable to Cairo, it is still implied that he has the power in the situation through the camera’s position.  As Cairo intends to search Spade for a weapon, the camera follows them, continuing its place underneath both actors, exaggerating the height difference between them.  The inflation of Spade’s commanding physical stature continues throughout the rest of the scene as he overpowers Cairo using little effort.  Spade is shown calmly pushing him backwards while staring down at him and then knocking him out.  Spade does all this with practiced ease, his facial expression barely even changing.  All of these factors come together to establish Spade’s characterization as an overpowering man who is capable of efficiently and effortlessly physically dominating over any situation he finds himself in.      

Cairo’s characterization can be very easily described as delicate. His entrance and the way he carefully regards Spade and elegantly removes his gloves displays a more effeminate counterpart to Spade’s imposing masculinity.  For the majority of the time that Cairo speaks to Spade, he is in a medium shot, with the camera focusing on how he interacts with yet another prop, his cane.  This is especially noticeable as a result of not many props being used throughout the film.  Cairo’s homosexuality is very apparent, and the cane is a tool used to exaggerate this fact, having it be an almost phallic symbol.  As Cairo converses with Spade, he turns the cane, frequently bringing it up to his mouth.  These are very suggestive movements, often used by female characters to seduce their counterpart.  This draws attention to Cairo’s conflicting characterization to Spade. Even as Cairo aims to show his dominance over Spade, the gun he uses is dainty and easily fits the rest of his small stature.  In his attempt to search Spade for weapons, the camera stays at a low angle, and the two shot features the excessive height difference between the two men.  This difference in height coupled with the way they are framed causes a distinct power dynamic. It is unsurprising that Cairo is unable to defend himself against Spade’s aggression as Spade overpowers Cairo to take his gun.  Immediately upon recovering, a tracking shot follows Cairo to the mirror, allowing the audience to see both Cairo and Spade, the only time where Cairo and Spade are both standing and Spade looks shorter than Cairo. However, Cairo’s irritation to his appearance and Spade’s mocking reaction compensates for the brief illusion to the physical shift in size. For the remainder of the scene, Cairo reverts back to being the smaller man in the frame. The camera keeps both characters in the shot for the rest of the scene, reminding the audience once again of the commanding presence Spade has compared to Cairo, highlighting the stereotypes of masculine and feminine traits that oppose each other.

Spade is set up to be the epitome of masculinity, and Cairo’s polar opposite to that highlights the compelling dynamic they share.  This scene further solidifies the way they are characterized for the rest of the film. Spade is seen as someone to, literally and figuratively, look up to by using his height and stature to make him seem manly and strong.  Cairo is characterized with stereotypically feminine attributes, using not his physical build, but his sly intellect and seductive, delicate movements, very similar to female characters.  Cairo and Spade’s first interaction establishes the defining traits of each of them and the importance of their adverse personalities.