I thought Miles was killed atop where the Stockton Street Tunnel is today; we see him fall down a hill, which I thought was there before the tunnel was built. But I just found out that the tunnel was built in 1915, for the Panama Pacific Exposition. So he couldn't have been shot atop the tunnel, though there is a plaque there that says he was. Can anyone clear this up for me?
shareA better question for me is why was he killed? I can't figure it out and may need to read the book to find out.
shareSam Spade explains how and why Miles was killed near the end of the film; watch it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPT49WXC0Zo
*Spoilers* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPT49WXC0Zo
"Did you make coffee? Make it!"--Cheyenne.
at the corner of Bush and Stockton. There is now a staircase there. And on one of the steps there is a plaque that reads, "On this spot, Brigid O'Shaughnessy murdered Miles Archer…"
shareThanks!
shareat the corner of Bush and Stockton. There is now a staircase there. And on one of the steps there is a plaque that reads, "On this spot, Brigid O'Shaughnessy murdered Miles Archer…"
No spoiler alert…?
at the corner of Bush and Stockton. There is now a staircase there. And on one of the steps there is a plaque that reads, "On this spot, Brigid O'Shaughnessy murdered Miles Archer…"I still maintain that it is a bit of filmmaking fiction. share
What's cool is 56 years later Michael Douglas will chase Sean Penn right to that same staircase on Bush and Stockton in "The Game."
shareAs the dialog says: "Bush and Stockton". However, the scenes in the movie look like it happened at the top of a large hill, maybe a few hundred feet above the street below. In reality, Bush and Stockton at that spot is only about 20 feet above the street level heading south towards Union Square.
In short, it is a bit of movie trickery.
The plaque that says where Archer was shot is on Burritt St, an alley adjacent to the staircase on Bush and Stockton.
If you Google Map it you will see Burritt St runs parallel to Stockton St from higher up on a small hill and that is where Archer was shot and he rolled down the hill to Stockton St.
Apartment buildings have long since been built on the hill and have covered it as the article in this link shows the plaque and explains:
https://beacon.wharton.upenn.edu/kendallwhitehouse/the-maltese-falcon-the-scene-of-the-crime/
Here is a close-up of the actual plaque:
http://sfplaques.weebly.com/maltese-falcon.html
Thanks for that, Inspector. I just watched Maltese Falcon last night, so it was neat to find that photo this morning.
-AnaElisa
"All life's riddles are answered in the movies."
Archer was shot on Burritt Street, just off Bush Street, above the Stockton tunnel. Although the movie was filmed on a soundstage, it fairly accurately recreates the location at the time of the novel. Before there was an apartment building on the west side of Stockton (south of the tunnel), there were billboards, behind which was a small hill below Burritt St. This is where Archer's body tumbles in the film.
For more details, along with photos from the film and the current location, see: https://ontechnologyandmedia.com/2014/05/29/the-maltese-falcon-the-scene-of-the-crime/