How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from The Maltese Falcon.
Quote #1
SPADE: How much money have you got?
BRIGID: I've got about $500 left.
SPADE: Give it to me.
Spade is a business man, not a charity. He needs money to make this case worth his time and effort, and he has no qualms about taking all Brigid's money and telling her to pawn her furs and jewelry if she needs more dough.
Quote #2
CAIRO: You see, if you know more than I do, then I shall profit by your knowledge. So will you, to the extent of $5,000.
This is a lot of money in the 1940s, so Spade knows that even though he just retrieving a little bird statue, it's probably going to be big trouble. But with that kind of money, it's worth it.
Quote #3
GUTMAN: We all know the Holy Wars to them were largely a matter of loot.
The Maltese Falcon came about because of incidents that happened during the Crusades, but Gutman reminds us that in the course of human history, everything boils down to greed.
Quote #4
GUTMAN: I don't see how you can honestly grant anyone else a clear title to it except by right of possession.
Possession is 9/10 of the law, right? That's easy to say when you're the one holding the object. By this point, the Maltese Falcon has no clear owner, so it's a free-for-all as to whoever can get his hands on it first.
Quote #5
GUTMAN: There's no telling how high it could go, sir. That is the one and only truth about it.
Spade may not be a naturally greedy man, but everyone is tempted by large sums of cash. Gutman uses the promise of up to a quarter of a million dollars, a huge amount by even today's standards, to keep Spade on the case.
Quote #6
SPADE: Are you ready to make the first payment and take the Falcon off my hands? […] $10,000? We was talking about a lot more coin than this. […]
SPADE: Oh yes, later you'll give me millions, but how's about $15,000 now?
We think Spade's bargaining is more because he wants to inconvenience Gutman, not because he is greedy for more money. Spade wants to put the squeeze on the fat man and see if he's as honest as he says he is. (He's not!)
Quote #7
GUTMAN: Seventeen years I've wanted that little item, and have been trying to get it. If we must spend another year on the quest...
In cartoons, when someone is hit in the head, they see little birds spinning around their skull. Gutman probably sees the Maltese Falcon spinning around every time he closes his eyes. His entire life is devoted to the quest for the bird. We think he might be okay with not finding it yet, because that means his life still has a purpose. What will he do with himself when his greedy quest is over?
Quote #8
BRIGID: Would you have done this if the Falcon had been real and you got your money?
SPADE: Don't be too sure I'm as crooked as I'm supposed to be.
Brigid is in it for money. Gutman is in it for money. Cairo is in it for money. Thursby was probably in it for money. These are Brigid's closest allies/enemies, so she assumes that money is also Spade's primary motivation, but he tells her that it isn't. Do you believe him? Since he turns her in, and turns down Gutman's offer to go after the bird, we think he's telling the truth.
Quote #9
SPADE: The stuff that dreams are made of.
The greedy quest for the Falcon reminds us of another Bogart film: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. In both, greed gets the better of people and forces them to do terrible things. This last line of the movie is how Spade describes the Falcon. It may seem like the dream, but in reality, it's a nightmare.