Detective Tom Polhaus and Lieutenant Dundy (Ward Bond and Barton MacLane)

Character Analysis

Cop Out

The cops in 1941 San Francisco don't seem to be very effective…is it all the fog in the City By the Bay that's clouding their judgment?

They must have a history with Sam Spade, because they let him get away with whatever he wants. When he tells the detective, "Don't crowd me, Tom," Tom backs off. Spade also throws some of his characteristic homophobia their way, sniping, "What's your boyfriend gettin' at?" during an interrogation scene.

The cops provide extra tension and make the viewer suspicious. Maybe Spade did kill Archer, and he's using the bad guys to pin it on them. But this turns out to be misdirection, and in the end, Spade is a good(ish) guy after all, turning the baddies, including Brigid, over to the cops.