Meet the Cast
Sam Spade
Name: Sam SpadeHeight: 6'0''Eyes: Yellowish grayHair: Pale brown, almost blondAge: 30sClothing: Gray suit, tweed overcoat, green necktie, dark gray fedoraIf the cops had a file on Sam Spade, t...
Brigid O'Shaughnessy
Trouble with a Capital TMiss Wonderly a.k.a. Miss Leblanc a.k.a. Brigid O'Shaughnessy is the classic femme fatale. What's a femme fatale, you ask? Good question. A French term meaning "deadly woman...
Casper Gutman
The Fat Man. That's how we're first introduced to our villain, Caspar Gutman. Wealthy, cunning, and obsessed with a black bird, Gutman is initially described almost exclusively in terms of his exce...
Joel Cairo
Joel Cairo works for Casper Gutman and is portrayed as a wimpy, delicate, sleazy "fairy." The character of Joel Cairo was based on a criminal Hammett arrested for forgery in Pasco, Washington in 19...
Effie Perine
Oh Effie. She's is Spade's devoted secretary, and what can we say? Shmoop definitely has a soft spot for her. She's one of the few downright honest people in the whole novel. She's down-to-earth, s...
Wilmer Cook
Wilmer is Gutman's punk kid enforcer. He is young and completely out-gunned and out-classed by Spade. We don't know much about Wilmer, except that he's steadfastly loyal to Gutman up until the mome...
Miles Archer
Miles Archer is Sam Spade's partner. He's in his thirties, well-built, and jovial. We only meet him briefly in Chapter 1 when he is introduced to Miss Wonderly. Archer tails Thursby that night, but...
Iva Archer
Iva is Miles Archer's wife, but she's having an affair with Spade, so we're guessing the marriage isn't exactly smooth sailing. The narrator describes her as aging, but still beautiful. When we mee...
Minor Characters
Floyd ThursbyFloyd Thursby was Brigid's partner, but he winds up dead before we ever get to meet him. We learn from Tom Polhaus that several years ago, Thursby was a St Louis gunman who got in trou...