MovieChat Forums > The Maltese Falcon (1941) Discussion > 'I hope they don't hang you, Precious, b...

'I hope they don't hang you, Precious, by that sweet neck.'

posted 11 years ago by curlew-2
6 replies | jump to latest

Out of curiosity I did a little research. The good news is that they probably wouldn't have hung her. The bad news was that, at the time the film was made, California was switching over to the gas chamber.

Of course, if we presume the film was taking place at the same time as when the book was written, then Brigid would've hung.

Why yes, I am a bit morbid at times. Why do you ask?

"I'm not reckless . . . I'm skillful!"

[–] Zuider_Zee 10 years ago

I received the impression that he was hoping for exactly that.

[–] doug65oh 10 years ago

Then, too, Spade might well have had one other motive for mentioning the gallows: To plant in her mind the seed of terror. I think he was actually taunting her by bringing up the prospect of a 20 year stretch in prison – all the while knowing that she probably wouldn’t get that lucky. She knew all too well that last moment of Miles Archer’s life. The spectre of the gallows would force her to ponder what the last moment of her own life would be like.

[–] Nikostratos 10 years ago

I'm not too sure about that. His tone of voice sounded genuinly sad when he said that, but I wasn't convinced with his "I'll be waiting" line. I haven't read the book in a long time, and I don't remember if there was mention of any insight to this, so it's pure speculation.

[–] Nikostratos 10 years ago

It was premeditated murder, so she would have gotten the gallows, at least that's how I saw it, and I think Spade saw it the same way. The line he fed her "If you're a good girl, you'll be out in 20 years and I'll be waiting" was bull-s...

[–] joystar5879 10 years ago

I think it would have been the Gallows as well. First, Hammett wrote it during the time period of the Gallows, and second, if you were sentenced to the Gallows, you usually had the choice of the old or the new. I imagine that a lot of the old timers chose the Gallows, because they knew what to expect.

I do hope he won't upset Henry...

[–] liscarkat (19416) 3 years ago

Lethal gas legally replaced hanging as the method of execution in California on August 27, 1937. The first execution in California's gas chamber took place on December 2, 1938. Criminals who had been sentenced to death prior to August 27, 1937 were still hanged, so the last hanging in California took place on May 1, 1942.