Who Will Control the Black Bird?

Introduction In The Maltese Falcon original novel (Hammett) and film adaptations, most famously in the 1941 John Huston adaptation starring Humphrey Bogart, we see a number of people scrambling to secure an artifact seen as priceless, the black bird statue of the title. Set in 1920s San Francisco, The Maltese Falcon is recognised as one of the earliest original noir classics. Sam Spade and Miles Archer, private investigators, are hired by a mysterious woman to follow her lover, Floyd Thursby. The next morning both Archer and Thursby are dead, and Spade is stuck in the middle. He soon realises that the true motive for both the killings and following Thursby revolved around a valuable statue, the Maltese falcon. This leads Spade on a hunt for the murderer of his ex-partner and the treasured statue. In his quest, Spade must contend with dangerous individuals also looking to acquire the falcon. Detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart in the film adaptation) is drawn into the conflict related to finding and obtaining the artifact. Despite individuals with great skills being part of the chase, no individual can accomplish the task solely on their own. Thus, each character needs to gain information or support from multiple other competitors to be successful. This is not an easy task when a believed fortune is at stake and the trustworthiness of all players can be questioned. To gain advantage and progress toward ultimate victory, the characters in The Maltese Falcon need to use the power they have and engage in different strategies and tactics to gain needed information and ultimate control of the black bird. The success of these strategies varies significantly, as will be seen. In this article we will analyse the characters of The Maltese Falcon and their actions within the framework of bases of power and influence tactics, major concepts in the fields of management and psychology. This analysis method lets us better understand the intent of various characters in their actions and assess their effectiveness as well as their efforts to neutralise or reduce the impact of these bases and tactics. Bases of Power and Influence Tactics In considering the events of The Maltese Falcon, the impact of power and how it is used is crucial to the narrative. Power, a major aspect of human society, can be viewed in sociological or political science in terms of groups of people and whole social systems (Martin 2), or in management or psychology terms as individuals influencing each other (French and Raven 151). Power can involve “power over” others due to position or role as well as “power to” collaboratively work with and influence others (Wrong). In the fields of management and psychology, one major way of looking at the different types of power people possess is provided by French and Raven (151). They divide power into power bases that are position-based or personal-based. Position means power a person has due to the position, job, or role they have, a similar concept to the hierarchical power of the “power over” concept (Wrong). For example, a manager has recognised power to reward or punish subordinates, and in the United States the president also is recognised as the Commander-in-Chief of the military. Personal powers are more connected to someone’s personal characteristics. Thus, we can see them possessing these powers regardless of the role or position they hold. A person’s charisma or expertise falls into this category. We will review each of the specific power bases below and connect how they relate to particular characters and situations in the story. Legitimate Power Legitimate power involves power that is recognised as coming with a particular job or role. A CEO or president is recognised as having certain authority or power that comes with that title. This allows them to influence relevant people or groups of people (French and Raven 151). The major characters in The Maltese Falcon generally lack legitimate power, at least as far as the premise of the book and movie are concerned. Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet) has legitimate power within his criminal organisation, perhaps, but lacks legitimate recognition of owning the Maltese Falcon or an official relevant job. Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) and Brigid O’Shaughnessy (Mary Astor) do not have jobs that come with particular power attached. No character has legitimate, recognised ownership of the Maltese Falcon. Thus, anyone who can seize the object has control of it. The one element of legitimate power we do see is Sam Spade in his role as detective. While Spade is not treated with ample respect by the police in the narrative, he is given more leeway than the other characters. As a detective, his role is recognised by the police as one that involves searching for information and at times interacting with nefarious characters (Hammett 25). This gives him greater ease of movement and ability to move around than the other characters. While he has no legitimate right to the falcon statue, his role as a detective makes his search for it more legitimate. Reward Power The next type of power is called reward power. Particular roles or people can have resources or things others value. Having the ability to give (or even offer) a valued commodity can give a person influence over another (French and Raven 152). Within The Maltese Falcon, different characters have access to rewards other characters could desire. Both Gutman and Cairo offer money to Spade for finding and handing over the falcon (Hammett 55), while O’Shaughnessy offers Spade love or just sex for his help (Hammett 267). Coercive Power The third type of positional power is coercive power, and relates to the punishments or negative outcomes a person is believed capable of visiting on someone else: in other words, the perceived negative consequences if the demands of a person are not met (French and Raven 152). We see examples of this across the movie and book. In the film, Wilmer Cook almost exclusively uses threats to try to get what he wants out of Spade (Huston). Gutman uses a range of tactics and power types, such as ingratiation and rational persuasion, but is not above threatening negative consequences. Information Power Information power relates to the idea that a person’s role or position may give them access to information that is valuable to others (Raven et al. 308). In organisations this might be the right person to talk to for approval, the best process to use in a task, or the political dynamics in place. This could be information that is very valuable to have. When a person controls information, they have power over others in deciding who gets the information. Within The Maltese Falcon, knowledge related to the artifact is valuable. Gutman has significant knowledge of the history of the artifact and its true nature (Huston). Brigid O’Shaughnessy has information related to where the artifact is that others are desperate to possess (Hammett 110). While Spade begins the narrative with very little knowledge of the Maltese Falcon, he pretends to others that he knows a lot more than he does (Hammett 130). This leads characters to be influenced by him even though he does not have the information they need; the fact people believe he has information gives him power. This actually helps him to gain more information, as other characters give him information that they assume he already has. Referent Power The next two power bases relate to personal power, elements related to the person rather than their role. Referent power relates to the likeability or appealing nature of a person. If we feel positive toward a person, we are more likely to be influenced by them and help them (Atwater and Yammarino 5). Brigid O’Shaughnessy is a character who uses significant referent power. Her role as a noir femme fatale means that many men in the narrative want to be close to her. She uses that to her advantage to get people to do what she wants. She uses this as her main appeal to Spade, trying to use his attraction to her so that he helps her achieve her goals (even while often withholding crucial information). Thursby is a man who was previously in her sway, whom she discards when he stops being useful (Hammett 258). Expert Power The last power base is called expert power and relates to the power a person gains from their skills and knowledge. The skills and knowledge a person has help them to be successful in situations and know what to do. This power is greater when others recognise the person as an expert, too. When others feel someone is an expert, they are likely to defer to their judgment and follow their advice (French and Raven 156). Within The Maltese Falcon, Gutman has significant knowledge on the artifact in question. Other characters recognise this, and it often allows him to lead the proceedings. Sam Spade meanwhile is recognised for his skills as a detective. Characters try to get Spade on their side because they believe he will be a significant help in securing the artifact. Influence Tactics While having potential power is helpful, how people try to influence others is just as important. Research by Kipnis et al. (440) started the examination of specific tactics people use to influence others. While a power base allows for the potential of influence, an individual may use a wide variety of different tactics across situations. Influence tactics have been found in meta-analytic examination to relate positively to work outcomes such as job performance, salary, and promotions (Higgins et al. 96). Most characters in The Maltese Falcon try multiple tactics to gain advantage and influence. We will define here a few major ones used. Pressure tactics build on the idea of coercive power, as they involve a person making demands and threats (Yukl and Falbe 133). Thus, pressure is put on a person to change their behaviour or opinion. While many characters use pressure at times, one major example is Spade w