Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Maltese Falcon and Monsieur Spade episode 1!
Summary
The Maltese Falconis one of themost iconic noir movies of all time, and here is everything thatMonsieur Spadereveals that happened between the beloved movie and the TV show.Monsieur Spadeacts as a sequel toThe Maltese Falcon, with the TV show that is now streaming on Netflix bringing back many of the beloved characters from the original movie for an all-new detective adventure.The first episode ofMonsieur Spadespends a lot of time highlighting the events that occurred in the wake ofThe Maltese Falcon’s ending, such as these nine revelations.
Sam Spade was the iconic private investigator behind the events ofThe Maltese Falcon, with Humphrey Bogart’s character spending most of the film attempting to locate the titular artifact while untangling a complex web of murder. While tons of stories centering around Sam Spade have been told,Monsieur Spadeattempts to be a proper sequel to the film, taking place in the same timeline. However,Monsieur Spadepicks up twenty years after the events of the original film, meaning that it had a lot to catch viewers up onafterThe Maltese Falcon’s story.
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9Brigid O’Shaughnessy Went To Prison & Was Released After Two Years
For Her Crimes In The Maltese Falcon
AlthoughBrigid O’Shaughnessy was the femme fatale who initially approached Sam Spade inThe Maltese Falcon, she ended up being the main perpetrator behind the film’s crimes. As it turns out, Brigid approached Spade and Archer to track her partner in crime, Thursby. She then informed Thursby that he was being followed, with her subsequently killing Archer and framing Thursby to get rid of the accomplice and keep the profits all to herself. Unfortunately, she was caught and sentenced to 20 years in prison at the end ofThe Maltese Falcon.
As it turns out, Brigid only had to spend two years of her sentence in prison.Monsieur Spadereveals that the titular detective was able to pull some strings and get her out of prison early, with her lying about an illness to gain sympathy. Brigid was then set free, meaning that she only had to serve a short time for her murders inThe Maltese Falcon.
8Sam Spade & Brigid Briefly Rekindled Their Romance
After He Helped Her Get Out Of Prison
Despite Brigid’s villainous tendencies throughoutThe Maltese Falcon, her and Sam Spade had a brief romance, although this ended upon her arrest. WhileThe Maltese Falcongives no reason to believe that Spade and Brigid ever met again after the events of the film,Monsieur Spadereveals that the original detective storywasn’t the end of their relationship.
After Brigid’s arrest,Sam Spade clearly wasn’t over her, which is why they rekindled their romance when she was released two years after the events ofThe Maltese Falcon. In the show, Sam Spade reveals that they did rekindle their romantic connection, but it didn’t last long. They eventually broke things off for unknown reasons, with Brigid then heading to Europe and starting a relationship with a thief named Phillippe Saint Andre, something that becomes important later in the show.
7Brigid Died Before The Events Of Monsieur Spade
In A Train Derailment Near Istanbul
Brigid’s time in Europe didn’t last long either, with it only going on for two years after her breakup with Sam Spade. Brigid continued to be in a relationship with Phillippe Saint Andre, with the two continuing their illicit criminal activities throughout the rest of her life. However, Sam Spade and Brigid never reunited, with her dying before the events ofMonsieur Spade.
The TV show reveals that around four years after getting out of prison,Brigid had made her way to Istanbul. Unfortunately, Brigid died in a trail derailment accident, putting an end to her life of crime. However, this was not the end of her influence on Sam Spade’s life, as he spends much ofMonsieur Spadedealing with the fallout of the criminal activities that she perpetrated before her death.
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She Worked With Her Criminal Partner
After moving to Europe and beginning her relationship with the thief Phillippe Saint Andre,Brigid went back to her ways as a con artist and criminal, continuing her life of crime. Brigid and Phillippe used a complex blackmail scheme in order to steal properties and artifacts, with these allowing the duo to get incredibly wealthy. This is explained to Sam Spade by Garbielle, another important character who is introduced in the events ofMonsieur Spade.
However, Brigid clearly didn’t trust Phillippe with the money, as she found a way to keep much of it out of his hands. Brigid ended up creating a trust fund that held much of their wealth, with it being designed to go to her daughter on her eighteenth birthday. This storyline proves that Brigid’s Maltese Falcon scam isn’t the only time that the character has been involved with long cons involving valuable artifacts.
Monsieur Spadealso reveals a lot about the daughter in question, with her name being Teresa. The series explains that, after meeting Phillippe, the duo had a daughter. Although Brigid is no longer around to be in Sam Spade’s life, Teresa is, with her being one of the main characters in theTV show sequel toThe Maltese Falcon.
5Sam Spade Met Teresa (8 Years Before The Events Of The Show)
He Looks Out For Brigid’s Daughter
Despite Brigid being out of Sam Spade’s life,Spade makes an effort to meet her daughter, Teresa. As it turns out, Phillippe denied being the father of Teresa after Brigid’s death, leading to Teresa getting put in an orphanage. Upon discovering this, Spade tracked down Teresa and attempted to bring her to her father. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work out. The duo is forced to spend the night in a car together with him then sadly having to leave her at The Covenant.
The bond between Spade and Teresa remained strong, with Spade periodically checking in on Teresa. Teresa wants to leave The Covenant and stay with Spade, but things unfortunately don’t work out. However, this connection becomes vital to the rest of the show, with Teresa and Spade’s relationship being heavily explored throughoutMonsieur Spade.
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4Sam Spade Has Retired From His Time As A Detective
In The 20 Years Since The Movie
Sam Spade proves himself to be an incredibly talented detective throughout the events ofThe Maltese Falcon, but by the time the main events ofMonsieur Spaderoll around, it becomes known that this is no longer the case. As it turns out, Sam Spade retired sometime after the events of the film, with him instead becoming the owner of a club. It isn’t fully known what drove Spade to retire in episode 1 of the show, but since he is20 years older inMonsieur Spade, this revelation does make sense.
Unfortunately, Spade’s retirement doesn’t last long, asthe events ofMonsieur Spadeforce him back into his detective role. Brigid’s influence, Teresa, and the murder of Phillippe and several nuns send Sam Spade back to his old ways, with him becoming determined to get to the bottom of the case.
3Spade Left San Francisco & Moved To France
Leaving The Maltese Falcon’s Iconic Setting
Sam Spade is heavily associated with his San Francisco setting, withThe Maltese Falcon’s identity being defined by the city. However,Monsieur Spadeputs a spin on things, completely changing the setting of the TV show. By the 1960s setting of the show, Sam Spade has relocated to Bozouls, a region in the South of France.
This just so happens to be where Phillippe resides, with it being the main setting of the show. Much like howSan Francisco defined the tone ofThe Maltese Falcon, this France setting defines the tone ofMonsieur Spade, with every detail down to the title hinting at the show’s French setting. This allows Sam Spade’s new mystery to have a unique feel and a lot of fun twists and turns that wouldn’t otherwise work at his former home.
2Sam Spade Married A Woman Named Gabrielle
Who Has Connections To The Murder Case
While attempting to reunite Teresa with Phillippe, Sam Spade meets a woman named Gabrielle, with her becoming his only love outside of Brigid.A lot of the history between Spade and Gabrielle remains unknown in episode 1 ofMonsieur Spade, but the series does reveal that after meeting in 1955, the duo got married sometime after.
After getting married to Gabrielle, Spade and his wife found a home in France and settled there, living a happy life. However, this only lasted a short time before tragedy struck Sam Spade’s life once again.
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1Gabrielle Died Shortly After Marrying Spade
But He Still Lives In Their Home
It is also revealed that Gabrielle died shortly after marrying Sam Spade, with this tragic event occurring in 1961, two years before the events ofMonsieur Spade. Despite her death, Spade decides to continue living in France, with him remaining in the house that the couple once resided in.
Throughout the show,Gabrielle’s history with Phillippe, Teresa, and Brigid comes to play a big role in the mystery, with Sam Spade having to uncover many of these threads. So, while Gabrielle did unfortunately die before the mainMonsieur Spadetimeline, she is still an incredibly important character throughout the TV show, with her addition being one of the best elements that was added between the events ofThe Maltese Falconand the series.
Monsieur Spade
Cast
Based on the works of Dashiell Hammet, Monsieur Spade is a mystery crime-drama series created for AMC by Scott Frank and Tom Fontana. The series follows Detective Sam Spade years into retirement, now living in France. His peaceful era is interrupted by a former foe who begins a string of murders, forcing Sam to return and uncover the truth about the town he now inhabits.
