He Looked Rather Pleasantly, Like A Blonde

Joel Cairo: You Always Have A Very Smooth Explanation Ready. Sam Spade: What Do You Want Me To Do, Learn To Stutter?

When You Write, You Want Fame, Fortune And Personal Satisfaction. You Want To Write What You Want To Write And Feel It's Good, And You Want This To Go On For Hundreds Of Years. You're Not Likely Ever To Get All These Things, And You're Not Likely To Give Up Writing And Commit Suicide If You Don't, But That Is -- And Should Be -- Your Goal. Anything Else Is Kind Of Piddling.

I Couldn't Be Fonder Of You If You Were My Own Son. But, Well, If You Lose A Son, Its Possible To Get Another. There's Only One Maltese Falcon.

He Felt Like Somebody Had Taken The Lid Off Life And Let Him See The Works.

What I Try To Do Is Write A Story About A Detective Rather Than A Detective Story. Keeping The Reader Fooled Until The Last, Possible Moment Is A Good Trick And I Usually Try To Play It, But I Can't Attach More Than Secondary Importance To It. The Puzzle Isn't So Interesting To Me As The Behavior Of The Detective Attacking It.