© Google – June 2017 – Millennium Center- Sofia, Bulgaria
Zukovsky left Istanbul because of her. She would soon discover she’d stolen a fake. Then her employer would return using lethal means to get the item.
He entered Bulgaria posing as a Jewish refuge, settling in Sofia just as Tsar Boris III plunged his nation into World War Two.
“It would not be wise to leave Istanbul right now, Mr. Gutman.”
“Nonsense, Cairo. I’m convinced Zukovsky took the item into Bulgaria.”
“I insist we wait here. You are British. I am from Greece. Turkey is neutral but Bulgaria has joined the Axis. Do you really think we’ll be allowed across the border?”
“I will not allow the item to escape me again.”
“You’ve waited seventeen years to get it, you corpulent fool. You can wait a bit longer.”
Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart), Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) Brigid O’Shaughnessy (Mary Astor), and Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet) in the 1941 film “The Maltese Falcon”.
“Stay here with that boy you met at the cabaret if you’d like, but nothing shall prevent me from acquiring the Maltese Falcon.”
I wrote my wee tale for the What Pegman Saw flash fiction writing challenge. The idea is to take the presented location and a Google maps image and use them as the inspiration for crafting a story no more than 150 words long. My word count is 150.
Today, the Pegman takes us to Bulgaria and given its rich history, it was difficult for me to settle on a particular setting or story line. The Wikipedia page had too much information, and I couldn’t find a local news story that was compelling.
I did notice on the map that Bulgaria borders Turkey. I saw the city of Istanbul and suddenly remembered the 1941 film version of the Maltese Falcon. At the end of the movie, Kasper Gutman, played by Sydney Greenstreet, and Joel Cairo, played by Peter Lorre, realize they’ve been duped by a fake and that the real Maltese Falcon must still be with the exiled Russian Zukovsky. I had always wondered what happened to them and the Falcon after that.
I leveraged items both from the 1941 movie (there are at least two other cinematic adaptations) as well as Dashiell Hammett’s original 1929 serialized story (which later was collected into a novel) to craft my tale.
The novel quite clearly alluded to a gay attraction or affair between Cairo and Gutman’s “gunsel” Wilmer Cook (in the movie, played by Elisha Cook Jr.) but that was completely removed from the 1941 film version. I added that back to Cairo’s character here, thus blending the two versions of the history.
I still own a copy of the novel, purchased decades ago, and I’ve seen the film starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor many times and hopefully you have too. If not, please click on the links I’ve provided and at least read the summaries.
I also looked up the history of Turkey, Bulgaria, and Sofia, specifically just prior to and during World War Two for added context.
To view other stories based on the prompt, go to InLinkz.com.
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Full of intrigue! The voice really captures that golden-age-of-film feeling.
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I’ve seen the movie so many times, I can hear the dialogue between Gutman and Cairo very clearly. I originally saw the movie on the big screen in Berkeley decades ago. Still one of the great movies of the 20th century.
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I read a great story in Vanity Fair about the prop from the movie. I found it more interesting than the movie itself.
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I knew a fellow who periodically had to travel to Malta for business. Says the airport sells “Maltese Falcons” by the score.
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Great use of the prompt. What a cool idea to imagine what happened to the Maltese Falcon afterward.
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Technically, there are all kinds of stories that could be written about the Falcon given its extensive, if fictional, history.
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great job with the context of Bulgaria (I say that cos I am now a little familiar after writing my post….) and I admire the way you connected the film. I have just added the Maltese Falcon to my “need to watch this winter” list.
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Glad I was able to contribute to your list. Thanks.
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👍😊
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Dear James,
If you’re going to pose as a Jewish refugee during WWII, Bulgaria was certainly the place to do it, wasn’t it? Good job.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Indeed. I tried to cram in as much subtext as I could, Rochelle. Thanks.
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Ridiculous, I know, but I never have seen the Maltese Falcon. A fascinating addition to the story here, James and I wonder if they track that elusive bird down in the end?
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Actually, I hope not, but I guess we’ll never know. You owe it to yourself to see the 1941 film. It’s less than 90 minutes long and full of intrigue and scandal.
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If I can track it down somewhere, I’ll give it a go. Thanks James 🙂
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Must be worth a fortune by now, Lynn. Good luck.
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🙂
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I have a feeling the “corpulent fool” is going to go after it anyway. He sounds impatient!
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If you’ve ever seen the film, you know Gutman is driven.
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The dialogue is real, so real, James. The use of story cataphora in the first paragraph made me stumble, probably because it didn’t feel related to a character. Loved the last line… I guessed what he was after was important… to him!
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I had to explain why the Russian exile, the man in possession of the Falcon, left Istanbul for Bulgaria. The dialog between Gutman and Cairo was easy because I’ve seen the movie so many times.
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