Musings On "The Maltese Falcon" 6

Leading up to a 75th anniversary theatrical viewing of The Maltese Falcon, I've been re-watching Huston's classic adaption and re-reading Hammett's novel. It remains a favorite, though I see through different eyes now that I'm about the age of Spade's ill-fated partner, Miles Archer, than I did when I read and watched it repeatedly as a bookish pre-teen who had just discovered film noir and the novels of Hammett and Chandler.

Image via VF: Digital Colorization by Lorna Clark; Left, by Paul Schraub/The Collection of Hank Risan; Right, from the Everett Collection.

That a gambling mogul has paid millions of dollars for prop Maltese Falcon of dubious provenance just feels ... perfect. [Vanity Fair]

The fake falcon is made of lead, Gutman tells us. Kemidov must have figured out what he had and crafted a replica to fool Gutman's agents. The question is, was there a real lead prop? Or, were they all plaster? If there was a lead prop, is that what Wynn has, or did he get Kemidoved? 
We may never know for sure.

(Have to admit, I've poked around looking for replica to put on my bookshelf. They're a little pricey though. On the cheap end, you can pick one up on etsy for about $85. But at that price point, what you can get is ... *coughs discreetly* ... rubbish. Go up $100 from there and the replicas start looking better, but $85 was already more than I was looking to spend, never mind the $200 ballpark.)