The Maltese Falcon (BBC Radio)

Set in San Francisco in the late 1920s, The Maltese Falcon follows hard-boiled private detective Sam Spade, whose life is upended after a mysterious woman hires his agency and his partner is soon murdered.

Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett
Original Broadcast: BBC Radio 4, 29 December 1984 Cast

• Sam Spade — Tom Wilkinson
• Brigid O’Shaughnessy — Jane Lapotaire
• Kasper Gutman — Peter Vaughan
• Joel Cairo — Nickolas Grace
• Effie Perine — Mia Soteriou
• Miles Archer — William Hope
• Iva Archer — Liza Ross
• Wilmer Cook — Peter Acre
• Tom Polhaus — Norman Jones
• Lieutenant Dundy — Harry Towb
• District Attorney Bryan — Don Fellows
• Newspaperman — Robin Summers
• Taxi Driver — Keith Edwards
• Man with the Key — Arnold Diamond

Production Credits

• Dramatised by: Michael Bakewell
• Directed by: Jane Morgan
• Produced by: BBC Radio Drama

This BBC audio adaptation is noted for its faithful noir tone, sharp dialogue, and Tom Wilkinson’s commanding performance as Sam Spade, capturing the moral ambiguity and tension that define Hammett’s classic detective story.