1920S: BRIGID O’SHAUGHNESSY, THE MALTESE FALCON BY DASHIELL HAMMETT: Count on this stylish 1929 thriller to feature hard-boiled swagger at its best. Dreamy PI Sam Spade is hired by the mysterious Brigid O’Shaughnessy to follow a man who has allegedly run off with her younger sister — but things turn sour quick, and Spade learns that the glamorous Miss O’Shaughnessy is not who she seems to be. You can be sure she turns the tables in style. In one scene, Spade and the femme fatale meet at the swanky Coronet bar. The detective notes that “She had put on a satin gown of the blue shade called Artoise that season, with chalcedony shoulder-straps, and her stockings and slippers were Artoise,” which she accessorizes with “a small dark hat and a grey kidskin coat.” So chic.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 13:05:04 +0000