The story shifts in and out of shadowy doorways and dimly lit apartments and coils around these characters and their quest to find the falcon. Although the femme fatale doesn't entirely bring the downfall of the protagonist Bogart, she does have him doubting both himself and her motives throughout the entire film. He realizes early in the film that she isn't as blameless as she seems, and he directly tells her this when he says, ""You're good. It's chiefly your eyes, I think--and that throb you get in your voice when you say things like, 'be generous, Mr. Spade.' '' However, as the movie goes on, he seems to trust her, and in his own cynical, pessimistic way, he probably does. But unfortunately, he uncovers that she is the person who killed his partner and even though Spade didn't like the guy, he feels the need to make up for it. He turns her into the cops and sends her packing at the end, and he is therefore, redeemed in the eyes of the viewer as a hero. This film made Bogart an icon, not just in film in general, but ultimately in film noir.
A lesser-known film is The Lady From Shanghai. In this labyrinthine film, written, directed and produced by Orson Welles, a man is hired on by a rich couple to work on their yacht and is drawn into a world of greed and murder. Welles, who was blacklisted when the film was made, persuaded his estranged wife Rita Hayworth to play the femme fatale role of Elsa Bannister. To cheapen Hayworth's appeal, her red hair was cut short and bleached blond and her wardrobe for the film was-shall I say- quite suggestive for 1948. She plays the femme fatale to a "T." Even her fingernails look like claws! Her husband has hired a detective to watch her, as she is quite untrustworthy. Also in the film is Bannister's law partner, George Grigsby. Grigsby hires Michael (Welles) to make is look like he murdered him. However, Elsa frames Michael when she murders the detective, and he is almost completely ruined.