Kasper Gutman

Kasper Gutman is the main antagonist of The Maltese Falcon along with his sidekicks Joel Cairo and Wilmer Cook. Also called 'The Fat Man' due to his obesity, he appears to have some sort of criminal background and has been hunting the Maltese Falcon for 17 years: a mcguffin that is extremely valuable as it has jewels and gems under its skin.

He threatens Sam Spade at gunpoint, demanding to obtain the Falcon by buying it or by force. Sam is able to disarm Wilmer and Cairo throughout the film and is able to keep calm despite his temper, while Gutman tries to patiently overwhelm him.

As the negotiations continue Sam becomes concerned about how Gutman ordered the murder of several other individuals and is worried that the police will interrupt the dealings and arrest the group. Sam agrees to a deal under the condition that they have a fallguy for the murders to distract the police. Eventually Sam chooses Wilmer as the fallguy. Wilmer attacks Sam in response but is defeated. With Sam stealing Wilmer's and Cairo's guns and holding Gutman at gunpoint: Gutman is forced to agree along with $10,000 for the bird.