SNMR 2.25: "The Maltese Falcon"

Tonight's SNMR feature is "The Maltese Falcon" (1941, NR, 100 minutes, B&W), starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Elisha Cook Jr. and Ward Bond. The film was directed by John Huston. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards in 1942 but did not win any.

The first time that I saw this film was in a film criticism class in college. The professor I had was a big black and white movie fan and introduced me to the films of Humphrey Bogart. Bogey easily became one of my favorite actors of the time. Some of the best movies ever made starred Humphrey Bogart.

From the DVD's dust case:

A gallery of high-living lowlies will stop at nothing to get their sweaty hands on a jewel-encrusted falcon. Detective Sam Spade (Bogart) wants to find out why - and who'll take the fall. This third screen version of Dashiell Hammett's novel is a film of firsts: John Huston's directorial debut, rotund Sydney Greenstreet's film debut, history's first film noir and Bogart's breakthrough role after years as a Warner contract player. An all-star cast (including Greenstreet, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre and Elisha Cook, Jr.) join Bogart in this crisply written sizzler that placed in the top quarter of of the American Film Institute's Fifty Greatest Films list. Many say it's the best detective drama ever. Each time you see it, you'll find it hard to disagree.

From Martin & Porter's DVD & Video Guide 2007, p. 701:

One of the all-time great movies, John Huston's first effort as director is the definitive screen version of Dashiell Hammett's crime story. In a maze of double-crosses and back-stabbing, Humphrey Bogart, as Sam Spade, fights to get hold of a black bird, "the stuff that dreams are made of."

I've always enjoyed this film, and even based one of my college television production projects on it. The script is adapted well from the book and the cast is generally superb. The only weak link being Mary Astor, but the star power of the other cast members more than makes up for it. Bogart, Lorre and Greenstreet have an on-screen chemistry that carries over into several films that they made together. This film popularized the pulp fiction detective story genre onto the big screen and is a classic that everyone should see- but only in the original black and white format. I'll give this film four and a half out of five stars.