The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

Dashiell Hammett (novel)
John Huston (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 October 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery

Tagline:

It's thrilling . . . it's chilling . . . it's the most baffling mystery story in years !

Plot:

A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.

Plot Keywords:

Partner | Murder | Police | Maltese Falcon | Statuette

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Sam Spade
Mary Astor	...	Brigid O'Shaughnessy
Gladys George	...	Iva Archer
Peter Lorre	...	Joel Cairo
Barton MacLane	...	Det. Lt. Dundy
Lee Patrick	...	Effie Perine
Sydney Greenstreet	...	Kasper Gutman
Ward Bond	...	Det. Tom Polhaus
Jerome Cowan	...	Miles Archer
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Wilmer Cook
James Burke	...	Luke
Murray Alper	...	Frank Richman
John Hamilton	...	District Attorney Bryan

Also Known As:

The Gent from Frisco (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G (TV rating) | UK:A (original rating) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | UK:PG (video rating) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Spain:T | Iceland:L | West Germany:16 (nf) | New Zealand:PG | South Korea:12 (2003) | Brazil:12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL | Norway:16 (1945) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #7457)

Filming Locations:

Bush Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

One of the first films admitted to the National Film Registry in its inaugural year, 1989.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Dundy and Polhaus are in the Spade's house, Spade serves a drink to them. When he begins to serve, Dundy is standing and Polhaus sitting. Then Polhaus stands up in the right side of Spade. Next shot he is in front of Spade.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sam Spade: Yes, sweetheart?
Effie Perine: There's a girl wants to see you. Her name's Wonderly.
Sam Spade: A customer?
Effie Perine: I guess so. You'll want to see her anyway. She's a knockout.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Remington Steele: Steele Flying High (#1.12)" (1983)

One of the Most Entertaining Films of Its Kind

With a fine combination of cast, characters, story, and atmosphere, this classic is one of the most entertaining films of its kind, enjoyable even after several viewings. It gets you right into the action and introduces you to a list of interesting personalities, who mesh together nicely and who are also matched well with the cast members. Beyond that, it's also effective as a character study involving greed, trust and distrust, and conflicting ethics.

Sam Spade is an ideal role for Bogart, giving him plenty to work with and some very good dialogue as well. Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet are very entertaining, providing suitable foils for Bogart, and they really take the film up a notch. The rest of the cast also works well (worth mentioning is Elisha Cook, Jr., whose character doesn't do a lot, but who provides Bogart with some very amusing moments at his expense). The story is nicely adapted from the novel, and each scene is constructed well, with everything moving along nicely from start to finish.

If you are a fan of either film noir or mysteries, make this a must-see. There are very few films that work as well as "The Maltese Falcon".