The Maltese Falcon (1931)

A lovely dame with dangerous lies employs the services of a private detective, who is quickly caught up in the mystery and intrigue of a statuette known as the Maltese Falcon.

Director:

Roy Del Ruth

Writers:

Dashiell Hammett (based on the novel by), Maude Fulton (screen play & dialogue)

Stars:

Bebe Daniels, Ricardo Cortez, Dudley Digges

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bebe Daniels	...	Ruth Wonderly
Ricardo Cortez	...	Sam Spade
Dudley Digges	...	Casper Gutman
Una Merkel	...	Effie Perine
Robert Elliott	...	Detective Lt. Dundy
Thelma Todd	...	Iva Archer
Otto Matieson	...	Dr. Joel Cairo
Walter Long	...	Miles Archer
Dwight Frye	...	Wilmer Cook
J. Farrell MacDonald	...	Det. Sgt. Tom Polhouse

Storyline

Sam Spade is quite the womanizer. When his secretary tells him the new customer waiting outside his office is a knockout, he wastes no time before seeing her. It turns out she's a knockout with money. And she wants to spend it on his services as a private detective. She has some story about wanting to protect her sister. Neither he nor his partner, Miles Archer, believes it. But with the money she's paying, who cares? The job proves to be more dangerous than either of them expected. It involves not just the lovely dame with the dangerous lies, but also the sweaty Casper Gutman, the fey Joel Cairo, and the thuggish young Wilmer Cook. Three crooks, and all of them are looking for the statuette of a black bird they call the Maltese Falcon.

---

Plot Keywords:

murder | woman with a gun | psychotronic film | sam spade character | statuette | 

---

Taglines:

when WOMAN'S WEAPONS FAIL-SHE USES MAN'S! (Print Ad- Utica Observer-Dispatch, ((Utica, NY)) 7 June 1931)

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

---

Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

When originally sold to television in the 1950s, the title was changed to "Dangerous Female" in order to avoid confusion with its illustrious remake, The Maltese Falcon (1941). Fifty years later, Turner Classic Movies restored its original title card. However, as recently as April 27, 2017, the service used by cable companies to provide data for their viewing guides used the "Dangerous Female" title for TCM's showing of the movie on that date.

---

Goofs

In the second-to-last scene, as Spade identifies killers to the police, his robe goes from being relatively neat to sloppy.

---

Quotes

Ruth Wonderly: Oh, I'm so tired, Sam. Tired of everything, of myself, of lying, of thinking up lies, until I don't know a lie from the truth.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: The Babe Ruth Story (2014)

---

Soundtracks

Golden Gate
(uncredited)
Written by James Brockman and James Kendis

User Reviews

Wilmer is played by Renfield!

DWIGHT FRYE plays Wilmer Cook in this version! Imagine my amazement at finding this out. Don't get me wrong, Elisha Cook Jnr. was extremely good in the later version and Dwight's role is considerably smaller but if you asked me to pick which one was the deffinitive Wilmer I would have a very hard time. The role does not call for subtlety; Wilmer is a psychotic who enjoys his work a little too much. Both men do an admirable job playing a role that is more complex than appears on the surface. The audiences first impression is to laugh at the baby faced kid waving his big .45 automatics around and talking tough but as soon as we find out that not only is he not shy about using his weapons he is darn good with them too he becomes a frightening image because his young, fresh faced looks hide a true monster beneath the surface. Well done, Dwight. I have a new respect for this hard-to-find early version of the famous novel now and it's all thanks to you.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Chinese

Release Date:

13 June 1931 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dangerous Female

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1