The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird (2006)

An appreciation and the story of the "making of" THE MALTESE FALCON.

Director:

Gary Leva

Stars:

Julie Rivett, Joe Gores, Eddie Muller

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julie Rivett	...	Self
Joe Gores	...	Self
Eddie Muller	...	Self
Richard Layman	...	Self
Lincoln Hurst	...	Self (as Lincoln D. Hurst)
Peter Bogdanovich	...	Self
Larry Cohen	...	Self
Rudy Behlmer	...	Self
Eric Lax	...	Self
Michael B. Druxman	...	Self
Michael Madsen	...	Self
Frank Miller	...	Self
Henry Rollins	...	Self
James Cromwell	...	Self
Stephen D. Youngkin	...	Self (as Stephen Youngkin)

Storyline

The Maltese Falcon (1941) is a national treasure. Often cited as the first Film Noir, many film historians consider it the greatest detective movie ever made. In One Magnificent Bird, we discover how the film's mean streets, dark shadows and razor-edged cast each became the prototype for future detective thrillers and atmospheric Noir dramas. Through interviews with such film artists as Peter Bogdanovich, Michael Madsen, James Cromwell, Frank Miller and Christopher McQuarrie, we uncover the magic that director John Huston brought to this, his first feature film. As a bonus, our documentary also examines the two previous attempts to adapt Dashiell Hammett's dark novel to the screen, first as a by-the-book detective picture, then as an out-and-out comedy starring a young Bette Davis.

---

Plot Keywords:

making of | 

---

Genres:

Documentary | Short

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Maltese Falcon statue featured throughout the program was provided by Ken Patterson's Haunted Studios. Ken has been selling castings of his "Real Maltese Falcon" since 1963.

---

Connections

Features The Maltese Falcon (1941)

User Reviews

Very Good Documentary

Maltese Falcon, The: One Magnificent Bird (2006)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Peter Bogdanovich, Rudy Behlmer, Lincoln Hurst, Larry Cohen, Michael Madsen, Joe Gores, Eddie Muller, James Cromwell and Frank Miller are just a few of the people who show up to discuss THE MALTESE FALCON, the landmark 1941 film from John Huston and Humphrey Bogart. The film starts off talking about the original story and then we get into the 1931 version as well as the 1936 one under the title of Satan MET A LADY. From here the spotlight is on the 1941 film, its production, hiring of the cast and its reputation of one of the greatest films ever made. At just over 30-minutes there's certainly nothing too detailed here but it remains a very entertaining featurette. I think the greatest thing is just getting to hear the history behind the film as well as the original lead that the studio wanted. Another highlight is getting to hear about how the supporting actors got hired on and of course the other films that the success of this would lead to. Fans like Cohen, Madsen and Bogdanovich share their opinions on the film while historians Hurst and Behlmer talk about some of the behind-the-scenes stuff. If you're a fan of the film then this here is going to be a must-see. One could always hope it was a tad bit longer but they manage to cram quite a bit into the 30-minutes.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 October 2006 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Leva FilmWorks

Technical Specs

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1