The Maltese Falcon (1941)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Director: John Huston
Screenplay: John Huston based on the novel by Dashiell Hammet
Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane, Sydney Greenstreet, Ward Bond and Elisha Cook Jr.
The Pitch: “Hey, let’s make The Maltese Falcon with Bogart in the lead.”
Tagline: A guy without a conscience! A dame without a heart!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
A woman (Astor) shows up unexpectedly at the office of private detectives Sam Spade (Bogart) and Miles Archer. She needs help and because she’s a looker, Miles jumps at the chance to take lead on the case. Within hours Archer is found dead and Spade is drawn into a very different case — involving the acquisition of a priceless statute… The Maltese Falcon.
The woman hopes to get her hands on the Falcon before Kasper Gutman (Greenstreet) and his two gunmen (Lorre and Cook) find it. To do this she will need Spade’s help. Spade is up to the challenge but with the cops breathing down his neck for the murder of his partner (who DID kill him?) and more murders to come, Spade may be in over his head.
The Maltese Falcon is a classic.
Rating:
