The Maltese Falcon (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
'The Maltese Falcon' (directed by the great John Huston & scripted by Dashiell Hammet - from his own novel) is a classic 1941 film noir in which Humphrey Bogart leaps up from B-movies to star as a wise-crackin', cynical private eye who gets caught in a sticky web of lies over a stolen valuable. One day at his San Fran detective agency, Sam Spade (Bogart) receives a visit from one, Ruth Wonderly (Mary Astor), who plees him to help find her missing sister. Sam sends his partner {who he doesn't like much}, Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan), to follow Ruth when she meets Floyd Thursby, the man she 'thinks' her sister is with and, both Miles & Thursby are murdered. To that, Sam is suspected by the cops - who he hates - of murder.
As it turns out, the woman is not a Ruth Wonderly, but really Brigid O'Shaughnessy and, it is NOT a sister she seeks ... but the titular jeweled 16th c. falcon statue. It also turns out that she is mixed-up with some nefarious people who will kill to get it. One of them is Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre), who comes to see Sam Spade to insist - with a gun in hand - that he be allowed to search Sam's office for that very falcon. Sam is not intimidated by Joel in the least, but allows him to forage forit. Also after the statue is Mr. Kasper "the fat man" Gutman (Sidney Greenstreet), with his "gunsel", Wilmer. The two alternately threaten & try to bribe Sam, while Brigid appeals to his safeguarding nature ...& his heart. Drama, mistrust & twists ensue.
One of the most fascinating components of this classic is the way Sam thinks through the moral dilemmas of this situation. When he's deciding whether to tell the cops about Brigid - who may or may not have had something to do with the murder(s) - he is explicit about weighing every single aspect of his choices. On one hand, he has fallen in love with her and, he never cared much for his partner. On the other hand, it is impossible to trust her; he doesn't think that she trusts HIM; and he knows that they could never work as a couple moving forward, anyway; betrayals would abound. Turn her over to the police ... he loses her. If he doesn't pursue her arrest, he loses his integrity, which is crucial to the very fiber of his being as a detective & a person.
Though it contains great direction, 'The Maltese Falcon' soars mostly due to its bizarre characterizations, the intriguing conversations {as written by Hammett}, & the expertise acting. Humphrey Bogart is fantastic as hard-boiled private eye, Sam Spade. Sam may have a tinge of immorality & darkness about him {as the criminals do}, but the strong code he lives by & his heart supersedes his more amoral tendencies. Mary Astor is great as the elegant, but seemingly treacherous femme fatale; this role in this movie + her great role in 1941's The Great Lie with Bette Davis enabled Astor to win a well-deserved Academy Award that year.
Loved Sidney Greenstreet as the monstrously slimy "fat man"; 'The Maltese Falcon' was legendary character actor's 1st film, believe it or not {at age 62, to boot}. Bogart, Astor & Greenstreet would join up with Huston one yr. later for 1942's Across the Pacific. I always enjoy Peter Lorre and, he plays a fey criminal here with great aplomb. Oily is a good word to use for him. Also stellar is Gladys George as Miles' adulterous wife, Ivy. I liked Lee Patrick as Sam's loyal secretary. Elisha Cook Jr. stands-out as the ineffective gunman, who can't believe that his employer, "the fat man" sells him out after saying how much like a son he is to him. Even Ward Bond & Walter Huston pop-up in the cast as a detective & a captain -- what a cast!
This film is atmospheric, taut, intense, and yet, there is room for great subtlety in those performances. Cinematographer Arthur Edeson provides textbook film noir black-&-white camerawork; setting the despairing mood of a story which includes distrustful detectives & rapacious criminals. And the script is chock full of sparkling dialogue, sarcastic wit, garish villains, & protagonists to root for. 'The Maltese Falcon' is just a great movie, period.
As it turns out, the woman is not a Ruth Wonderly, but really Brigid O'Shaughnessy and, it is NOT a sister she seeks ... but the titular jeweled 16th c. falcon statue. It also turns out that she is mixed-up with some nefarious people who will kill to get it. One of them is Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre), who comes to see Sam Spade to insist - with a gun in hand - that he be allowed to search Sam's office for that very falcon. Sam is not intimidated by Joel in the least, but allows him to forage forit. Also after the statue is Mr. Kasper "the fat man" Gutman (Sidney Greenstreet), with his "gunsel", Wilmer. The two alternately threaten & try to bribe Sam, while Brigid appeals to his safeguarding nature ...& his heart. Drama, mistrust & twists ensue.
One of the most fascinating components of this classic is the way Sam thinks through the moral dilemmas of this situation. When he's deciding whether to tell the cops about Brigid - who may or may not have had something to do with the murder(s) - he is explicit about weighing every single aspect of his choices. On one hand, he has fallen in love with her and, he never cared much for his partner. On the other hand, it is impossible to trust her; he doesn't think that she trusts HIM; and he knows that they could never work as a couple moving forward, anyway; betrayals would abound. Turn her over to the police ... he loses her. If he doesn't pursue her arrest, he loses his integrity, which is crucial to the very fiber of his being as a detective & a person.
Though it contains great direction, 'The Maltese Falcon' soars mostly due to its bizarre characterizations, the intriguing conversations {as written by Hammett}, & the expertise acting. Humphrey Bogart is fantastic as hard-boiled private eye, Sam Spade. Sam may have a tinge of immorality & darkness about him {as the criminals do}, but the strong code he lives by & his heart supersedes his more amoral tendencies. Mary Astor is great as the elegant, but seemingly treacherous femme fatale; this role in this movie + her great role in 1941's The Great Lie with Bette Davis enabled Astor to win a well-deserved Academy Award that year.
Loved Sidney Greenstreet as the monstrously slimy "fat man"; 'The Maltese Falcon' was legendary character actor's 1st film, believe it or not {at age 62, to boot}. Bogart, Astor & Greenstreet would join up with Huston one yr. later for 1942's Across the Pacific. I always enjoy Peter Lorre and, he plays a fey criminal here with great aplomb. Oily is a good word to use for him. Also stellar is Gladys George as Miles' adulterous wife, Ivy. I liked Lee Patrick as Sam's loyal secretary. Elisha Cook Jr. stands-out as the ineffective gunman, who can't believe that his employer, "the fat man" sells him out after saying how much like a son he is to him. Even Ward Bond & Walter Huston pop-up in the cast as a detective & a captain -- what a cast!
This film is atmospheric, taut, intense, and yet, there is room for great subtlety in those performances. Cinematographer Arthur Edeson provides textbook film noir black-&-white camerawork; setting the despairing mood of a story which includes distrustful detectives & rapacious criminals. And the script is chock full of sparkling dialogue, sarcastic wit, garish villains, & protagonists to root for. 'The Maltese Falcon' is just a great movie, period.