The Maltese Falcon (1941)
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, (more)
- Director(s):
- John Huston
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- NR
- Category:
- Mystery & Suspense
Member Rating
My RatingSynopsis of The Maltese Falcon
After two previous film versions of Dashiell Hammett's detective classic The Maltese Falcon, Warner Bros. finally got it right in 1941--or, rather, John Huston, a long-established screenwriter making his directorial debut, got it right, simply by adhering as closely as possible to the original. Taking over from a recalcitrant George Raft, Humphrey Bogart achieved true stardom as Sam Spade, a hard-boiled San Francisco private eye who can be as unscrupulous as the next guy but also adheres to his own personal code of honor. Into the offices of the Spade & Archer detective agency sweeps a Miss Wonderly (Mary Astor), who offers a large retainer to Sam and his partner Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan) if they'll protect her from someone named Floyd Thursby. The detectives believe neither Miss Wonderly nor her story, but they believe her money. Since Archer saw her first, he takes the case -- and later that evening he is shot to death, as is the mysterious Thursby. Miss Wonderly's real name turns out to be Brigid O'Shaughnessey, and, as the story continues, Sam is also introduced to the effeminate Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) and the fat, erudite Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet, in his film debut). It turns out that Brigid, Cairo and Gutman are all international scoundrels, all involved in the search for a foot-high, jewel-encrusted statuette in the shape of a falcon. Though both Cairo and Gutman offer Spade small fortunes to find the "black bird," they are obviously willing to commit mayhem and murder towards that goal: Gutman, for example, drugs Spade and allows his "gunsel" Wilmer (Elisha Cook Jr.) to kick and beat the unconscious detective. This classic film noir detective yarn gets better with each viewing, which is more than can be said for the first two Maltese Falcons and the ill-advised 1975 "sequel" The Black Bird. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 178 mins
Complete Cast of The Maltese Falcon
- Humphrey Bogart - Sam Spade
- Peter Lorre - Joel Cairo
- Ward Bond - Detective Tom Polhaus
- Gladys George - Iva Archer
- Jerome Cowan - Miles Archer
- James Burke - Luke
- John Hamilton - Attorney Bryan
- William Hopper - Reporter
- Charles Drake - Reporter
- Jack Mower - Announcer
- Emory Parnell - Ship's Mate
- Mary Astor - Brigid O'Shaughnessy
- Sydney Greenstreet - Kasper Gutman the Fat Man
- Barton MacLane - Detective Lt. Dundy
- Lee Patrick - Effie Perine
- Elisha Cook, Jr. - Wilmer Cook
- Murray Alper - Frank Richman
- Robert E. Homans - Policeman
- Hank Mann - Reporter
- Walter Huston - Capt. Jacobi, the Ship's Officer
- Creighton Hale - Stenographer
- Director(s):
- John Huston
- Writer(s):
- John Huston
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- NR(Mild Violence)
- Categories:
- Mystery & Suspense
- 1998 - American Film Institute - 100 Greatest American Movies
- 1988 - Library of Congress - U.S. National Film Registry
- 1941 - National Board of Review - Best Acting
- 1941 - National Board of Review - Best Acting
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