The Maltese Falcon Reviews

"There's only one Maltese Falcon."

Prior to 1941, Humphrey Bogart had been typecast as the 'gangster' or 'villain', but when his performance in "High Sierra" catapulted him into stardom, the studio need to invent him as a more sympathetic tough guy, a flawed hero -- and that is exactly what the "Maltese Falcon" was intended to do.

But as it turned out, the film was also the first chapter in the great genre of 1940's film noir -- an appealing thriller with complex, interesting characters and a plot that ... well, even director John Huston couldn't make sense of it. The opening scene sets the ultimate cliché, opening with the world-weary private detective sitting in his office, when a gorgeous femme fatale enters asking for his help. After Sam Spade's partner is murdered, he is drawn into a complex plot centred on a priceless artefact known as the Maltese Falcon.

The supporting cast area also terrific. In Peter Lorre's performance as the sneaky, conniving Joel Cairo you can see where Andy Serkis may have taken his inspiration for his portrayal of Gollum in "Lord of the Rings". Along with Sydney Greenstreet and Bogart, he formed a team who made several more films together, attempting to relive the success of this one. In fact, the following Bogart film "Across the Pacific" was practically marketed as a sequel even though it was a completely unrelated war movie.

The star would of course go on to even greater things, but this film is where his career really started.

The Bad Guy's Good Guy

Perhaps it shouldn't come as a suprise that this, the directorial debut of John Huston, and the film that broke Humphrey Bogart out of the 'B' Movies, should be so damned *dark*... after all, it *is* considered the first real film noir. With Dashiell Hammet's hardboiled novel as its source material, "The Maltese Falcon" certainly lays out the cinematic foundations for the the genre: mean streets, trigger-happy heroes, dark shadows and duplicitous dames.

Still, the sheer nastiness of Bogart's Samuel Spade is jarring to the modern viewer, probably because of the way he pokes all our politically-corrct sore-spots. From the opening scene, in which Spade and partner carve up rights over an apparently distraught woman who walks into his office pleading for help, Spade is consistently misogynist, amoral, money-grabbing, brutal, mendacious and mean. And as we proceed through the labyrinth of schemes, crimes, deaths, danger, and deception surrounding the eponymous Falcon, there's very little to redeem him-- not even competence: for the treasure, when it arrives, practically falls into his lap.

None of this is to deny some innovative filmmaking from Huston, a charismatic performance by Humphrey Bogart, entertaining weirdness from Peter Lorre and some unmissable character acting from Sydney Greenstreet. But "The Maltese Falcon" is a uncomfortable viewing today, centering as it does on a noir anti-hero with none of the scruples, neuroses or hidden soft-sides that are obligatory for the post-modern tough guy.

Malta makes it big!

This is gripping, taut noir at its best: Bogart is brilliant as Sam Spade, a man out of his depth but who is obsessed with never showing it.

The plot twists come thick and fast, with Spade as our only liaison to the world of corruption and greed that he finds himself lost in.

The film is excellently directed, with some lovely, smoky black shots.

EPIC

Epic film responsible for creating the genre `film noir`, all credit to everyone involved then!

Hard-drinking private eye Sam Spade sleuths the backyard of San Francisco in search of an elusive black bird statuette while evading the setups of three disparate miscreants: the duplicitous Brigid, the perfumed Mr. Cairo, and the scheming Fat Man. Huston's brilliant directorial debut is aided by first-rate performances, excellent camera work, as well as the director's acute attention to detail while shooting the film.

Bogie's the tops!

Maltese Falcon, classic 40s film noire.

The film has my favourites from the 1940s. Bogie, Greenstreet, Lorre, Cook, and Astor. Even when the plot gets a bit convoluted, it still appeals. Nothing being produced today even comes close. The power of suggestion is so much more effective than the graphic violence that current films seem to find necessary. Long live the 40s!!

Golden Age Hollywood

One of the all-time classics, Oscar nominated in the 1940?s, a great blend of humour, intelligence and suspence. It has as many twists and turns as any modern film, and instead of special effects and pointless violence it has great dialogue and nuanced acting instead. The cast, particularly Humphrey Bogart (in one of his first film as a fully fledged idol), Peter Lorre, Elisha Cook Jnr and Sidney Greenstreet, are excellent. It is timeless Hollywood entertainment, well written, directed and acted.

Undoubtedly a noir classic!

The Maltese Falcon is undoubtedly a noir classic. My only reservation is that the plot rattles along at such a breakneck speed that unless you are giving 100% of your attention to it, you can easily lose the thread. And there are times when the machine gun delivery of lines is so rapid you risk losing track of things. However, this is a minor quibble. The Maltese Falcon has a superb cast list of character actors - Peter Lore, Sydney Greenstreet and of course, the incomparable Humphrey Bogart in a role that propelled him onto the Hollywood A list. What a dude! It enthrals and engages. And as 40's detective crime capers go, this one is an absolute corker. Cracking! The Maltese Falcon never shys away from portraying character foibles and societal issues that many other movies of the time wouldn't have touched with a barge pole. It is not surprising that this movie regularly makes it on to the 100 movies of all time lists. And it would stand up to repeat viewing, such is the complexity and density of the plot. The DVD contains a 40 minute documentary that analyses Bogart's film trailers. A bit of a pointless filler but interesting nonetheless.

A Classic with a capital P

Shame on me, I had not seen this before. I was somehow expecting a slightly dated film with some great moments.

The truth is, I was astonished by its smoothness.

The camerawork is something out of a filmmaker's dream. Long, unbroken shots, wide camera movements and seamless editing.

The dialogue is always sharp, witty, bitter, never missing a beat, and supports perfectly the plot, with tough characters living in tough times.

Watching the Maltese Falcon, I also realised why Bogart is considered the legend he is.

His charisma and magnetism put to shame all the 6-foot-Brad-Pitts-muscled-up 'heroes' of today.

Wow!

Full of superb Hollywood characters - Sidney Greenstreet, Peter Lore (looking very young and working that face) et al - this classic has a great plot and suffers very little from the kind of cheesy direction you expect from a flick of this era. Excellent.