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. Based on the crime novel by Dashiell Hammett. Academy Award Nominations: 3, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Sydney Greenstreet), and Best Screenplay. Previous versions of the story were filmed in 1931 (a.k.a. DANGEROUS FEMALE) and in 1936 (as SATAN MET A LADY, starring Bette Davis), and poorly redone in 1975 (THE BLACK BIRD).
This third version of Dashiell Hammett's hard-boiled crime drama is superb cinematic entertainment. It completely obliterated memories of the two perfectly fine earlier versions and created a brand-new movie icon in Humphrey Bogart's cynical private detective, Sam Spade, a role that brought Bogart a richly deserved stardom after years of toil in supporting parts. It was also the beginning of a beautiful friendship between Bogie and John Huston, who was then a screenwriter making his feature debut as director, and whose tart screenplay retains most of the sharp dialogue and sleazy amorality of Hammett's original. The supporting cast is an extraordinary combination that couldn't be bettered — stage actor Sydney Greenstreet made his screen debut as Gutman, lusting after the Black Bird; Peter Lorre is the whiny, effeminate Joel Cairo; Mary Astor is cast against type as femme fatale supreme Brigid O'Shaughnessy. Watch, too, for Huston's distinguished father Walter as a ship's officer who delivers the Falcon, and admire the pace and panache of the Warner Bros production team.
Halliwell's Film Guide
A remake which shows the difference between excellence and brilliance; here every nuance is subtly stressed, and the cast is perfection.
Total Film
"...The real spark in this suavest of mysteries is provided by its eccentric collection of villains..." -- 5 out of 5 stars
Radio Times
Halliwell's Film Guide
