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The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941)
Director: John Huston
Writers: John Huston(screenplay), Dashiell Hammett(novel)
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet
Genre: Film Noir, Mystery
A private detective (Humphrey Bogart) takes on a case from a mysterious woman (Mary Astor). The case ends up involving him with three rather strange criminals as they all seek to be the first to find a priceless statuette...The Maltese Falcon.
Review: The Maltese Falcon is considered to be the first Film Noir of the classic period (1941-1958). The movie has some of the Film Noir hallmark elements: like subdued lighting, dark shadows and low camera angles. And of course we have one of the greatest detectives of all time, Sam Spade...Not to mention a very devious femme fatale Brigid (Mary Astor). But I couldn't help but notice how the music score seemed un-noir like.
I liked this film but it is wordy! I read that the script was almost word for word from the original 1929 Dashiell Hammett novel of the same name. If someone loves lots of dialogue and twist and turns, this movie has it. It's so complex, that I was never sure who was up to what.
The end scene where all the main characters are in the apartment goes on for 20 minutes! That would never be done today and John Huston who was directing his first picture, made that scene captivating.
There wasn't much action or character development, but man the script and the way the actors delivered their lines like a buzz saw was a thing of sheer beauty.
And what a cast! Bogie paired up with Peter Lorrie and Sydney Greenstreet with Mary Astor to boot. That's not even mentioning veteran character actors like Ward Bond, Barton MacLaine and Gladys George.
Watch the Maltese Falcon statuette when Bogie picks it up. He nearly dropped it. I read it was made out of lead and they're three of them, each is worth a million bucks. A million bucks! for a hunk of lead! that shows you how beloved this film is.
The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941)
Writers: John Huston(screenplay), Dashiell Hammett(novel)
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet
Genre: Film Noir, Mystery
A private detective (Humphrey Bogart) takes on a case from a mysterious woman (Mary Astor). The case ends up involving him with three rather strange criminals as they all seek to be the first to find a priceless statuette...The Maltese Falcon.
Review: The Maltese Falcon is considered to be the first Film Noir of the classic period (1941-1958). The movie has some of the Film Noir hallmark elements: like subdued lighting, dark shadows and low camera angles. And of course we have one of the greatest detectives of all time, Sam Spade...Not to mention a very devious femme fatale Brigid (Mary Astor). But I couldn't help but notice how the music score seemed un-noir like.
I liked this film but it is wordy! I read that the script was almost word for word from the original 1929 Dashiell Hammett novel of the same name. If someone loves lots of dialogue and twist and turns, this movie has it. It's so complex, that I was never sure who was up to what.
The end scene where all the main characters are in the apartment goes on for 20 minutes! That would never be done today and John Huston who was directing his first picture, made that scene captivating.
There wasn't much action or character development, but man the script and the way the actors delivered their lines like a buzz saw was a thing of sheer beauty.
And what a cast! Bogie paired up with Peter Lorrie and Sydney Greenstreet with Mary Astor to boot. That's not even mentioning veteran character actors like Ward Bond, Barton MacLaine and Gladys George.
Watch the Maltese Falcon statuette when Bogie picks it up. He nearly dropped it. I read it was made out of lead and they're three of them, each is worth a million bucks. A million bucks! for a hunk of lead! that shows you how beloved this film is.