The Maltese Falcon

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Poe P Mar 19, 2019 A film noir with no sentimentalism. John Huston's The Maltese Falcon (1941) is a classic example of film noir with overly sentimental attitude. Characters are blunt liars and selfish scum. There are few decent people in The Maltese Falcon as everyone is out for theirs. Huston's script is full of clever wit, dry humor, and cruel betrayal. Huston's direction is clean, dark, ambient film noir at its finest. Many of the shots with Humphrey Bogart are as dark and revealing as cinema gets. The way Huston lets a shot still to engage the audience with his characters is impressive, especially as the editing is quick and the film goes by quickly. The Maltese Falcon's hour and a half running time feels like a half hour. It's brisk storytelling is amplified by its complex narrative and endless twists. I will not spoil any of the genuinely surprising moments. Humphrey Bogart is a great star and a formidable actor. His monologues and rage sear the screen with his ferocious acting. Bogart's performance as Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon ranges from nuanced detective with a sly and knowing manner to a fierce tempered brash man of action. He is interesting and captivating without having to be likable at all really. Bogart's noir detective is one for the ages! Mary Astor may overdo it a bit, but she captures the nebulous ways of a woman in distress looking out for herself. Her endless string of lies is so entertaining as Bogart uncovers them one by one, while never quite figuring her out. Astor is certainly intriguing and alluring as Brigid O'Shaughnessy. Peter Lorre is hilarious and funny as the sleazy and creepy Joel Cairo. You will never forget his charming and quirky Cairo character. Lorre is both convincing as his strange characters, while also entertaining you with his mystery and commitment. Likewise, Sydney Greenstreet's massive character Kasper "Fat Man" Gutman is excellent. His fascinating monologue over the history of The Maltese Falcon is riveting. He evens summarizes the plot towards the end with an underhanded sneer and distinct delight in his voice. Overall, Huston's film noir The Maltese Falcon is an entertaining movie with many great attributes. It's not completely mesmerizing or so perfect in performances that everyone is a star. But, The Maltese Falcon is great for a watch and a display of complicated writing. See more

Poe M Feb 27, 2019 One of the quintessential much watch 'Film Noirs'. 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. This is one of the best examples of actionful and suspenseful melodramatic story telling in cinematic form. There's two competing frames of reference throughout: the narrative itself, then a meta-narrative with the characters continually voicing the etiquette of their genre scenario . Arguably the best detective movie ever made in Hollywood. See more

Han W Feb 27, 2019 Favorite of Blobbo's.

Hagrid S Feb 23, 2019 A good Movie if you keep in mind how old it is and a real classic

Rey R Jan 15, 2019 A film noir masterpiece starring Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet and Mary Astor. The Maltese Falcon made Humphrey Bogart famous and even saved Lorre's carrer. Great film noir. See more

Han W Jan 8, 2019 Great dialogue. Great plot. Great acting. As good as film noir gets

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The Maltese Falcon

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