The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

#31—The Maltese Falcon

Some say that all great directors are born not created. This may be true, however all great directors must start somewhere. Very few great directors have a smash hit right from the start and I am almost certain that even fewer have their very first directorial project on the American Film Institute’s Top 100 list. #31 on AFI’s list is one of the greatest detective/film noir movies ever made and yet lightning struck for first time director John Huston (The African Queen) and his take on Dashiell Hammett’s classic novel, The Maltese Falcon.

It all starts with a dame, especially for private investigator Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart Casablanca) and his partner Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan). Both men’s lives are forever changed when Brigid O'Shaughnessy (Mary Astor) asks the detectives to follow a man she believes has run away with her sister. Volunteering for the beautiful young lady, Miles unfortunately gets himself murdered. Figuring that this case is much larger than what he expects, Spade barrels himself down a pathway filled with sex, greed, and a statuette that is worth killing for.

With two failed versions of the novel already in place, Warner Bros. took a huge leap of faith with screenwriter and first time director John Huston and his adaptation of the novel. The leap paid off for not only Warner, but for a few people as well. First off, the film established John Huston has a serious and noteworthy director. Huston borrowed some camera techniques from Orson Welles and was able to bring out the true essence of the book. Huston’s innovative efforts generated quite a bit of nominations in the 14th Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. After his magnificent effort with The Maltese Falcon, Huston would go on to be one of most celebrated directors in Hollywood history.

The second great thing to prosper from this film is The Maltese Falcon helped pave the way for Bogart to become one of greatest leading men in Hollywood history. As Bogart notes as why he took the role of Sam Spade, is that the detective is both honorable and greedy all wrapped in one. Bogart projects Spade’s cockiness and conscience very well. I believe that it is Bogart’s presence that shines through to the audience as well. The way the actor is able to walk into a scene a command it from the start is amazing. Another actor that would, by the way you look at it, that would benefit from this movie is Sydney Greenstreet (Casablanca), who plays the villainous Kasper Gutman. Greenstreet, a long time stage actor, is able to play a very shady and mysterious character beautifully. Though due to his Academy Award nomination for this character, Greenstreet will later go on to be typecast as the questionable or suspicious character.

I still stand by what I said in my review of Chinatown (read here); I think that those two films should switch places. Though Chinatown is a groundbreaking and amazing film in its own right, The Maltese Falcon paved some of the way for films like that to become such wonderful films. To me it would be like saying that Bryan Singer’s X-Men is a much better film than Richard Donner’s Superman based on technological advances. Donner set up the standard for Super Hero film in 1978 and was a technical marvel, also proving that the genre was profitable. All Singer did was built on that foundation and revitalized the genre. 

Anyway, The Maltese Falcon is a wonderful detective/film noir movie with awesome acting and outstanding direction. The story will keep you guessing and intrigued throughout.  Give it a watch, you won’t be disappointed.

The Verdict: Should Have Been Higher.