The Maltese Falcon (1941)

10 out of 10 people found the following review helpful:

"There's only one Maltese Falcon."

teknofobe from Worcs, 28th January, 2004

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.

Read all highest rated reviews

9 out of 17 people found the following review helpful:

The Bad Guy's Good Guy

jamiejk from Greater London, 2nd February, 2004

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.

Read all highest rated reviews

4 out of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Malta makes it big!

Tinderbox from England, 5th June, 2004

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.

Read all highest rated reviews

2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Bogie's the tops!

A Customer from London, England, 14th November, 2004

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!!

Read all highest rated reviews

The Maltese Falcon

vickymart1 from from Bridgend, 26th July, 2008

I have always wanted to see this film and I wasn't disappointed. Very fast moving with a slightly confused plot. It ended too soon and could have gone on for another hour.

Read all recent reviews

The Maltese Falcon

Donensian from from Doncaster, 6th July, 2008

A cinematic classic directed by John Huston and with a brief cameo by his father Walter as he staggers through the door with 'the black bird' and drops dead. What a supporting cast Sydney Greenstreet ' by jove sir you are a card' & Peter Lorre who were with Bogart in Casablanca, Elisha Cook Jr 'let's give 'em the gunsell' Ward Bond from the John Ford stock company Barton MacLane from any amount of gamgster films Mary Astor for once forsaking her usual sweet honest role for a shady femme fatale, Gladys George from Public Enemy 'he used to be a big shot' and Bogart as Sam Spade the pivot of every action. A perfect cast with 3 Oscar nominations. They don't get much better than this

Read all recent reviews

The Maltese Falcon

A Customer from Bath, 21st June, 2008

Great Humphrey Bogart film. We like nostalgia from time to time and this ticked all the boxes!

Read all recent reviews

It's the stuff dreams are made of..

FutureMan from from London, 21st March, 2008

Bogart is Sam Spade! Having only just read the book, I was quite eager to see the classic movie adaptation, to see if Bogart could pull off the iconic hard-boiled detective. Well.. he does! I had my reservations at the start, but five minutes in it was clear that he owned the role. He gets just the right amount of swagger and stubborness. As far as the movie adaptation goes, it's a very good one, and a compelling film. With inspired casting elsewhere, particularly Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo.. it adds up to a fantastic whole.

Read all recent reviews