The Maltese Falcon (1941) (Not Rated)
Directed by John Huston
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet
Daughter Says:
The Maltese Falcon takes place in a city full of secrets. And who is there to save them? None other than Detective Sam Spade played by Humphrey Bogart.
One day a damsel in distress named Brigid O’Shaughnessy (Mary Astor) barges into Spade’s office asking him to trail a suspicious man. Well, his partner volunteers to do the job, but the whole thing ends in disaster. Now Spade is being blamed for the murder of his partner and called a criminal by the police. In search of the truth, he goes back to the beginning. Spade is soon dragged into a treasure hunt he will never forget.
This movie is definitely not forgettable. I would recommend this movie as a classic. The whole movie was amazing. The Maltese Falcon was one of the best mysteries I’ve ever watched. Yes, it is in black and white, and I know I said I hate black and white films, but this one was different. The shadows really helped the mystery of the story. I must say I might start liking black and white movies if Dad keeps finding all these good black and white movies.
Everyone in this film did an amazing job and really brought the story together. Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor made a great pair. But if I have to complain about one thing, the romance part made no sense. There was no need for him to fall in love with her. I didn’t even understand the attraction to her. She wasn’t a very good relationship to be in with. She was so complicated and who wants one of those kinds of people around them. She was lying all the time and it drove me crazy. I hated her bipolarness. What was that about? She couldn’t make up her mind to save herself. It really started to get on my nerves after a while.
Other than that this movie was excellent. Humphrey Bogart did a great job as usual and the cinematography was beautiful. I was very moved by all the shadows and eerie look to the whole movie. So I highly recommend this movie, if your looking for a classic or a really good Humphrey Bogart movie.
Rating for Maltese Falcon: ****1/2.
Daddy Says:
The Maltese Falcon was the directorial debut for John Huston. He had been a screenwriter for roughly a decade prior (and it shows in the incredible dialogue in this movie), but this was the first time for him in the director's chair. And what a debut it is. He would go on to work with Humphrey Bogart again in three other films (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Key Largo and The African Queen), but it all started here.
The story is very suspenseful. We're never quite sure where it will go next, but, unlike a complex film like The Big Sleep, we're never lost with what's going on at any particular moment. The movie is also perfectly cast. Humphrey Bogart makes an incredible Sam Spade in a showcasing role for his talents as an actor. Mary Astor is the epitome of the femme fatale, Peter Lorre is twitchy yet smooth as Joel Cairo, but the show may have been stolen by Sydney Greenstreet (in his film debut as well) as the "fat man" Kasper Gutman. He's dangerous, but "by gad" he's also a fascinating character, one it seems would be a joy to talk to if he existed in real life.
The Maltese Falcon is the very essence of film noir, but it may also be one of the best examples of how well a novel can be translated into film. It follows the Dashiell Hammett book very closely, almost scene for scene. The closing line of the film, though, is paraphrased from Shakespeare and is one of the most famous lines in movie history. "The stuff dreams are made of" may be what everyone is after, but in the end it's not the collecting of things that matters. It's the time spent in the quest that counts the most.
Do you really need to guess what rating I'm giving to this classic film?
Rating for The Maltese Falcon: *****.
Directed by John Huston
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet
Daughter Says:
The Maltese Falcon takes place in a city full of secrets. And who is there to save them? None other than Detective Sam Spade played by Humphrey Bogart.
One day a damsel in distress named Brigid O’Shaughnessy (Mary Astor) barges into Spade’s office asking him to trail a suspicious man. Well, his partner volunteers to do the job, but the whole thing ends in disaster. Now Spade is being blamed for the murder of his partner and called a criminal by the police. In search of the truth, he goes back to the beginning. Spade is soon dragged into a treasure hunt he will never forget.
This movie is definitely not forgettable. I would recommend this movie as a classic. The whole movie was amazing. The Maltese Falcon was one of the best mysteries I’ve ever watched. Yes, it is in black and white, and I know I said I hate black and white films, but this one was different. The shadows really helped the mystery of the story. I must say I might start liking black and white movies if Dad keeps finding all these good black and white movies.
Everyone in this film did an amazing job and really brought the story together. Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor made a great pair. But if I have to complain about one thing, the romance part made no sense. There was no need for him to fall in love with her. I didn’t even understand the attraction to her. She wasn’t a very good relationship to be in with. She was so complicated and who wants one of those kinds of people around them. She was lying all the time and it drove me crazy. I hated her bipolarness. What was that about? She couldn’t make up her mind to save herself. It really started to get on my nerves after a while.
Other than that this movie was excellent. Humphrey Bogart did a great job as usual and the cinematography was beautiful. I was very moved by all the shadows and eerie look to the whole movie. So I highly recommend this movie, if your looking for a classic or a really good Humphrey Bogart movie.
Rating for Maltese Falcon: ****1/2.
Daddy Says:
The Maltese Falcon was the directorial debut for John Huston. He had been a screenwriter for roughly a decade prior (and it shows in the incredible dialogue in this movie), but this was the first time for him in the director's chair. And what a debut it is. He would go on to work with Humphrey Bogart again in three other films (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Key Largo and The African Queen), but it all started here.
The story is very suspenseful. We're never quite sure where it will go next, but, unlike a complex film like The Big Sleep, we're never lost with what's going on at any particular moment. The movie is also perfectly cast. Humphrey Bogart makes an incredible Sam Spade in a showcasing role for his talents as an actor. Mary Astor is the epitome of the femme fatale, Peter Lorre is twitchy yet smooth as Joel Cairo, but the show may have been stolen by Sydney Greenstreet (in his film debut as well) as the "fat man" Kasper Gutman. He's dangerous, but "by gad" he's also a fascinating character, one it seems would be a joy to talk to if he existed in real life.
The Maltese Falcon is the very essence of film noir, but it may also be one of the best examples of how well a novel can be translated into film. It follows the Dashiell Hammett book very closely, almost scene for scene. The closing line of the film, though, is paraphrased from Shakespeare and is one of the most famous lines in movie history. "The stuff dreams are made of" may be what everyone is after, but in the end it's not the collecting of things that matters. It's the time spent in the quest that counts the most.
Do you really need to guess what rating I'm giving to this classic film?
Rating for The Maltese Falcon: *****.
What a fun blog to read! I love that you did this classic, wonderful film. You all really seem to like Bond films, huh?
ReplyDeleteWe like lots of types of movies! My daughter just didn't think she liked James Bond movies, so I set out to show her the good ones. We'll be watching Thunderball soon, and then we'll probably skip the rest of them. Thanks for reading our reviews!
ReplyDelete