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The Maltese Falcon Overview:

The Maltese Falcon (1941) was a Crime - Film Noir Film directed by John Huston and produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke.

The film was based on the novel of the same name and also Black Mask Magazine Serial written by Dashiell Hammett published in 1930 (novel); year n/a (magazine).

SYNOPSIS

One of the most popular crime films of all time has Bogart playing Hammett's private detective Sam Spade as he sleuths the backyard of San Francisco in search of an elusive black bird statuette and crosses wits with Astor's treacherous Brigid O'Shaughnessy and fat man Kaspar Gutman (Greenstreet). Memorable supporting performances by Lorre and Cook, Jr., playing two of the quirkiest villains of the 40's, only add to the unsettling atmosphere of this cynical parable of greed and deceit. After a brief career as screenwriter, this was Huston's directorial debut, and launched a career that spanned nearly half a century. Based on the Hammett novel that was previously filmed in 1931 as Dangerous Female, in 1936 as Satan Met a Lady starring Bette Davis, and redone in 1975 as The Black Bird.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

The Maltese Falcon was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1989.

Academy Awards 1941 --- Ceremony Number 14 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Supporting ActorSydney GreenstreetNominated
Best PictureWarner Bros.Nominated
Best WritingJohn HustonNominated
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The Maltese Falcon BlogHub Articles:

The Maltese Falcon (1931, Roy Del Ruth)

By Andrew Wickliffe on Mar 28, 2019 From The Stop Button

Not to be too obvious, but I really wasn’t expecting a twist ending for The Maltese Falcon. But only because I’ve… read the book, seen the 1941 version, seen spoofs of it; I sort of figured I’d be able to guess the plot turns. And I did, right up until the end, when Falcon shows its been doi... Read full article

The Maltese Falcon (1931, Roy Del Ruth)

By Andrew Wickliffe on Mar 28, 2019 From The Stop Button

Not to be too obvious, but I really wasn’t expecting a twist ending for The Maltese Falcon. But only because I’ve… read the book, seen the 1941 version, seen spoofs of it; I sort of figured I’d be able to guess the plot turns. And I did, right up until the end, when Falcon shows its been doi... Read full article

The Maltese Falcon (1931, Roy Del Ruth)

on Mar 28, 2019 From The Stop Button

Not to be too obvious, but I really wasn’t expecting a twist ending for The Maltese Falcon. But only because I’ve… read the book, seen the 1941 version, seen spoofs of it; I sort of figured I’d be able to guess the plot turns. And I did, right up until the end, when Falcon shows its been doi... Read full article

The Maltese Falcon (1931, Roy Del Ruth)

on Mar 28, 2019 From The Stop Button

Not to be too obvious, but I really wasn’t expecting a twist ending for The Maltese Falcon. But only because I’ve… read the book, seen the 1941 version, seen spoofs of it; I sort of figured I’d be able to guess the plot turns. And I did, right up until the end, when Falcon shows its been doi... Read full article

Review: The Maltese Falcon (1941)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Nov 2, 2016 From 4 Star Films

Dashiell Hammet’s “blonde satan” Sam Spade is an icon of not only 20th-century literature but also 20th-century cinema, thanks in part to Humphrey  Bogart and John Huston. He’s the cynical, hard-nosed, unsentimental P.I. whose general unpredictability sometimes leads to an... Read full article

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The Maltese Falcon Quotes:

Kasper Gutman: I couldn't be fonder of you if you were my own son. But, well, if you lose a son, it's possible to get another. There's only one Maltese Falcon.
Sam Spade: Now, both you and the police have as much as accused me of being mixed up in the other night's murders. Well, I've had trouble with both of you before. And as far as I can see my best chance of clearing myself of the trouble you're trying to make for me, is by bringing in the murderers all tied up. And the only chance I've got of catching them, and tying them up, and bringing them in, is by staying as far away as possible from you and the police, because you'd only gum up the works.
Brigid O'Shaughnessy: I haven't lived a good life. I've been bad, worse than you could know.
Sam Spade: You know, that's good, because if you actually were as innocent as you pretend to be, we'd never get anywhere.
Sam Spade: You killed Miles and you're going over for it.
Sam Spade: Haven't you tried to buy my loyalty with money and nothing else?
Brigid O'Shaughnessy: What else is there I can buy you with?
See More Quotes from The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon Facts
Contrary to popular opinion, "It's the stuff that dreams are made of", spoken by Humphrey Bogart, is not the last line in the picture. Immediately after Bogart says that, Ward Bond, playing a detective, says, "Huh?" making that the last line in the picture.
Much of the movie is filmed over Humphrey Bogart's shoulder so that the audience can be in on his point of view.
"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on September 20, 1943 with Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre reprising their film roles.
When Spade visits the murder scene of his partner, in the background can be seen a poster for a film called Swing Your Lady, an in-joke directed at Humphrey Bogart who was one of the stars of this B-movie. Bogart referred to it as "the worst picture I ever made".
Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor's dialog-heavy final scene took 3 days to shoot.
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