Hard-boiled San Francisco private eye Sam Spade is a man with questionable morals but is unquestionably good at what he does. One day, Spade is approached by Miss Wonderly, who offers him considerable money in exchange for locating her younger sister, who allegedly ran away with a man named Floyd Thursby. What follows is a series of murders, corruption and uncertainty, all tied up in a classic web of mystery and deceit, all leading back to the fabled Maltese falcon statuette. The Maltese Falcon is one of, if not, the most integral pictures to come out in the film-noir genre. It would certainly go on to inspire and create a template and standard for later films of the same genre. Funnily enough, this is not the first theatrical depiction of this novel with The Maltese Falcon (1931) released 10 years prior. Although, that variation hasn't nearly held the same lasting impact as this depiction. This iteration may very well be one of the greatest remakes in cinematic history as John Huston (who makes his directorial debut here) delivers a truly faithful adaptation. I was simply blown away by the presence this film holds. From exceptional cinematography, atmospheric scenery, clever witty dialogue and an experienced cast, there is a great deal at play here to captivate audiences and glue them to the screen. I have always been fascinated by detective stories and I feel their best depictions are in the dark, gritty noir films, with no exception here. The beginning alone sets the scene with what appears to be a fairly straightforward case laid out like your typical P.I. detective mystery, however, things take a drastic turn with a more complicated plot taking hold. I certainly found myself frequently guessing from start to end and whilst I am sure this can be said for any mystery-related project, I found questions popping up at every corner in such frequent successions. Also, I found the pacing of this film to be somewhat fast, almost like being just ever so slightly sped up, which comes in the way of the dialogue delivery. It was sharp, to the point and darted right off the tongue at excessive rates with certainly a lot of exposition at play, but it was not hard to follow. With talking pictures becoming so prevalent, I'm certain this film decided to take this opportunity to its fullest. Our leading protagonist is Sam Spade (played by the master of P.I. noir, Humphrey Bogart) who is portrayed as something of an antihero. He may be an investigator working on the side of the law but he appears to take matters more into his own hands, having no issue with keeping the police out unless it suits him. There are plenty of insinuations throughout that blur his character between the lines and make him difficult to anticipate. He is competent and always steps ahead of everyone else, including the multiple parties after the Falcon. These members consist of Cairo, Gutman and O'Shaughnessy, who come from varying backgrounds but are equally fascinating to watch as their shared desire for the bird shows the extremity of their obsessive natures to obtain it. Whilst a serious story there can still be found a level of comedy like in my favourite scene where Mr Cairo calls upon Spade to offer a large sum for the item before pulling a gun on him, ordering to search his office. Spade effortlessly disarms, knocks out and searches him and when he awakens he's questioned and given back his gun before leaving only to attempt the whole procedure again word for word. I howled with laughter it was phenomenal. Things are much more serious going forward, as the case grows closer to a conclusion, with every word told a lie, tailing hitmen and further bodies turning up around our investigator. It is particularly hard to guess anyone's next move especially Spade's as he works tirelessly to solve this bizarre case. Overall, The Maltese Falcon is the best of the best within the crime, mystery and film-noir genres. It is a perfect product that delivers everything you have come to expect and much more. It practically set the foundations for these types of movies and its influence continues to be ever-present. The cast is marvellous, direction stupendous, and story captivating. This is as classic as they come, a must-see.
Private investigator, Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood to help resolve a gambling debt and blackmailing of his daughter, Carmen. Marlowe agrees to the case but finds himself getting deeper into a web of love triangles, blackmail, murder, gambling and organised crime. With the assistance of Vivian, (Sternwood's older daughter) she implies that the situation is more complex, and also involves the casino owner and a recently disappeared family friend. As people who are linked to the Sternwoods end up getting killed, Marlowe gets more tangled in the web. But with more help from Vivian, he hopes to hatch the plot and free the family from this ever-growing web, trapping the true culprit. This 1940's classic captures that film-noir feel in its tone and setting throughout. There are scenes where that presence is felt (and seen) very prominently. However, for me and many others, the plot of this film feels very complicated and hard to follow. There are a lot of plot threads going around and as we learn more as the film goes on, it's very easy to get lost. I know I did. However, I found a plot summary on IMDb where they put all the plot threads, characters and events in order. I found it much easier to follow and understood the film much more clearly. The reason for it being unusual to understand at times is due to having many scenes cut out that would have kept the story and mini-plot threads together. This is why it has moments that occur with little reasoning or little explanation that could have made things more connected and would have followed the book more clearly. Despite its difficult-to-follow plot, there is still a lot to take and enjoy from this classic film. The acting is great from Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in the leading roles of Marlowe and Vivian, especially their chemistry and sprouting affection for one another. The two of them did a few films together and the fact that they were married is really cool. Being able to do films together must have been such fun and it's so nice to know they were together in real life. They both starred in the film To Have and Not Have (1944) before this one and went on to work together afterwards on Dark Passage (1947) and Key Largo (1948). There is a great deal of clever dialogue scattered throughout with some great quips from our leading P.I., Marlowe. Like, for example, General Sternwood - "How do you like your brandy, sir?" Marlowe - "In a glass." Also in a later scene [in a bookstore] Marlowe - "You do sell books, hmm?" Agnes - "What do those look like, grapefruit?" Marlowe - "Well, from here they look like books." There are plenty of ones like that throughout, which always get a smirk from me and felt very in line with a film-noir P.I. which I liked. It is certainly worth watching some clips of the witty quips as they do not disappoint in entertaining. My favourite character had to be Marlowe thanks to those lines and how smart he is in his deductions. I enjoyed the setting of the film, especially when it came to the weather. Scenes of a rainy 1940s setting in a film-noir private investigator film just look fitting and are used in almost all films of this period and genre, which I will always enjoy. It makes for some great-looking scenes and adds to the air of mystery. The film focuses more on a tonal depiction rather than a visual cinematic one. Overall, this is a good film but the plot can be hard to follow, especially if you try and focus on it. I found it much easier to read the summary after to get a better understanding. However, the dialogue, atmosphere and chemistry between the leading roles are the highlights of this classic film, making it ideal viewing.
