The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon

 Cast: Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
, Mary Astor
Mary Astor
, Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
, Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Greenstreet
, Gladys George
Gladys George
The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon

 Cast: Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
, Mary Astor
Mary Astor
, Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
, Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Greenstreet
, Gladys George
Gladys George

DVD

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Overview

After two previous film versions of Dashiell Hammett's detective classic The Maltese Falcon, Warner Bros. finally got it right in 1941--or, rather, John Huston, a long-established screenwriter making his directorial debut, got it right, simply by adhering as closely as possible to the original. Taking over from a recalcitrant George Raft, Humphrey Bogart achieved true stardom as Sam Spade, a hard-boiled San Francisco private eye who can be as unscrupulous as the next guy but also adheres to his own personal code of honor. Into the offices of the Spade & Archer detective agency sweeps a Miss Wonderly (Mary Astor), who offers a large retainer to Sam and his partner Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan) if they'll protect her from someone named Floyd Thursby. The detectives believe neither Miss Wonderly nor her story, but they believe her money. Since Archer saw her first, he takes the case -- and later that evening he is shot to death, as is the mysterious Thursby. Miss Wonderly's real name turns out to be Brigid O'Shaughnessey, and, as the story continues, Sam is also introduced to the effeminate Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) and the fat, erudite Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet, in his film debut). It turns out that Brigid, Cairo and Gutman are all international scoundrels, all involved in the search for a foot-high, jewel-encrusted statuette in the shape of a falcon. Though both Cairo and Gutman offer Spade small fortunes to find the "black bird," they are obviously willing to commit mayhem and murder towards that goal: Gutman, for example, drugs Spade and allows his "gunsel" Wilmer (Elisha Cook Jr.) to kick and beat the unconscious detective. This classic film noir detective yarn gets better with each viewing, which is more than can be said for the first two Maltese Falcons and the ill-advised 1975 "sequel" The Black Bird.

Product Details

Release Date: 10/05/2010
UPC: 0883929154296
Original Release: 1941
Rating: NR
Source: Warner Home Video
Region Code: 1
Presentation: [B&W]
Sound: [Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language: English
Time: 1:40:00
Sales rank: 11,549

Special Features

Closed Caption; ; Commentary by Bogart Biographer Eric Lax; Warner Night at the Movies 1941 Short Subjects Gallery: ; Newsreel; Technicolor Musical Short The Gay Parisian ; 2 Classic Cartoons: Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt and Meet John Doughboy; Plus Trailers of This Movie and 1941's Sergeant York

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Humphrey Bogart Sam Spade
Mary Astor Brigid O'Shaughnessy
Peter Lorre Joel Cairo
Sydney Greenstreet Kasper Gutman
Gladys George Iva Archer
Barton MacLane Det. Lt. Dundy
Lee Patrick Effie Perine
Ward Bond Det. Tom Polhaus
Jerome Cowan Miles Archer
Elisha Cook Jr. Wilmer Cook
Walter Huston Capt. Jacobi
James Burke Luke
Murray Alper Frank Richman
John Hamilton Bryan
Emory Parnell Mate of the La Paloma
Robert E. Homans Policeman,Policeman
Creighton Hale Stenographer
Charles Drake Reporter
William Hopper Reporter
Hank Mann Reporter
Jack Mower Announcer
Chester Gan Bit Part
Elisha Cook Actor
Adolph Deutsch Composer

Technical Credits
John Huston Director,Screenwriter
Hal Wallis Producer,Producer
Henry Blanke Producer
Oliver S. Garretson Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer
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