- How to review The Maltese Falcon? What to say that hasn't already been said by countless professional reviewers much more thoughtful and qualified than me?? Everyone already knows that it was John Huston's astonishing debut film, that it propelled Humphrey Bogart to superstardom, and that it is commonly cited as the first film noir, which is close enough to being true that I don't feel bad repeating it. In fact, the only thing that most people don't realize is that pirates seized the canister carrying the original cut of this priceless film and that the fate of The Maltese Falcon remains a mystery to this day. Okay, now I'm just making things up. My point, assuming I have one, is that the legends surrounding this film outnumber even those told about the mythical black bird itself. Fortunately, scratching the surface of the film reveals all manner of gold and jewels and not even a hint of lead.
- It's obvious early on that Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) is hardly Hollywood's stereotypical hero. Although he's initially pleasant enough to his paying client, Miss Wonderley (Mary Astor), Spade reacts rather callously upon hearing that his partner has been shot while working the case. We soon discover that his insensitivity stems from his relationship, possibly ongoing, with his now-deceased partner's wife, whom he tries at all costs to avoid. When Spade discovers that he's been lied to, and that Ms. Wonderly is really the rather duplicitous Miss O'Shaughnessy, he drops all pretense of courtesy and instead begins to wield the ill-mannered cynicism that they would issue all future hard-boiled detectives with their licenses. Likewise, when dealing with the mysterious Messrs. Cairo (Peter Lorre), Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet), and Wilmer (Elisha Cook Jr.), Spade throws punches and tantrums with equal enthusiasm, doing anything he can to catch his opponents off guard. In short, Sam Spade is no gentleman, but he does happen to be the only hope anyone has of getting to the bottom of this case.
- To recount the story in detail would be missing the point of this film, but the obvious focus of the plot is the eponymous black bird. It is "the stuff dreams are made of" and, as such, is one of the more famous examples of a Hitchcock MacGuffin, existing only to give these characters reason to interact. You'd have to look hard to find a more interesting gathering of memorable personalities anywhere in cinema, and this film handles them all perfectly. Their final confrontation, in particular, is a real spectacle, as all of them sit in a room waiting for the bird to arrive while deciding who to throw to the cops. Will it be the ostentatious Mr. Cairo or the orbicular Mr. Gutman? The overwound Wilmer or the overwrought Miss O'Shaughnessy?? If you guessed "all of them," there may be hope for you yet as a private eye.
- What struck me most upon rewatching The Maltese Falcon is that it remains an immensely fun film to watch, despite also being so influential. It is not completely alone in this category (Star Wars also quickly comes to mind), but I can just as easily think of a host of films whose cinematic significance is exceeded only by their characteristic seriousness and/or opacity. The Maltese Falcon, however, retains the intrinsic relatability of Dashiell Hammett's source novel, which had slyly entered the literary world through a popular pulp magazine. I imagine part of this universal appeal stems from Spade's unconventional approach to solving crimes. There is a special place in my heart for Sherlock Holmes, but I know in advance that he'll solve the case with unearthly and unbelievable feats of perception and logic. Likewise, most modern detective stories rely heavily on unrealistic and typically uninteresting forensic technology. The Sam Spades of the world, on the other hand, never know exactly where they stand and are usually anything but predictable. Quoting Casper Gutman, "there's never any telling what (Spade) will say or do, except that it's bound to be something astonishing."
- I think my favorite piece of trivia about this film is that the atomic bombs "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" were named after the characters played by Sydney Greenstreet and Elisha Cook Jr.
