The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Country: US
Technical: bw 101m
Director: John Huston
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet
Synopsis:
Private eye Sam Spade is approached by several adventurers of both sexes, all in pursuit of a priceless statuette said to be the property of the Knights Templar.
Review:
This astonishing directorial debut was every bit as significant as the other famous Opus 1 of the year, Citizen Kane. It brought Bogart to the screen in a way he had never been used before and in which he was almost always to appear henceforth: the grizzled, cynical observer with a well concealed heart of gold. It singlehandedly inaugurated the cycle of films whose stylistic traits French critics would later term 'noir'. It also just happened to introduce Greenstreet and Lorre in signature roles. On its own terms it is a whip crack, staccato-delivered succession of tightly shot and wittily written head to heads, with all elements working at optimum pitch, not least a well-oiled studio machine. As a matter of idle interest, it is probably the Hollywood film with more homosexual characters than any other, at least four by my count, and it has no scenes of action: apart from the murder of Archer, it all happens off screen.
Country: US
Technical: bw 101m
Director: John Huston
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet
Synopsis:
Private eye Sam Spade is approached by several adventurers of both sexes, all in pursuit of a priceless statuette said to be the property of the Knights Templar.
Review:
This astonishing directorial debut was every bit as significant as the other famous Opus 1 of the year, Citizen Kane. It brought Bogart to the screen in a way he had never been used before and in which he was almost always to appear henceforth: the grizzled, cynical observer with a well concealed heart of gold. It singlehandedly inaugurated the cycle of films whose stylistic traits French critics would later term 'noir'. It also just happened to introduce Greenstreet and Lorre in signature roles. On its own terms it is a whip crack, staccato-delivered succession of tightly shot and wittily written head to heads, with all elements working at optimum pitch, not least a well-oiled studio machine. As a matter of idle interest, it is probably the Hollywood film with more homosexual characters than any other, at least four by my count, and it has no scenes of action: apart from the murder of Archer, it all happens off screen.
Country: US
Technical: bw 101m
Director: John Huston
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet
Synopsis:
Private eye Sam Spade is approached by several adventurers of both sexes, all in pursuit of a priceless statuette said to be the property of the Knights Templar.
Review:
This astonishing directorial debut was every bit as significant as the other famous Opus 1 of the year, Citizen Kane. It brought Bogart to the screen in a way he had never been used before and in which he was almost always to appear henceforth: the grizzled, cynical observer with a well concealed heart of gold. It singlehandedly inaugurated the cycle of films whose stylistic traits French critics would later term 'noir'. It also just happened to introduce Greenstreet and Lorre in signature roles. On its own terms it is a whip crack, staccato-delivered succession of tightly shot and wittily written head to heads, with all elements working at optimum pitch, not least a well-oiled studio machine. As a matter of idle interest, it is probably the Hollywood film with more homosexual characters than any other, at least four by my count, and it has no scenes of action: apart from the murder of Archer, it all happens off screen.