Rating: 
Summary: Deception on Lie...
Review: In the Maltese Falcon the audience can observe Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) as he is trotting through the city of San Francisco trying to figure out what people are hiding. The plot thickens as the audience learns that greed is the generating factor for deception and that the Maltese Falcon is invaluable. Deceptions then lead Sam into a spiraling plan made by someone, but who? Overall, the Maltese Falcon can be illustrated as a maze that entangles itself repeatedly, since one lie is built upon another lie.
Rating:
Summary: Deserves a FULL Five stars . . .
Review: ..not a measly, ungenerous four and a half ...Its time to give this film the credit it deserves ... .. and many reviewers here have. I still negotiate its second-best status for American popular-best behind CASABLANCA, with ON THE WATERFRONT, MRS MINIVER, and maybe TAXI DRIVER. MALTESE FALCON still stands up pretty well against these American classics. Its a fun enough film to be generally popular. Yet its hard-boiledness is guaranteed to hold the demanding Noir fan. The characters are nicely rounded and entertaining, and hardly dull. One might even call the Lorre character risque! (taking chances there...) If the film is slightly corny ("you'll want to see her ... she's a knock-out!") we are able to bear with these moments for it's better elements, which are worth waiting for ... ... of course, anyone who knows, knows any Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet vehicle/film is worth watching/waiting for ... and in this, we certainly get to see more of Peter Lorre than in CASABLANCA, the more highly touted of the two highly popular films... ...eventually one wants to compare FALCON with other noirish Bogey type vehicles: ROARING TWENTIES, BIG SLEEP... I suppose it comes close to SLEEP, but it rather stands alone ... and in no way does SLEEP, as much fun as it is, feature any kind of a duo like Lorre and Greenstreet. In short, it deserves an immediate and unconditional place on your shelf, if only for the presence of Peter L. and Sydney G. ... and see my Review for Background to Danger, Across the Pacific, and The Mask of Dimitrios...
--moosbrugger
Rating:
Summary: Mr. Cairo
Review: In the Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart is hired as a private detective as his assignment is to retrieve The Maltese Falcon. The Maltese Falcon is encrusted with many precious stones and is very valuable. Many lives have been left destroyed in its wake. Bogart is faced with many people all telling different stories and has to sort out who is telling the truth and who is lying. Peter Lore gives an especially great performance as Joel Cairo. I am not old enough to have seen many Lore movies, but he is great in this one. From what I understand, Lore always took some oddball roles, and this is certainly one of them. There are many twists and turns in the plot and it is hard to keep up with them at times, but overall they converge in an extremely watchable and exciting movie that will definitely keep you interested for the entire duration. There are not too many extras on this DVD, but I did find the original theatrical trailer very interesting. Extras or not, this is classic Film Noir and a must see.
Rating:
Summary: I had no idea what was going on.
Review: Normally a movie that leaves you with no idea what is going on is terribly annoying. Not this one. It's brilliant. It hails from the era when detective movies were making the transition from sophisticated plots and sharp thinking heros like Sherlock Holmes to the furious action of gun toting thugs and hard-core cops. The Maltese Falcon pioneered film-noir by introducing a small amount of action and mayhem with the hard-nosed hero performing several aggressive moves. But on the whole the murders and action are simply the background to the psychological question of whodunnit and the movie is unburdened by profanity or graphic violence. There are several main characters, notably abrasive Humphrey Bogart as tough guy private-eye Sam Spade. He must sort out the mystery behind the murder of his partner, and untangle a complicated web of intrigue involving the beautiful Brigid O'Shaunessy, the mysterious Joel Cairo, the gunman Wilmer Cook, and the obese "Fat Man" Kasper Gutman. In the quest for the fabled and priceless Maltese Falcon, there are several corpses that need to be accounted for. Whoddunit? For 99% of the movie, I had no idea, and was led on a wild goose chase of plot twists and possibilities. The superb plot (based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett) had me well and truly baffled. But the deception of artificial tears or false stories does not easily fool the perceptiveness of Sam Spade, nor does opposition quickly repress his confidence. Even the tinge of romance that is present is not overly sappy, because Sam Spade's determined moral principles easily overcome any passions for love or money that have conquered the villains he is pursuing. The hero of The Maltese Falcon is in this sense quite unlike the hero of the legendary Casablanca. His pursuit of truth and justice and immunity to the vices of girls and greed is completely inspiring, and so very unlike the movies of today. When the solution finally came at the end, I was amazed, but quite satisfied. Armed with the solution, I was ready to view and enjoy the whole movie again in a new light. The Maltese Falcon is renowned movie from 1941 that ranks among the greatest detective movies ever, and is a real treat to lovers of mystery today. Like mystery? Go watch it. You'll enjoy it more than once!
Rating:
Summary: Harder Hitting Than a Lead Armed Man With a Black Jack!
Review: This film is one of those flicks that just starts everything else in its genre but still after numerous films copy it it ransk as the best! Maltese Falcon gives of four big things; amazing dialogue, Humphrey Bogart, great cinemtography, and unseen violence! The plot follows a swine after swin as they search for a jewel encrusted falcon the only hitch is that somewhere along the line the falcon was misplaced. Bogart wants to know who has it and why everyone wants it! The dialogue is the saving grace of the film overlapping and delivered faster than a pizza! Smacks and gunshots are thrown all around the screen and Houston's direction catches every bit of it. Houston paints such a clear vision that the camera tends not to so much follow the scenes but move them along. houston constatnly pans off to follow and actor befor they even move making for a sense of rushed urgency and moving the film at break neck speeds. Bogart is offering his tough guy persona that he will later use to the utmost but here its raw, new and powerful. Mary Astor as the film's ice queen is brilliant. Never reaching the fame she deserved her off easy looks and washed out expressionsa nd stabbing tone of voice are just stunning and adds an extra element of danger. The film uses the "invisible gun technique"; of when you believe the film's "main" character is just off screen and will come into the plot to give the film another level of over the top depth but it never happens but its in the illusion of this character that gives the flick an omnipresent feel. Films of this stature are not even being produced anymore because this level of talent is no longer around.
Rating:
Summary: Classic gumshoe tale with a great cast
Review: This was John Huston's first film and some say his best. It features a most interesting cast led by Humphrey Bogart who, one can see, had a great time playing the devil-may-care and cynical private eye, Sam Spade, a creation of mystery novelist Dashiell Hammett, who also created another cinematic favorite, The Thin Man (1934) (and sequels) starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. Playing opposite Bogey as the tearful and treacherous Brigid O'Shaughnessy is Mary Astor, at the time in her mid-thirties and a veteran of many films going back to the silent era. Interestingly enough one of the films was The Runaway Bride (1930). In Hollywood the films never change, they just get make-overs. Peter Lorre plays the perfumed and villainous Joel Cairo in a style both humorous and sinister. His distinctive high pitched voice has become a staple of cartoon villains. Sidney Greenstreet, the rotund one, who catches up on his reading while they await the delivery of the falcon, plays Kasper Gutman, art connoisseur and sly crook. Elisha Cook Jr., the eternal little man with a gun, whose face seldom changes expression from that of hurtful vengeance, plays Wilmer Cook, Gutman's bodyguard. What makes this film the favorite of so many is the supremely confident manner in which Sam Spade deals with not only the motley assortment of crooks and con artists, but with the police, tearful women and the district attorney. He's a man's man whose rationality and good old fashioned common sense allow him to spot deception in the twinkling of an eye and give him the power to turn his back on love if there are strings attached. The cosmopolitan air and the sophisticated script allow the players full scope and they are fascinating to watch. Astor's fake tears and feigned innocence cause both Bogey and the audience to grin broadly. And the tête-a-têtes among all the characters, but especially between Greenstreet and Bogart and Lorre and Bogart--the big eyes, the greedy grabbing of guns--are the kind of scenes you can watch again and again with pleasure. Some see greed as the theme of this film, and indeed John Huston is very good at delineating the psychology of greed--witness also his The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)--but in the existential character of Sam Spade we see an American legend come to life. He is the thinking man of action living life by his wits and an independent code, the kind of man who takes life as it comes but without ever losing his sense of humor, the kind of guy we'd all like to be. There are a couple of earlier version of this film, The Maltese Falcon (1931) with Bebe Daniels and Ricado Cortez, and one starring Bette Davis and Warren William called Satan Met a Lady (1936), neither of which I've seen, but I understand that the 1931 version is very good. With help from a script by Truman Capote, Huston made a kind of a spoof in Beat the Devil (1954). Incidentally, in this and in The Big Sleep (1946), Bogart never really plays the gumshoe with the kind of hard-nosed disregard for conventional morality as envisioned in the novels, but is politically-corrected for the mass movie audience. Note here however that the first thing Sam Spade does when he gets the guys unconscious is to go through their wallets. Bottom line: a classic and a treat. Don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: The best of Dashiell Hammet
Review: One of the best movies ever made, and one I never tire of watching. Every time I see this film, I cannot fail to say, "They don't make them like that anymore." What a shame that the films of today cannot equal this masterpiece of John Huston's direction and one of the greatest casts ever to be in a film. Of course, there are not writers as great as Hammet around, are there?
Rating: 
Summary: Great film but...
Review: The TCM featurette "Becomming Attractions" is a 50 minute piece that's supposed to be AFTER the movie but is actually BEFORE it. How unfortunate that I have to fast forward through an hour of nonsense before actually viewing the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Film Noir's beginnings
Review: This film was required viewing years ago when I took a class on film noir. It was excellent then and through the years, I reflect back on it, so much so, that I just had to buy my own copy. Humphrey Bogart makes such a great icon. He creates this image of man afraid of nothing, willing to bow to no one and paying homage only to his own rather unique set of moral code. He will not even bow to love -- the great power in American. His character MUST do what is right, even when all around him have failed to hold their own standards. He is a cinematic inspiration.
Rating:
Summary: When you're slapped, you'll take it and like it.
Review: 1941. A good year in cinema history in terms of memorable movies and performances, But when it came to film debuts, this was arguably the best year in movies. The first and probably most well known was Actor/Director Orson Welles (Which, I hope, no explanation is necessary). The other was Director John Huston for "The Maltese Falcon". While not as effecting or groundbreaking as "Citizen Kane", it's still nevertheless a tremendous first effort. A tight, well crafted, gripping mystery, this film is deserving of being considered one of the best movies ever made. Star Humphrey Bogart also had a very good year in 1941. After a decade of playing parts in gangster films like "The Petrified Forest" and "The Roaring Twenties", Bogart finally hit it big with his performances as ex-convict 'Mad Dog' Earl in "High Sierra" and as Private Detective Samuel Spade in this movie. Bogart is excellent in his role, tough and brutal. He established with this role (And his Philip Marlowe in "The Big Sleep" what the detectives of later film noirs would be like. Considering this one of his trademark performances, it's surprising he didn't get nominated for this or "High Sierra". In addition to Bogart's superb lead role, he is assisted by a colorful supporting cast. Mary Astor as a client who gets Sam involved with the falcon, Peter Lorre as Cairo, who is looking for the Falcon, Sydney Greenstreet (In his first talkie film) as "Fatman", who is also looking for the Maltese Falcon, and Elisha Cook, Jr. as Wilma, a thug of Fatman's. As everyone knows who's seen the movie, the film's most famous quote comes at the end
when Spade, carrying the falcon in his hands, calls it "The stuff that dreams are made of". But with all the virtues of this production, could he have been referring to the movie? The debate goes on... Some other great quotes from the movie: Sam Spade: We didn't believe your story, Mrs. O'Shaughnessy, we believed your 200 dollars. Wilmer Cook: Keep on riding me and they're gonna be picking iron out of your liver. Kasper Gutman: I couldn't be fonder of you if you were my own son. But, well, if you lose a son, its possible to get another. Sam Spade: When a man's partner is killed, he's supposed to do something about it. Joel Cairo: You always have a very smooth explanation...
Sam Spade: What do you want me to do, learn to stutter? Joel Cairo: You... you bungled it!
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