The Maltese Falcon (1941): The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of

Sam Spade. An iconic figure in both American cinema as well as American literary fiction. Dashiell Hammett's famed detective cemented stardom for screen legend Humphrey Bogart and Hammett's famed story, The Maltese Falcon, offered a solid directorial debut for legendary filmmaker John Huston. Considered by some the first film noir, The Maltese Falcon was an early 1940's crime drama produced at Warner Brothers, master of this film genre, with an eclectic array of tough talking, fast moving oddball characters who come together with one common goal....possession of a priceless black falcon statue.

Moving at a lightning pace, the film is a masterpiece of mystery, crime, tough dialogue and suspense. Warners had made two less successful versions in the 1930's, one under the original title in 1931, then as Satan Met a Lady in 1936 with young Bette Davis (Davis counted this version among her worst films). The 1941 Huston version is a tight, sophisticated and complicated film, well received by critics and audiences alike and faithful to Hammett's book.

The story revolves around a small statue of a falcon, whose history dates back centuries and whose value certain parties place higher than human life. Bogart plays detective Sam Spade, who is drawn into the intrigue regarding the recovery of the sculpture by the beautiful and lethal Brigid O'Shaunessey (Mary Astor). Brigid's false tale of a missing sister gets private dick Slade on the trail of the valuable bird, only to meet others also in hot pursuit of the object, including notably iconic Hammett characters weaselly and effete Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre); youthful killer Wilmer (Elisha Cook, Jr.); and menacing "Fatman" Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet).

Like many other screenwriters cum directors of the day, Huston, as screenwriter, tired of others directing ~ and rewriting~ his work, sought and was granted by the powers that be (aka Jack Warner), the task of bringing the third version of the famed crime thriller to the screen. Bogart, for the second time in less than a year lucked out thanks to the poor judgement of star George Raft. Months earlier Raft refused the role of Roy "Mad Dog" Earle in Warner's High Sierra. Bogart's casting in the Earle role was the impetus for his starring career and when Raft refused the role of Spade in Falcon, Bogart was again given his cast-off, made it his own and became a star. The role of femme fatale Brigid O'Shaunessey was originally set to be played by Warner contract player Geraldine Fitzgerald. However, Fitzgerald went east to take a job on the stage and Mary Astor was delighted to take the juicy part of deceptive O'Shaunessey. Along with her Oscar winning role later the same year in The Great Lie, her part in The Maltese Falcon would be her most famous (on screen anyway, as she had a very colorful offscreen life).

Everyone else in the cast is simply superb. Greenstreet, over sixty and roughly 300 lbs., made an unforgettable film debut as the baleful and bloated Kasper Gutman, code name "The Fat Man". In Falcon, he skillfully perfected the portly prototype of villain that he would portray throughout his film career. Cook truly looks like he's about to lose it, as gunsel Wilmer, with crazed look in his eyes and cold blooded murder in his heart. He and fellow Falcon co-star Lee Patrick (who plays Bogart's trusted secretary Effie) appeared in a 1970's spoof of the film called The Black Bird. Actor Walter Huston, father of the film's director, made an unbilled (and unpaid) cameo, as a victim of the statues lethal value.

The Maltese Falcon has been copied, spoofed and parodied, but the style and success of the Huston film cannot be duplicated. The parts of his masterpiece fit too perfectly together. Bogart became as synonymous with Sam Spade as he would with Casablanca's Rick a year later, and the professional and personal bond forged between he and director Huston would remain strong until Bogart's death in 1957.

Review: Dead End (1937)

Dead End (1937) is hard core. If you didn't know it was produced by master film man Samuel Goldwyn, you would swear it was a Warner Brothers crime melodrama, in the manner of Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) and They Made Me a Criminal (1939). Why? Because all the elements are there, the dirty, gritty New York tenement neighborhood, the criminal element, both petty and professional, the struggle for survival under the harshest circumstances. Heck, it even has Humphrey Bogart as a sinister thug (always in his earlier days) and a gang of smart aleck young punks (the Dead End Kids, who were also featured in the afore mentioned films). However, as a few clues that it belongs to Goldwyn, it features Joel McCrea, a favorite in several Goldwyn films of the 1930's, in his regular good guy role. It also has William Wyler, Goldwyn's director of choice, at the helm.

Based on the successful play by Sidney Kingsley, Dead End is a story of abject poverty and the battle to survive in a decaying and filthy New York slum. The struggle is reflected even more vividly in the fact that the tenement is smack dab beside a luxurious high rise apartment on the Hudson River, the back entrance of which enters onto the back alley of the dead end poverty stricken street. There is nothing pretty or glamorous about the film, except actress Wendy Barrie, but even her story is ugly. Bogie is a wanted murderer, a nationally known criminal of the most dangerous order. He is back in his old neighborhood, the stomping ground of his hard and lawless youth, to see both his mother and his long ago paramour, neither of whom he's seen in over a decade. As the parable goes, he reaps what he has sown in this endeavour, as the mother (Marjorie Main, in a powerful early role), pitiful and careworn, wants absolutely nothing to do with him and tells him she wishes he were dead. His reunion with his old flame is no better. Though she is glad to see him, she is barely fit to be seen herself. Poverty and desperation have driven her into prostitution and she is in the final stages of syphilis, warning the gangster against even a lip kiss. She is played by Claire Trevor, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, in what was an earlier and surprisingly short role (she only has one scene). Bogart's "Baby Face" Martin is a somewhat deeper character than most that he played at Warners during the same era. Still innately evil, there's a glimmer of another dimension in his affection for his mother and ex-lover.

Also on hand is Sylvia Sydney as poor working girl Drina. She is barely able to keep the heads of both she and her delinquent kid brother, Tommy (Billy Halop) above water. Drina is in love with Dave (McCrea) an educated native of the neighborhood, who can't find work as an architect so instead gets by on odd jobs. He in turn has become infatuated with Kay (Barrie), the mistress of one of the wealthy inhabitants of the luxury high rise. But romance is not the agenda of Dead End. It is merely one of the avenues which leads to dispair and the unfulfilled dreams of its characters. The setting of the film feels rather stagy, as the entire drama takes place in and around the decaying dead end street. Don't misunderstand, art director Richard Day did an outstanding job with the extremely realistic set, and instead of the claustrophobia of filth being a detriment, the single set lends to the enclosed and trapped feeling experienced on a daily basis by the inhabitants of the street.

Although Dead End finishes on a slightly higher note compared to the body of the film, the ending doesn't diminish the grimness of the overall theme. The power of both the story and of the performances by all involved shines through and endures long after its original release.

13 Classic Movies I've Never Seen...But Really Want To

Through the years when discussing classic movies with friends and fellow film lovers, inevitably I've been asked numerous times who and what my favorites actors, actresses and films are. I have had discussions on what my favorite Hitchcock films are, my favorite Bette Davis movies and so on. Then the other day I was chatting with an online friend and we started discussing the films we had always wanted to see but hadn't, either by lack of opportunity or as is often in my case, just let the opportunity slip by. So I thought I would share 13 such films. These are by no means the only movies that meet this criteria for me or even necessarily the ones I want to see the most, but it is a good overall example. When perusing this lineup one may ask "Why in the world is THAT on here?". We are all different, with our own likes and dislikes and our own special reasoning for those preferences. Some of the films listed are very famous, most are not.

(NOTE: These are listed neither alphabetically, chronologically nor in order of importance)

They Won't Forget (1937) Claude Rains, a red hot murder/rape trial in the deep South and Lana Turner in a tight sweater. Tell me that's not a combination for a swell sounding film.

Trade Winds (1938) Joan Bennett is one of my favorite actresses (hence her appearance more than once on this list) and this film changed the course of her career with a simple hair color change. Plus it sounds cute and has the irresistible Ann Sothern.

Citizen Kane (1941) I know what you're thinking, "A fellow writes about classic movies and he's never seen one of the MOST classic!." What can I say, I was never a huge Orson Welles fan, but I've heard so much about it, I'm intrigued.

Meet John Doe (1941) Two of my favorite stars, Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck at their peak with Frank Capra along for direction.

Forbidden (1932) Pre-Code Stanwyck directed by Capra and a really attention catching title.

Hotel for Women (1939) So elusive I've never even seen evidence of a television screening. This was Linda Darnell's film debut. Though no award winning classic, it sounds like fun with two long time favorites Ann Sothern and Lynn Bari in tow.

The Sign of the Cross (1932) Cecil B. DeMille directing a Pre-Code epic set in decadent, ancient Rome in which Claudette Colbert bathes in a giant pool of asses milk (no joke!).

House Across the Bay (1940) Joan Bennett again, this time in a drama with George Raft, whose usually very watchable.

Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) Classic film version of a classic tale. Basil Rathbone's first offering as the famous British sleuth, Sherlock Holmes. Lead to the long running movie series.

All Through the Night (1942) I like early 40's Bogart, but somehow missed this one. Also, my aunt, a big Bogie fan, had this poster in her home when I was a little tot. Good memories.

Hands Across the Table (1935) 1930's screwball comedy with Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray. Sounds great to me.

Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936) Another Fred MacMurray flick that from what I understand, is similar in atmosphere to Shepherd of the Hills, one of my favorite movies. Henry Hathaway directed both. I also feel that MacMurray was a much underrated actor.

Mandalay (1934) I like a good Kay Francis flick, though I haven't seen that many of them. From what I've been told, this is a perfect example of Kay at her pinnacle.

Some of these films are from Paramount Studios before 1948 and the MCA company bought this library with little distribution in recent years, therefore my lack of viewing opportunities. But others have been televised often or have been released on VHS and DVD for years now and I, alas, have just not taken the opportunity to fit them in to a busy and tight film viewing schedule. Whether you like the films on this log or in some cases don't, I hope you find it of some interest.

Review: High Sierra

High Sierra (1941) is the film that Humphrey Bogart fan's can thank for jump starting his career, because it is that film that pushed him closer to stardom and with The Maltese Falcon, made later that same year, he cemented it. Trudging along as a black hearted gangster or second lead at Warner Brothers for years had taken its toll, and Bogie lobbied hard for the part of Roy "Mad Dog" Earle. First offered to Paul Muni, then, after Muni turned it down, to George Raft, the role finally went to the persistent Bogart. Although he received second billing after Ida Lupino, it would be the last time in his career that he would see that slot.

High Sierra is a Warners gangster picture for sure. Many of the usual suspects who show up for the studio's often visited genre are here as well, gun-toting, tough-talking Barton MacLane for instance. The film is filled with the hard boiled dialogue of the day (more "saps", "rackets" and "sisters" than you can shake a stick at), but what makes Sierra different is the character of "Mad Dog" Earle and Bogart's portrayal of him. The actor brings a depth and sensitivity to Earle that is not usually seen in standard gangster fare. Unlike other "bad guys" of filmdom, like Gable's "Blackie" Gallagher in Manhattan Melodrama (1934) or Cagney's Rocky Sullivan in Angels With Dirty Faces (1938), who show signs of decency to help out their upstanding friends, but still enjoy their chosen path in life, Bogart's Earle is three dimensional. Although a thief and a killer, at his core are traces of the Indiana farm boy he left behind many years ago, traces that want to resurface in the form of a relationship with good girl Joan Leslie. Traces that do resurface in the affection for a stray dog, who eventually leads to his downfall.

"Mad Dog" Earle is a convict whose pardon from prison has been bought by gang boss Big Mac (Donald MacBride), so that Earle, an experienced thief, can lead a major jewel heist Mac has planned. Along the way he meets two women. The innocent and soft-spoken cripple, Velma (Joan Leslie, in her first significant role), and hard-on-the-outside but soft-on-the-inside moll, Marie (Ida Lupino). Often an underrated actress, Lupino brings tender pathos as the dime a dance girl turned gangster gal. Her turn in High Sierra raised her stock at Warner Brothers, though she never achieved the fame of several of her counterparts at the studio (she described herself as "a poor man's Bette Davis"). The sympathy felt for both her Marie and Bogart's "Mad Dog" are a testament to both the actors as well as the screenplay. Others in the cast were Arthur Kennedy, Alan Curtis and young Cornel Wilde, in one of his earliest roles.

On the strength of his work as the screenplays co-writer, John Huston was given directorial duty on the upcoming The Maltese Falcon, where he forged a long lasting personal and professional relationship with Bogart. They continued their collaboration with The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The African Queen among other films. Warner's resident action director Raoul Walsh, who directed the film, would remake it with a Western theme in 1948 as Colorado Territory and in 1955 yet another remake was produced as I Died a Thousand Times.

Review: They Drive By Night

They Drive By Night is one of those classic movies that has all the right elements. An ensemble of popular, high caliber stars, which include George Raft, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan and Ida Lupino, a solid, fast moving storyline, action, romance and obsessive love (mmm..mmm.mmm). It is a partial remake of Bordertown (1935) with Paul Muni and Bette Davis.

The story follows brothers and wildcat truck drivers Raft and Bogart who struggle to make a success of their one truck business. Women and tragedy enter the picture, along with a great Warner Brothers score. What else do you need?

Raft's "acting" is as it always is, he's Raft, but that's great because his persona fits the part of tough but honest Joe Fabrini perfectly. Bogart has the lesser role as brother Paul but it would only be another year before his career really took off in High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon. Ann Sheridan plays Raft's love interest and they have that great tough yet loving gal for tough guy chemistry that is famous at Warner Brothers. But the real star is Ida Lupino. Her lustful, obsessive, glamorous Lana is over the top (she, with Susan Hayward, was called the "poor man's Bette Davis"). This film along with High Sierra pushed her higher on the movie star feeding chain.

They Drive By Night was a hit for the studio upon it's release in 1940 and didn't do it's cast any harm either.