IMDb > The Maltese Falcon (1941)
The Maltese Falcon
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The Maltese Falcon (1941) More at IMDbPro »

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The Maltese Falcon -- Sam Spade, a private detective, gets involved in a murderous hunt for a valuable statuette.

Overview

User Rating:
Top 250: #113  (login to vote)
8.3/10   65,988 votes »
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Down 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
John Huston
Writers:
John Huston (screenplay)
Dashiell Hammett (based upon the novel by)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Maltese Falcon on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
18 October 1941 (USA) See more »
Genre:
Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller See more »
Tagline:
It's thrilling . . . it's chilling . . . it's the most baffling mystery story in years ! See more »
Plot:
A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette. Full summary » | Full synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
See more »
Awards:
Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win See more »
NewsDesk:
(204 articles)
Judge, Jury, and Executioner: Mickey Spillane, Mike Hammer, and the Private Eye on Screen and on the Page
 (From SoundOnSight. 18 May 2012, 2:58 PM, PDT)
True Love proves a letdown at Sci-Fi London film festival | Carole Jahme
 (From The Guardian - Film News. 8 May 2012, 10:01 AM, PDT)
Friday Noir: ‘The Maltese Falcon’ is indeed the treasure people make it out to be
 (From SoundOnSight. 27 April 2012, 4:15 PM, PDT)
User Reviews:
Top notch mystery that kicked off the film noir genre of the 1940s See more (249 total) »

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Humphrey Bogart ... Samuel Spade

Mary Astor ... Brigid O'Shaughnessy
Gladys George ... Iva Archer

Peter Lorre ... Joel Cairo
Barton MacLane ... Lt. of Detectives Dundy
Lee Patrick ... Effie Perine
Sydney Greenstreet ... Kasper Gutman

Ward Bond ... Detective Tom Polhaus
Jerome Cowan ... Miles Archer

Elisha Cook Jr. ... Wilmer Cook
James Burke ... Luke
Murray Alper ... Frank Richman
John Hamilton ... Bryan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Drake ... Reporter (uncredited)
Chester Gan ... Bit Part (uncredited)
Creighton Hale ... Stenographer (uncredited)
Robert Homans ... Policeman (uncredited)
William Hopper ... Reporter (uncredited)

Walter Huston ... Captain Jacoby (uncredited)
Hank Mann ... Reporter (uncredited)
Jack Mower ... Announcer (uncredited)
Emory Parnell ... Ship's Mate (uncredited)
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Directed by
John Huston 
 
Writing credits
John Huston (screenplay)

Dashiell Hammett (based upon the novel by)

Produced by
Henry Blanke .... associate producer
Hal B. Wallis .... executive producer
 
Original Music by
Adolph Deutsch (music by)
 
Cinematography by
Arthur Edeson (director of photography)
 
Film Editing by
Thomas Richards (film editor)
 
Art Direction by
Robert M. Haas  (as Robert Haas)
 
Costume Design by
Orry-Kelly (gowns)
 
Makeup Department
Perc Westmore .... makeup artist
Frank McCoy .... makeup artist (uncredited)
Jean Udko .... hair (uncredited)
 
Production Management
Al Alleborn .... unit manager (uncredited)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Claude Archer .... assistant director (uncredited)
John Prettyman .... second assistant director (uncredited)
Jack Sullivan .... assistant director (uncredited)
 
Art Department
John Gilbert Kissel .... props (uncredited)
Keefe Maley .... assistant props (uncredited)
William McConnell .... scenic artist (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Oliver S. Garretson .... sound
 
Camera and Electrical Department
William Conger .... gaffer (uncredited)
E.F. Dexter .... grip (uncredited)
Mack Elliott .... stills (uncredited)
Mike Joyce .... second assistant camera (uncredited)
Wally Meinardus .... assistant camera (uncredited)
William Steudeman .... best boy (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Burrell Kring .... wardrobe man (uncredited)
Cora Lobb .... wardrobe woman (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein .... musical director
Arthur Lange .... orchestrator (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Robert Foulk .... dialogue director
Meta Carpenter .... script clerk (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
"Le faucon maltais" - Belgium (French title), Canada (French title), France
"Die Spur des Falken" - Austria, Germany (imdb display title)
"El halcón maltés" - Mexico (imdb display title), Spain
"Relíquia Macabra" - Brazil, Portugal
"5 enohoi, 3 eglimata" - Greece (reissue title)
"A máltai sólyom" - Hungary
"De valk van Malta" - Belgium (Flemish title)
"Der Malteser Falke" - Germany
"El falcó maltès" - Spain (Catalan title)
"Il mistero del falco" - Italy
"Maltézský sokol" - Czechoslovakia (Czech title)
"Malta sahini" - Turkey (Turkish title)
"Maltan haukka" - Finland (imdb display title)
"Malteser falken" - Finland (Swedish title) (imdb display title)
"Malteserfalken" - Norway (imdb display title)
"Malteski soko" - Serbia (imdb display title)
"Malteski sokol" - Croatia (imdb display title)
"Maruta no taka" - Japan
"O Falcão Maltês" - Brazil (rerun title)
"O Falcão Maltês - Relíquia Macabra" - Brazil (DVD title)
"Riddarfalken från Malta" - Sweden
"Ridderfalken" - Denmark
"Ridderfalken fra Malta" - Norway (alternative title)
"Soimul Maltez" - Romania (imdb display title)
"Sokól maltanski" - Poland
"To geraki tis Maltas" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
See more »
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
100 min (Turner library print) (copyright length)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Black and White
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
Australia:G (TV rating) | UK:A (original rating) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:PG (video rating) | Spain:T | Iceland:L | West Germany:16 (nf) | New Zealand:PG | South Korea:12 (2003) | Brazil:12 | Finland:K-12 (1987) | USA:TV-PG | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 (1946) | Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL | Norway:16 (1945) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #7457)
Filming Locations:
Bush Street, San Francisco, California, USASee more »
Company:
Warner Bros. PicturesSee more »

Did You Know?

Trivia:
There is an inordinate amount of smoking done by the main actors in this film. According to then-studio employee (and future screenwriter) Stuart Jerome, this resulted in a feud between stars Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, and studio head Jack L. Warner. Warner hated to see actors smoking on the screen, fearing it would prompt smokers in the movie audience to step out into the lobby for a cigarette. During the filming of _Maltese Falcon, The (1941)_, Warner told director John Huston that smoking in the film should be kept to a minimum. Bogart and Lorre thought it would be fun to annoy Warner by smoking as often as possible, and got their co-stars, Mary Astor and Sydney Greenstreet to go along with the joke. During the initial filming of the climactic confrontation, all four actors smoked heavily. After seeing the rushes, Warner furiously called Huston to his office and threatened to fire him from the picture if he didn't tell Bogart and Lorre to knock it off. Realizing their prank had backfired, Bogart and Lorre agreed to stop smoking on camera. However, when the next series of rushes came back, it was obvious that the *lack* of smoking by the actors was taking away from the sinister mood of the scene. Huston went back to Jack Warner, and convinced him that the smoking added the right amount of atmospheric tension to the story, arguing that the characters *would* smoke cigarettes while waiting nervously for the Maltese Falcon to arrive.See more »
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: Shadows are visible in scene where Captain Jacoby stumbles into Spade's office and falls on the couch.See more »
Quotes:
[first lines]
Sam Spade:Yes, sweetheart?
Effie Perine:There's a girl wants to see you. Her name's Wonderly.
Sam Spade:A customer?
Effie Perine:I guess so. You'll want to see her anyway. She's a knockout.
See more »
Movie Connections:
Referenced in I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now? (1975)See more »

FAQ

What is a "gunsel"?
Elisha Cook Jr.---Did Hitchcock Want Him For A Film?
See more »

User Reviews

   (Review this title)
53 out of 73 people found the following review useful.
Top notch mystery that kicked off the film noir genre of the 1940s, 1 December 2002
Author: back2wsoc from Chicago, Illinois

"The Maltese Falcon", scripted and directed by Hollywood first-timer John Huston (from Dashiell Hammett's novel), would go on to become an American film classic. Humphrey Bogart chews the scenery in his star-making turn as acid-tongued private eye Sam Spade, whose association with the beautiful and aloof Brigid O'Shaughnessy (Mary Astor), neurotic Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre), and morbidly obese Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet, in his Oscar-nominated screen debut) over the recovery of the title object, sets in motion a movie experience that is as much crackling as it is dazzling. While much of the action and dialogue is considerably dated by modern standards, the film's essential power to mystify and entrance remains undiminished despite its age. While this was the third adaptation of Hammett's story (the first was made in 1931 and the second was "Satan Met a Lady" (1936)), this is also the best remembered and most praised, due largely in part to Bogart's seemingly effortless portrayal of the tough but softhearted, world-weary hero. Mary Astor and Lee Patrick were, respectively, the definitive femme fatale and girl Friday, and the villianous roles of Cairo, Gutman and Wilmer (Elisha Cook Jr.) were equally remarkable. What may not be wholly obvious is the fact that these three men have homosexual tendencies (as given in the novel), but just look at what's given: Cairo's delicate speech and manner, Wilmer's questionable quick tempered attitude towards Spade (could this be covering up the fact that he finds Spade attractive?) and Gutman's clutching of Spade's arm when Sam arrives at his hotel room. A polished film noir that gave rise to Bogart's mounting popularity. (Sidenote: The character of Sam Spade was originally offered to George Raft, who turned it down. Raft also turned down "Casablanca" (1942), "High Sierra" (1941) and William Wyler's "Dead End" (1937), all of which went to Bogart and helped to boost his star status. Bogart had Raft to thank for his enduring popularity.) A must-see masterpiece. ****

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Does the jewelled Falcon exist or just a legend? RugGuy
Mary Astor was Fantastic! PSVillas
Spade mails locker key to himself edalweber
Fainting HushJoker
Should a remake be made? noonebutnotthatnoone
Amazing film, even better book, but one critical plot hole (spoilers)... noirlethal
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