Cheap The Maltese Falcon (Video) (Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor) (John Huston) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Maltese Falcon

I had no idea what was going on.
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!

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A film noir classic from John Huston
Brigid O'Shaughnessy hires Sam Spade and his partner, Miles Archer, to bring back her sister who's been living with a "dangerous" man. Miles sets off to tail the man, but winds up murdered. Trying to discover who killed his partner before the police can lay blame on him, Spade gets more involved with Brigid's search for a missing statue, the Maltese Falcon. She must find it before the nervous Joel Cairo or the mysterious Kaspar Gutman can get their hands on it.

Director John Huston, who also wrote the screenplay based on Dashiell Hammett's novel, a crafted one of the finest examples of film noir to hit the screen. Humphrey Bogart's star-making turn as Detective Sam Spade is full of sharp-tongued intelligence as he plays each of the characters against themselves to get to the truth. Peter Lorre is devious as the nervous Joel Cairo, determined to locate the Maltese Falcon for his employer, Kaspar Gutman, played with finesse by Sydney Greenstreet. Mary Astor does a fine job as Brigid, but to me, she comes across as a bit too melodramatic. I found it hard to take her seriously in the role of a woman out to use whatever it takes to get the statue. The script is fast paced with excellent dialogue, especially the scenes between Spade and Gutman.

The DVD transfer has some satisfactory extras, such as movie trailers and a history of the film. I'm a bit surprised at the picture quality. Many grainy spots, noise lines, and other imperfections. I hope they release a restored version of this in the near future.

"The Maltese Falcon" is a marvelous film and is a must for any cinephile.

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A Bogart classic

Director: John Huston
Format: Black & White
Studio: Warner Studios
Video Release Date: February 1, 2000

Cast:

Humphrey Bogart ... Private Detective Sam Spade
Mary Astor ... Brigid O'Shaughnessy
Gladys George ... Iva Archer
Peter Lorre ... Joel Cairo
Barton MacLane ... Det. Lt. Dundy
Lee Patrick ... Effie Perine
Sydney Greenstreet ... Kasper Gutman
Ward Bond ... Det. Tom Polhaus
Jerome Cowan ... Miles Archer
Elisha Cook Jr. ... Wilmer Cook
James Burke ... Luke
Murray Alper ... Frank Richman
John Hamilton ... Bryan
Charles Drake ... Reporter
Chester Gan ... Bit part
Creighton Hale ... Stenographer
Robert Homans ... Policeman
William Hopper ... Reporter
Walter Huston ... Capt. Jacobi
Hank Mann ... Reporter
Jack Mower ... Announcer
Emory Parnell ... Ship's mate

This is a cult classic Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) film. The cast included all-time greats Peter Lorre, Sidney Greestreet, Walter Huston, Ward Bond, and other veterans like Mary Astor and Jerome Cowan.

John Huston directed, and kept the tension high throughout.

This is a story about a statue of a falcon that the Knights Templar had made as a gift for the King of Spain in gratitude. It was lost in transit to the king. Crusted with jewels of immense value, but covered with black lacquer to disguise its worth, it was lost for centuries. This story is about the struggle between factions of villains to get the bird.

If you have never see Bogart in this movie, you have missed one which is partly responsible for his fame.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre