What is 'The Maltese Falcon'?

The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 American film noir, adapted and directed by John Huston from Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 novel of the same name. Huston's directorial debut is noted for its cast, crisp dialogue, and dramatic cinematography and is considered by some to be the first major work of the noir style and the greatest detective movie ever made. Humphrey Bogart stars as Sam Spade, a private detective in San Francisco, who gets drawn into a complex case involving a mysterious woman, Miss Wonderly (Mary Astor), and the search for a jewel-encrusted falcon statue. Others in the cast include Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo, Sydney Greenstreet as Kasper Gutman, and Elisha Cook, Jr. as Wilmer Cook.

Who directed 'The Maltese Falcon' and when was it released?

The Maltese Falcon , a film noir released in 1941, was John Huston 's directorial debut. It is an adaptation of Dashiell Hammett ’s 1930 detective novel of the same name and is considered by some to be the first major work of the noir style and the greatest detective movie ever made. The film stars Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, a private detective in San Francisco.

Who stars as the main character in the film?

In John Huston's 1941 film The Maltese Falcon , Humphrey Bogart stars as the main character, Sam Spade, a private detective in San Francisco. He and his partner are hired by a mysterious woman, Miss Wonderly, to trail a man, but the case quickly escalates into murder and intrigue involving a jewel-encrusted falcon statue. Other notable cast members include Mary Astor as Brigid O'Shaughnessy, Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo, and Sydney Greenstreet as Kasper Gutman.

What is the basic plot of 'The Maltese Falcon'?

In John Huston's 1941 film The Maltese Falcon , Sam Spade, a San Francisco private detective, takes on a case involving a mysterious woman named Miss Wonderly, which quickly turns deadly. Spade's partner is murdered while tailing a man for her, and soon the man himself is also killed. As Spade investigates, he encounters Joel Cairo and Kasper Gutman, all searching for a jewel-encrusted falcon statue. The falcon, intended as tribute from the Knights of Malta to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, has a storied history and immense value. Ultimately, the statue turns out to be a fake. Spade, loyal to his partner despite everything, turns in Gutman and Cairo for murder, and also exposes Miss Wonderly (Brigid O’Shaughnessy) as his partner's killer, ensuring she faces justice.

Why is the Maltese Falcon statue important in the story?

In The Maltese Falcon , the statue itself is a MacGuffin, a plot device that motivates characters and drives the story despite being relatively insignificant. The Maltese Falcon is a jewel-encrusted statue that many characters are searching for. The story revolves around Sam Spade, a private investigator, and his dealings with various eccentric characters, all of whom are after the falcon. The falcon is a tribute from the Knights of Malta en route to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and the characters' obsession with the statue propels the intricate plot, filled with deception, murder, and greed.

How did 'The Maltese Falcon' influence later detective and film noir movies?

The Maltese Falcon , directed by John Huston in 1941, significantly influenced later detective and film noir movies through its style, characters, and narrative techniques. The Maltese Falcon is considered by some to be the first major work of film noir. The film's influence includes: * Anti-heroic Protagonist: The character of Sam Spade, a morally ambiguous detective, became a prototype for masculine anti-heroes in crime fiction. * Femme Fatale: Brigid O'Shaughnessy established the archetype of the cunning and deceptive femme fatale. * MacGuffin: The Maltese falcon statue itself is one of the best examples of a MacGuffin, a plot device that motivates characters. * Visual Style: The film's dramatic cinematography and crisp dialogue contributed to the development of the noir aesthetic. * Cynicism: The film is known for its aura of postwar cynicism.

The Maltese Falcon

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The Maltese Falcon

film by Huston [1941]

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Top Questions

What is 'The Maltese Falcon'?
The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 American film noir, adapted and directed by John Huston from Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 novel of the same name. Huston's directorial debut is noted for its cast, crisp dialogue, and dramatic cinematography and is considered by some to be the first major work of the noir style and the greatest detective movie ever made.

Humphrey Bogart stars as Sam Spade, a private detective in San Francisco, who gets drawn into a complex case involving a mysterious woman, Miss Wonderly (Mary Astor), and the search for a jewel-encrusted falcon statue. Others in the cast include Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo, Sydney Greenstreet as Kasper Gutman, and Elisha Cook, Jr. as Wilmer Cook.
2 Britannica Sources
1. The Maltese Falcon
2. The Maltese Falcon
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Who directed 'The Maltese Falcon' and when was it released?
The Maltese Falcon, a film noir released in 1941, was John Huston's directorial debut. It is an adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 detective novel of the same name and is considered by some to be the first major work of the noir style and the greatest detective movie ever made. The film stars Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, a private detective in San Francisco.
2 Britannica Sources
1. The Maltese Falcon
2. The Maltese Falcon
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Who stars as the main character in the film?
In John Huston's 1941 film The Maltese Falcon, Humphrey Bogart stars as the main character, Sam Spade, a private detective in San Francisco. He and his partner are hired by a mysterious woman, Miss Wonderly, to trail a man, but the case quickly escalates into murder and intrigue involving a jewel-encrusted falcon statue. Other notable cast members include Mary Astor as Brigid O'Shaughnessy, Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo, and Sydney Greenstreet as Kasper Gutman.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What is the basic plot of 'The Maltese Falcon'?
In John Huston's 1941 film The Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade, a San Francisco private detective, takes on a case involving a mysterious woman named Miss Wonderly, which quickly turns deadly. Spade's partner is murdered while tailing a man for her, and soon the man himself is also killed.

As Spade investigates, he encounters Joel Cairo and Kasper Gutman, all searching for a jewel-encrusted falcon statue. The falcon, intended as tribute from the Knights of Malta to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, has a storied history and immense value.

Ultimately, the statue turns out to be a fake. Spade, loyal to his partner despite everything, turns in Gutman and Cairo for murder, and also exposes Miss Wonderly (Brigid O’Shaughnessy) as his partner's killer, ensuring she faces justice.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why is the Maltese Falcon statue important in the story?
In The Maltese Falcon, the statue itself is a MacGuffin, a plot device that motivates characters and drives the story despite being relatively insignificant. The Maltese Falcon is a jewel-encrusted statue that many characters are searching for. The story revolves around Sam Spade, a private investigator, and his dealings with various eccentric characters, all of whom are after the falcon. The falcon is a tribute from the Knights of Malta en route to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and the characters' obsession with the statue propels the intricate plot, filled with deception, murder, and greed.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How did 'The Maltese Falcon' influence later detective and film noir movies?
The Maltese Falcon, directed by John Huston in 1941, significantly influenced later detective and film noir movies through its style, characters, and narrative techniques.

The Maltese Falcon is considered by some to be the first major work of film noir. The film's influence includes:
* Anti-heroic Protagonist: The character of Sam Spade, a morally ambiguous detective, became a prototype for masculine anti-heroes in crime fiction.
* Femme Fatale: Brigid O'Shaughnessy established the archetype of the cunning and deceptive femme fatale.
* MacGuffin: The Maltese falcon statue itself is one of the best examples of a MacGuffin, a plot device that motivates characters.
* Visual Style: The film's dramatic cinematography and crisp dialogue contributed to the development of the noir aesthetic.
* Cynicism: The film is known for its aura of postwar cynicism.
5 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

The Maltese Falcon, American film noir, released in 1941, that was an adaptation by John Huston of Dashiell Hammett’s famed 1930 hard-boiled-detective novel of the same name. The film, notable for its cast, crisp dialogue, and dramatic cinematography, was Huston’s directorial debut. Some have called The Maltese Falcon the first major work of the noir style and the greatest detective movie ever made.

The story told in The Maltese Falcon is an intricate one. Sam Spade (played by Humphrey Bogart) is a private detective in San Francisco. He and his partner, Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan), are hired for a large sum of money by a mysterious Miss Wonderly (Mary Astor) for a seemingly minor case: to help her trail a man, Floyd Thursby, who allegedly has disappeared with her younger sister. Spade sends Archer to tail Thursby but later receives a call that Archer is dead, supposedly murdered by Thursby. Spade later learns that Thursby has also been killed. (Although accused of the crime, he has an alibi.) Spade had earlier called Wonderly only to find that she had checked out of her hotel; she then resurfaces, claiming that her real name is Brigid O’Shaughnessy and telling Spade that her initial story was false and that Thursby probably murdered his partner. She claims not to know who might have killed Thursby.

Spade subsequently meets Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre), who asks for Spade’s help in locating a statue of a bird and then threatens him when he claims not to know anything about it. Later, Cairo visits Spade and O’Shaughnessy at Spade’s apartment. A scuffle ensues between Cairo and O’Shaughnessy after they question each other about the bird statue, and the police appear, tipped off about an affair Spade was pursuing with Archer’s wife and suspecting him of his partner’s murder. Spade, however, manages to convince them that he is innocent. He is later summoned by the “Fat Man,” the erudite Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet), who is also searching for the statue. Spade demands that Gutman explain about the statue, and when he does not, Spade storms out only to be brought back later by Gutman’s hired gun, Wilmer (Elisha Cook, Jr.). On their second meeting, Gutman tells Spade about the statue—a jewel-encrusted falcon with a storied history. He offers Spade a large sum of money to secure it, but Spade’s drink has been drugged, and he passes out before he can accept. When he comes to, he searches Gutman’s apartment to find a marked newspaper that tells of a ship coming in to port. Spade hurries to the dock only to find the ship ablaze.

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Spade returns to his office, where a mortally wounded man—Jacoby, the ship’s captain—presents him with a package. Spade calls O’Shaughnessy, Cairo, and Gutman together to negotiate terms for the statue. He demands money and suggests that Wilmer take the fall for the murders of Archer, Thursby, and Jacoby. However, when the package is opened, the statue is discovered to be fake. Spade ultimately turns Gutman and Cairo in to the police for the murders of Thursby and Jacoby. O’Shaughnessy confesses to having killed Archer, and Spade turns her in too, out of loyalty to his partner.

A radio version of The Maltese FalconA radio version of The Maltese Falcon, starring Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet, and Mary Astor, broadcast live on the Academy Award Theater radio show, July 3, 1946.

Huston’s The Maltese Falcon was actually the third film version of Hammett’s novel. The first, written by Hammett, was released in 1931 and starred Ricardo Cortez and Bebe Daniels, and a looser adaptation starring Bette Davis was released in 1936 as Satan Met a Lady. The 1931 movie was considered lewd because of its homosexual innuendo and its portrayal of adultery, which led to Huston’s more nuanced film production 10 years later.

Production notes and credits

Studio: Warner Brothers
Director and writer: John Huston
Executive producer: Hal B. Wallis
Music: Adolph Deutsch
Running time: 100 minutes

Cast

Humphrey Bogart (Sam Spade)
Mary Astor (Miss Wonderly/Brigid O’Shaughnessy)
Peter Lorre (Joel Cairo)
Sydney Greenstreet (Kasper Gutman)
Elisha Cook, Jr. (Wilmer Cook)

Academy Award nominations

Supporting actor (Sydney Greenstreet)
Picture
Writing (screenplay)

Lee Pfeiffer

The Maltese Falcon

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Production notes and credits

Cast

Academy Award nominations