The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)
The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 American film noir in which a San Francisco private detective deals with three unscrupulous adventurers, all seeking a jewel-encrusted falcon statuette.[3] Written and directed by John Huston[3] in his directorial debut, the film was based on the 1930 novel The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett and is a remake of the 1931 film of the same name.[4][5][6] It stars Humphrey Bogart as private investigator Sam Spade, Mary Astor as his femme fatale client, and as villains Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet.
The Maltese Falcon
John Huston
Warner Bros.
- October 3, 1941 (New York City)
- October 18, 1941 (United States)
101 minutes
United States
English
$1.8 million[2]
The film premiered in New York City on 3 October 1941, and was an immediate success, eventually becoming one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress to be included in the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[7][8]
Production[edit]
Background[edit]
Hammett had once worked as a private detective for the Pinkerton Detective Agency in San Francisco, and he used his birth name "Samuel" for the story's protagonist. He wrote of the book's main character in 1934:
For the 14th Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Picture, Greenstreet was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and Huston for Best Adapted Screenplay.
It was one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
The American Film Institute included it and a quote in the following lists:
Proposed sequel and adaptations[edit]
In the wake of the film's success, Warner Bros. immediately put a sequel tentatively titled The Further Adventures of the Maltese Falcon into development. Huston was set to direct the sequel, with Jack Warner approaching Dashiel Hammett to write a screenplay. However, Huston and Bogart's high demand and the studio's inability to agree on a salary with Hammett caused the plans to be dropped.[1][11]
The film was adapted for radio several times. The first was for the Silver Theater broadcast on the CBS radio network on February 1, 1942, with Bogart as star.[32] Philip Morris Playhouse staged an adaptation August 14, 1942, with Edward Arnold starring.[33] CBS later created a 30-minute adaptation for The Screen Guild Theater with Bogart, Astor, Greenstreet and Lorre all reprising their roles. This radio segment was originally released on September 20, 1943, and was played again on July 3, 1946.[34]