The Maltese Falcon Review

            The Maltese Falcon is sometimes considered the best noir film and the one to kick off this style of filmmaking. It’s hotly debated if the film really is noir in essence or just a great detective story. That’s what makes the film so great since the whole story has like several layers where it could go in any direction. I’m getting ahead of myself with this one. Let’s talk about this one. 

1. Sam Spade

            Whenever you’re talking classic Warner Bros. movies, you can’t start one without talking about this guy. Humphrey Bogart, or Bogie as he was nicknamed at the time was The definitive star that absolutely steals this movie. His overall approach in this movie is often imitated for parodic reasons but this guy truly nails being a detective. 

        With that, the whole film centers around him coming across three people. You see, he runs a private investigation firm when he gets word that a client’s sister is missing. As Spade’s partner investigates, he’s shot by a mysterious assailant. Sam is questioned by the police, but soon comes across the aforementioned people who have been attempting to get the stolen treasure known as the Maltese Falcon. 

        You go into this movie following Sam as he maneuvers against the antagonists. Most of the action comes from him basically dressing people down, by his way of words. Bogart’s straight faced delivery sells when he’s displaying his no nonsense idea of getting the facts. Whenever he’s confronted by the antagonists, he usually bluffs his way as a way to work around them. All the while making compromises to secure the statuette. What makes him a great protagonist is that he’s not one to lose his principle. His integrity is his thing that sets him on a straight path. 

        Additionally, he can sift through the façade that the people are portraying. The best moments is when Brigid has this innocence portrayed when she talks to Sam. Spade basically drops her by telling her to drop the act. He’s ruthless but the way it works is justified since he gets embroiled with the figurine. There’s never a clear-cut way whenever the bird statue is discussed since people are being duplicitously deceiving. 

        One last thing is that he's the only one to not be corrupted by anything. It’s hard to believe at first, but it sort of works when he puts up with two authority figures. They accuse him of killing his partner and try to get a rise out of him to find a way to arrest him. In the midst of finding the statuette, he doesn’t see the intrinsic value into having it, but to see if there was a connection between it and the killing of his partner. 

2. The Statuette 

        With a film called The Maltese Falcon, we would expect to see it for a good chunk. We even have a opening crawl briefly explaining how the statue came to be. There are only a few minutes of when we see it. But before I get into that, I think that the best thing about not having the statue show itself is that it builds this mysticism about it. For instance, when Spade meets the real villain Gutman, he tells him about the history of the statuette. It’s been stolen and had an exchange of hands throughout its existence. 

        It's the thing that makes people go crazy since people want it as a trophy. The way its used as a storytelling device is that people are willing to go through any distance to get it, by any means. More so that Gutman has an assistant named Cairo who initially thinks that Spade has it. And from there is when its revealed that Brigid also works for the main man. All three of them want it due to how unique it is. All of it leads to the best moment of the film. Well, one of two best moments in the film. I don’t want to spoil that part but, Spade practically laughs at the statue when he sees. 

        I think that the statuette is the perfect dichotomy of Sam Spade. Even when he’s told and shown the figurine, he’s not overall captivated by it at all. His personal beliefs shield him from that level of envy that is presented. Right down to calling the police when two of the antagonists escape. I think it shows that he sees the level of manipulation that is shown when he’s confronted with either Cairo or Gutman on the level that they’re willing to go through any lengths to get the statue. 

3. Legacy

        This film benefitted Bogart in more ways than one. While the film was a success, it catapulted him into that level of stardom where he’s recognizable in that era of classic Hollywood. He went on to star in more beloved movies like Casablanca and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre to name a few. His style as a detective as I mentioned has been imitated to an extent. 

        When I watched the movie again, I felt it was more of an inspiration to an Indiana Jones movie. Think about it, we see the main character be involved with finding an elusive treasure. Getting involved with others who want it for vanity and the main character doing everything to get it, but ending up biting the main antagonist. While there are more examples that led to the creation of Indy. This film is one of them. 

4. Overall 

        The Maltese Falcon is a classic 1940s movie. Humphrey Bogart solidifies his role, and shows that somethings are stuff that dreams are made of.