Guest Author - Vannie
What is film noir? What makes film noir? What do I look for? Ask ten people and you will get ten different answers. Below are a few books which give some guidance and insight to understanding this genre.
Recommended Viewing:
Where ever there is a film noir conversation, the one constant you will hear is that THE MALTESE FALCON ranks as one of the best, if not the example of fim noir. Check it out the next time it is available on television.
THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) is true film noir. It has all of the noir elements. A hard boiled detective just eeking out a living, shady characters and criminals, corruption on both sides of the law, double-crosses and a pretty woman. Its hero is PI Sam Spade played by brilliantly by Humphrey Bogart. This role fits Bogart like a good pair of gloves.
Spade has an eye for the ladies. He is presently courting his partners wife (Gladys George as Iva Archer and Jerome Cowan as Miles Archer), enter pretty Mary Astor as manipulative Brigid O'Shaughnessy. The premise of the movie is simple. Find the bejewelled black statue shaped like a falcon and return it to its rightful owner. But first Spade has to prove that he did not kill his business partner Miles Archer.
John Huston handled the screenplay of the Dashiell Hammett novel THE MALTESE FALCON and detective movies were never the same. The cast is splendid; Peter Lorre is Joel Cairo, Sidney Greenstreet is Kasper Gutman and Ward Bond plays detective Tom Polhaus. Actress Lee Patrick is Sam Spade's secretary Effie. Effie takes care of Sam, she fends off bill collectors and blocks unwanted telephone calls from women and apparently does not mind working without a paycheck. She is the good woman of noir - fast talking, good natured, and has a heart of gold. Also in the movie are William Hopper (later of the Perry Mason TV show) who plays a reporter and Walter Huston as a police captain. Their names are not shown in the credits and you have to look quickly to spot them, but for those who love movies that's always fun to do.
The Maltese Falcon has two earlier filmings, Dangerous Female, 1931 with Ricardo Cortez and Bebe Daniels. Cortez comes off very sleazy as Sam Spade and there are scenes which somehow got past the 1931 censors. The 1936 movie is SATAN MET A LADY, and stars Warren William and young starlet Bette Davis; this version appears to be unavailable at this time. Incidently I do have a copy of DANGEROUS FEMALE. When watching it you know immediately that it is THE MALTESE FALCON. My copy is very bad but I am delighted to have it.
I recommend for following reading and noir visuals which should be available from Amazon or your public library: The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir; Film Noir: An Encyclopedia Reference to the American Style and The Art of Noir: The Posters and Graphics from the Classic Era of Film Noir
