{{Featured}} {{WarningAlert}} {{Infobox film |image = The_Maltese_Falcon_1931_Poster.jpg |caption = theatrical release poster |name = Maltese Falcon |director = [[Roy Del Ruth]] |producer = |writer = |screenplay = [[Brown Holmes]]<br>[[Maude Fulton]]<br>[[Lucien Hubbard]] (uncredited)<ref name=tcmnotes>{{cite book | url = http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1764/The-Maltese-Falcon/notes.html | contribution = The Maltese Falcon (1931): Notes | title = Leonard Maltin Classic Movie Guide | publisher = Penguin Group (USA) Inc. | year = 2010}}</ref><ref name="AFI">{{Cite web|title=The Maltese Falcon (1931)|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/5690|access-date=February 25, 2022|website=[[American Film Institute]]}}</ref> |story = |based on = ''The Maltese Falcon'', the 1930 novel by [[Dashiell Hammett]] |starring = [[Bebe Daniels]]<br>[[Ricardo Cortez]]<br>[[Dudley Digges (actor)|Dudley Digges]]<br>[[Una Merkel]] |narrator = |music = [[Leo F. Forbstein]] |cinematography = [[William Rees (cinematographer)|William Rees]] |editor = George Marks |studio = [[Warner Bros.]]<br>[[Vitaphone]] |distributor = Warner Bros. |release = [[June 13]], [[1931]] |time = 80 minutes |language = English |budget = |gross = |preceded = |followed = |website = |imdb_id = |tv_com_id = }} '''''The Maltese Falcon''''' is a 1931 American pre-Code crime film, based on the 1930 novel of the same name by [[Dashiell Hammett]] and directed by [[Roy Del Ruth]]. The film stars [[Ricardo Cortez]] as private detective [[Sam Spade]] and [[Bebe Daniels]] as Ruth Wonderly. Maude Fulton, Brown Holmes, and [[Lucien Hubbard]] (who went uncredited) wrote the screenplay.<ref name=tcmnotes/> The supporting cast features [[Dudley Digges (actor)|Dudley Digges]], [[Thelma Todd]], [[Walter Long (actor)|Walter Long]], [[Una Merkel]], and [[Dwight Frye]].<ref name="The Maltese Falcon 1931">{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1764/The-Maltese-Falcon/full-credits.html|title=The Maltese Falcon (1931)|work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|publisher=[[Turner Broadcasting System]] ([[Time Warner]])|location=[[Atlanta]]|access-date=September 18, 2016}}</ref> While the film was successful, its legacy was deeply hampered by the enforcement of the Hays code. The film was remade by the studio twice, with [[The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)|its 1941 remake]] starring [[Humphrey Bogart]] and [[Mary Astor]] overshadowing its predecessors. The film was not seen in its entirety until after the collapse of the Code in the mid-1960s. A print has been held by the Library of Congress since the 1970s.<ref>{{cite book |title=Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress |page=110 |year=1978 |publisher=The American Film Institute }}</ref> ==Plot== In San Francisco, private investigator Sam Spade and his partner Miles Archer are approached by Ruth Wonderly to follow a man, Floyd Thursby, who allegedly ran off with her younger sister. The two accept the assignment because the money is good, even though they disbelieve her story. Later that night, police detective Tom Polhaus informs Spade that Archer has been shot and killed while tailing Thursby, but Spade turns down the opportunity to examine the body at the scene. As he is leaving, he has a brief conversation in Chinese with a man loitering in a doorway. Later, Polhaus and his superior Lt. Dundy visit Spade at his apartment. Thursby has been killed, and they want to know where Spade has been in the last few hours — they suspect him of killing Thursby to avenge the death of his partner. With no real evidence against Spade, they leave. The next day, Spade calls on Ruth Wonderly in an attempt to find out her real reasons for hiring them. She uses several different ploys to keep Spade on the case in spite of the two murders; and although Spade sees through them, he gets little information from her. Though he doesn't trust her, he agrees to solve the case. At the office, Spade receives a visit from a Dr. Joel Cairo, who offers Spade $5,000 if he can retrieve an enamel figurine of a black bird that he is trying to recover for the "rightful owner". Not knowing anything about this statuette, Spade plays along, overpowering Cairo when he pulls a gun and attempts to frisk him and search the office. Nevertheless, he agrees to try to recover the statuette. That night, at his apartment, Spade tells Wonderly about Cairo and the black bird. She becomes nervous and attempts to seduce Spade, which interrupted by the arrival of Dundy and Polhaus. The policeman question Spade about his affair with Archer's wife Iva, but are interrupted by the screams of Wonderly, who is holding Cairo at gunpoint after he has broken in. The policeman leave with Cairo in tow. The next morning, as Wonderly sleeps in his bed, Spade lifts her key and thoroughly searches her apartment, finding nothing. Returning to his own place, Spade gets a visit from Iva Archer. Spade tries to get rid of her, but she sees Wonderly in the bedroom doorway and leaves in a huff, threatening to tell everything she knows to Lt. Dundy. Spade receives a note from Casper Gutman, inviting him to come and talk about the black bird. Over drinks and cigars, Spade learns the history and value of the statuette, which is encrusted with precious jewels covered over with enamel, and that Gutman is the mastermind behind the attempt to steal the bird. Spade lies to Gutman that "for the right price" he can deliver the figurine in a couple of days, and makes a deal which Gutman seals with a $1,000 bill. Just then, Cairo arrives and tells Gutman privately that Spade does not have the falcon, as it is on the ship ''La Paloma'' that arrives from Hong Kong that night. Gutman slips Spade a mickey in a celebratory drink, and retrieves his $1,000. Later that night, Spade arrives back in his office, where he finds Effie asleep behind his desk. Suddenly, a man staggers in, collapses to the floor and dies — it is Captain Jacoby of the ''Paloma'', having been shot several times. The suitcase he was carrying has the precious black bird in it. Spade checks the bag at a baggage check and sends himself the ticket in the mail. Called in to see the District Attorney because of what Iva has been telling the police, Spade stonewalls them, and is given 24 hours to wrap up the case and identify the real killers. Wonderly lures Spade into his apartment, where Cairo and Gutman are waiting for him with guns. Knowing that Spade has the falcon, Gutman gives him ten $1,000 bills in an envelope, but Spade insists there also has to be a "fall guy" to give the police to account for the murders; he suggests Gutman's gunman, Wilmer Cook, but Gutman rejects this idea. As Wonderly leaves to make coffee and sandwiches, Gutman accuses her of stealing one of the bills from the envelope, prompting Spade to have her strip. When he finds she does not have the bill on her, he accuses Gutman of palming it, which Gutman admits. Now having the upper hand, Spade tells Gutman that Wilmer will be the fall guy, and as Cairo and Gutman discuss in a whispered conference, he is goaded by Spade into pulling out his gun. Spade knocks him out, and Gutman and Cairo agree to Spade's proposal. Spade calls Effie and asks her to bring the suitcase to them in the morning, while Gutman explains how Wilmer killed Thursby and Jacoby. When the bag shows up, Wilmer escapes out the window while the conspirators are frantically opening it and examining the black bird. They soon determine that it is a fake — they have been duped by the previous owner — and Gutman and Cairo decide to make another attempt to steal it. As they leave, Gutman takes back his $10,000 from Spade at gunpoint. Spade immediately calls Detective Polhaus and tells him to pick up Gutman, Cairo and Wilmer; he will provide Wilmer's guns as evidence. Confronting Wonderly, Spade accuses her of killing Archer to throw suspicion on Thursby and get him out of the way. She admits it, and Spade tells her that he is going to turn her in for the murder, despite their love for each other. When Dundy and Polhaus show up, they reveal that Wilmer shot Gutman and Cairo dead before being apprehended. Spade gives them Wilmer's guns, tells them that Wonderly killed Archer, and they take her away. A newspaper article reveals Spade brought the Chinese merchant to testify, and he positively identified Wonderly as Archer's killer.Spade goes to visit Wonderly in prison to tell her that he has been made Chief Investigator for the District Attorney's office. Spade instructs the prison matron to treat Wonderly well and give her whatever she wants. When the matron asks who will pay for the special treatment, Spade tells her to send the bill to the D.A.'s office: "I'll OK it." ==Cast== * [[Bebe Daniels]] as [[Ruth Wonderly]] * [[Ricardo Cortez]] as [[Sam Spade]] * [[Dudley Digges (actor)|Dudley Digges]] as [[Casper Gutman]] * [[Una Merkel]] as [[Effie Perine]] * [[Robert Elliott (actor)|Robert Elliott]] as Detective [[Lieutenant Dundy]] * [[Thelma Todd]] as [[Iva Archer]] * [[Otto Matieson]] as [[Dr. Joel Cairo]] * [[Walter Long (actor)|Walter Long]] as [[Miles Archer]] * [[Dwight Frye]] as [[Wilmer Cook]] * [[J. Farrell MacDonald]] as Detective [[Sergeant Tom Polhaus]] * [[Agostino Borgato]] as Capt. [[John Jacobi]] (uncredited) * [[Morgan Wallace]] as [[Attorney Bryan|District Attorney]] (uncredited) ==Production== ''The Maltese Falcon'' was not the first Hammett story to be adapted into a motion picture. Earlier short stories by Hammett, ''Red Harvest'' (filmed in 1930 as ''Roadhouse Nights'') and ''City Streets'' (1931), preceded it.<ref name=tcmarticle>{{citation | url = http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1764/The-Maltese-Falcon/articles.html | first = Frank | last = Miller | title = Articles: The Maltese Falcon (1931) | work = TCM | publisher = Turner Classic Movies, Inc. | access-date = April 15, 2018}}</ref> Working titles for the film were ''All Women'', ''A Woman of the World'' and ''Dangerous Female''. Principal photography took place from late January to early February 1931.<ref name="AFI" /> Some scenes in the film were reported to be shot on location in San Francisco, though only stock footage appears to have been used.<ref name="AFI" /><ref name=tcmnotes /> [[Oscar Apfel]] was initially cast and listed in some studio promotions as the district attorney; however, for unknown reasons, he was replaced by Wallace.<ref name="AFI" /> ===Pre-Code aspects=== The film closely follows the plot of the book. The [[The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)|1941 adaptation]], which began with a revised version of the 1931 script, closely follows the book as well, although most references to homosexuality, nudity, and other no longer permissible portions under the Motion Picture Production Code are missing. The dialogue for both films is often taken verbatim directly from the novel. Differences between the two films are due almost wholly to pre-Code aspects of the earlier film. In addition to an overall lighter tone and looser pace, the 1931 film contains sexually suggestive situations. In the opening scene, an unidentified woman is shown straightening her stockings as she leaves Spade's office. Miss Wonderly ([[Bebe Daniels]]) is shown bathing, and later in the film is strip-searched by Spade over missing money. The homosexual subtext regarding Gutman, Cairo, and Wilmer in Hammett's original story was retained for the 1931 film. Wilmer is called Gutman's "boyfriend", Effie facetiously describes Cairo to Spade as "gorgeous", and Spade taunts Dundy by constantly referring to him as "sweetheart", "darling", and "precious". All of those terms were severly limited or eliminated entirely for the 1941 remake.<ref name=tcmnotes/><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.metafilter.com/84628/The-Maltese-Falcon-Take-1 | title = The Maltese Falcon: Take 1 | date = August 31, 2009 | first = Kirk | last = Franklin | work = MetaFilter | publisher = MetaFilter Network Inc. | access-date = September 17, 2015}}</ref> ==Remakes== In 1935, Warner Bros. attempted to re-release the film, but were denied approval by the Production Code Office owing to the film's "lewd" content. This prompted Warner Bros. to produce a new version of the film, ''[[Satan Met a Lady]]'', starring [[Bette Davis]] and [[Warren William]] directed by [[William Dieterle]] in 1936.<ref name="Satan Met a Lady">{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/937/Satan-Met-a-Lady/full-credits.html|title=Satan Met a Lady (1936): FULL CREDITS |work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|publisher=[[Turner Broadcasting System]] ([[Time Warner]])|location=[[Atlanta]]|access-date=September 18, 2016}}</ref> Many elements of the story were changed, and the film was given a comedic tone. Ultimately, the film was widely panned; Davis herself referred to the film as "junk". In 1941, Warner Bros. [[The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)|remade the film more faithfully]] in an adaption directed by [[John Huston]] in his directorial debut. The film, starring [[Humphrey Bogart]] and [[Mary Astor]], was released to critical acclaim and is often cited as one of the best films of all time.<ref name="The Maltese Falcon 1941">{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2805/The-Maltese-Falcon/full-credits.html|title=The Maltese Falcon (1941): FULL CREDITS |work=[[Turner Classic Movies]]|publisher=[[Turner Broadcasting System]] ([[Time Warner]])|location=[[Atlanta]]|access-date=September 18, 2016}}</ref> This version was also filmed largely verbatim to Hammett's story, but removed references to nudity, homosexuality, and other topics forbidden by the Code. It also had a much more dramatic, darker tone, which many cite as film noir. For several decades, unedited copies of the 1931 film could not be seen in the United States; these restrictions were lifted following the demise of the Motion Picture Production Code in the mid-1960s. For television airings in the United States, the film was retitled ''Dangerous Female'' to avoid confusion with the 1941 remake. ==Gallery== <gallery position="center"> Maltese_Falcon_1931_title.jpg The_Maltese_Falcon_1931_Poster.jpg </gallery> ==Trivia== ==Reviews== * ''Photoplay'', June 1931, p. 57. ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * {{WP|The Maltese Falcon (1931_film)|The Maltese Falcon}} * {{AFI film|id=5690|title=The Maltese Falcon}} * {{IMDb title|0022111|The Maltese Falcon}} * {{tcmdb title|1764|The Maltese Falcon}} * {{Amg movie|31036|The Maltese Falcon}} * {{rotten-tomatoes|1063050-maltese_falcon|The Maltese Falcon}} {{FilmStub}} {{Wikipedia|The Maltese Falcon (1931_film)|The Maltese Falcon}} {{The Maltese Falcon}} {{Warner Bros. films}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Maltese Falcon, The}} [[Category:The Maltese Falcon]] [[Category:1931 films]] [[Category:Live-action films]] [[Category:Warner Bros. films]] [[Category:Vitaphone films]] [[Category:Films]] [[Category:Theatrical films]] [[Category:Turner Entertainment films]] [[Category:Black-and-white films]] [[Category:Unrated films]] [[Category:Films based on books]] [[Category:Films based on novels]] [[Category:Film noir]]