Review of The Maltese Falcon (1941) by Richard B — 09 Mar 2018

Paint It Black.

The first and best noir film made by the first and best noir writer, Dashiell Hammett. It was also John Huston's first as director and Bogart's breakthrough. It is talky, claustrophobic and perfectly cast as played.

What lifts it above others is the sheer originality and moral complexity of the tale. This is an attack on crass materialism and human depravity that has no peers. All of the characters - except Spade occasionally- are lying all the time, in pursuit of money, sex and power. The Black Bird is itself the great existential bluff, a non-existent cause for action, that symbolises the naked aggression and powerful greed. Spade is the first true anti-hero, uninterested in fame or money, a man possessed by the need to revenge his partner using any means possible. Like all Hammett leading men, he has his own moral code, one that requires him to spit in the face of authority and get his way no matter what.

This is the first film I watched as a child, and decided, this is beyond me, this is an adult world I don't understand. It still has the power to shock. The femme fatale lies all the time, uses men and packs a gun. The cops are dumb bullies. The DA threatens Spade in a blatant abuse of power. The crooks are gay, ruthless and cultured. The gunman who does most of the killing is the young boyfriend of the lead villain, the Fat Man.

It really is the 'stuff that dreams are made of - sharp as a tack today as it was in 1941.