Review of The Maltese Falcon (1941) by Sabrina I — 25 Oct 2010

"The Maltese Falcon" was the first noir I had ever seen. I don't think I even knew at the time what 'noir' was...I just watched the film and become completely entranced by the dialogue the character's spoke, their attitudes, the clothing, the atmosphere and the of course the intriguing story. I didn't know at time that I was falling in love with the basics of film noir. I would later on develop a better understanding of what a film noir was but I am glad I got to start my journey with this gem. This was also my first Bogart film and I was surprised by how assured his performance was. He just had that undeniable screen presence. His character was cool, tough and said whatever was on his mind. I still can rattle off my favorite Sam Spade quotes..he's surely one of the coolest movie character's ever. Peter Lorre also gave a memorable performance. You can't keep your eyes off him whenever hes onscreen, well unless he's sharing a scene with Bogart ;) I think the film's biggest strength and why it continues to be one of my favorites and why I've revisited it so many times is because it never seems to get old. No matter how many times you see it, it feels like you are watching it for the first time. There's few films that can do that and this is one of them. It's a timeless classic, now I wish I could rewind a few years back and watch it for the first time. At the time as a curious but novice film buff...this was one of the best movie experiences I had.

Overall-HIGHLY recommended ;).

Favorite Quotes:

" I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble. ".

"You know, that's good, because if you actually were as innocent as you pretend to be, we'd never get anywhere.".

"When you're slapped, you'll take it and like it.".

"My guess might be excellent or it might be crummy, but Mrs. Spade didn't raise any children dippy enough to make guesses in front of a district attorney, and an assistant district attorney, and a stenographer.".