Wednesday 17 December 2014

''The Maltese Falcon'' (1941 movie)- Short review

Directed by: John Huston
Released: 1941
Country: United States

Genre: Film noir, Mystery, Drama, Crime

Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Elisha Cook, Jr., Lee Patrick

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Short review

Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) is a detective, who is approached by a certain Miss Wonderly (Mary Astor), who asks him to keep an eye on a certain man, Floyd Thursby. Spade's partner, Miles Archer, follows Thursby, but Miles is mysteriously killed, and, within a short time, Thursby is also killed. Who could have killed them? What was the motive? This incident sparks events that leads Miles to discover that Miss Wonderly is not actually the person who she claims to be, and it further leads him to problems regarding a certain, precious, expensive, historical statuatte of falcon, which is somehow related to the crimes. He comes across Joel Cairo and Kasper Gutman, criminals who desperately want the falcon.

''The Maltese Falcon'' is an excellent, twisted mystery film. Humphrey Bogart's performance is excellent, and Mary Astor is brilliant as well. Sydney Greenstreet is also great in his role as Kasper Gutman. Lee Patrick is similarly brilliant as Spade's loyal secretary. The climax, which takes place in the same room and lasts perhaps for thirty minutes and is full of shocking twists, is really very memorable. The cinematography is beautiful, the screenplay is excellent, the performances are brilliant, ''The Maltese Falcon'' is indeed an excellent film.

4.5 out of 5

 

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