Drugstore.com Coupons
All of the stereotypes are there. The fast-talking tough guy detective, who can size up a situation quicker than anyone. His loyal Girl Friday, willing to obey orders no matter how outlandish. The Femme Fatale, beautiful but duplicitous. The money, the slang, the cops, the guns, the hit men. Evening is eternal. And colorful bad guys, all too ambitious and greedy to avoid their fate either in prison or the morgue.
Although The Maltese Falcon has many imitators, the movie itself is not completely original. It is, after all, based on a novel by Dashiell Hammett. But its greatness comes in gathering all the elements of its style with such forcefulness. And the cast is outstanding.
Could it have been made without Humphrey Bogart in the lead? Sure, but it wouldn't have been as good. Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Ward Bond. All lend their inimitable Hollywood personas to their memorable characters.
John Huston's crackling dialogue and confident direction aspire to greatness. Like all things, however, The Maltese Falcon is not perfect. The editing is below the usual Warner Bros. standards, and the climatic scene of Greenstreet discovering the true nature of the black bird is marred by an anonymous voice over. The line "Fake! It's a phony! It's lead! It's lead! It's a fake!" is clearly not delivered by any of the actors present in the room.
Such flaws are trivial, of course, and don't reduce the pleasure one receives from viewing such a great film. If anything, they are like a beauty mark on the face of a lovely model, which confirms her true identity as her style is changed by varying attires.
While it is Humphrey Bogart who is most associated with The Maltese Falcon, even more credit for the film's success must be given to John Huston. Not a single scene drags. If anything, events are too hustled along. Bogart's Girl Friday must have exceptional listening and memory skills to retain his rapid-fire, complex instructions.
Bogart's reputation as a tough guy was made by The Maltese Falcon, which was easily his best role prior to Casablanca. Bogart paid his dues in the 1930s as a creepy villain in The Petrified Forest, Dead End, Angels with Dirty Faces, and The Roaring Twenties. The transition from sinister supporting role to cynical but heroic male lead was completed with The Maltese Falcon.
He wouldn't have another terrific secondary role until The Caine Mutiny (1954). In the meanwhile, of course, he made many classic movies for Warner Bros. Casablanca was only the most significant among these.
Although Bogart's character is full of swagger, he is not above making mistakes. He gets drugged, is sent on a bum steer, has a gun pulled on him on several occasions, and makes wrong guesses often, especially concerning Mary Astor, whose only honest statement might be, "I haven't led a good life. I've been bad, worse than you could know."
Yet Bogart always comes up on top, because he isn't blinded by greed or grievances. Percolating beneath his flatfoot character is a sense of justice, and while he may work with (and sometimes for) the bad guys he waits for the opportunity to pull the rug on them and reel them in for the law.