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The Maltese Falcon (1941) [Full Reaction] (Patreon)

Published:
2026-03-07 07:00:09
Edited:
2026-03-12 19:37:18
Imported:
2026-08
Tags:

Content

Thanks to everyone who voted for this in the Film Noir poll and I hope you enjoy the reaction! These movies can be a lot to try and keep track of sometimes, but they're so enjoyable to watch. Looking forward to your comments! 😊

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The Maltese Falcon (1941) | Full-Length Watchalong Reaction

Comments

Tyler Foster

In addition to Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade and Sydney Greenstreet as Gutman (who played Ferrari, the owner of the other bar, The Blue Parrot), Peter Lorre (Joel Cairo) was also in Casablanca, as the doomed Ugarte, the man who kills to obtain the precious letters of transit that the plot revolves around. He has a very distinctive voice -- when he says "you eeediiot!" in this, it is clear that the voice of Ren in the cartoon "Ren and Stimpy" was based on him. The thing about the Hays code is that it was specifically about moralizing, not about content. So kissing and potentially even an explicit indication of sex could be shown, as long as the interaction was morally wholesome. So, the cheating isn't the problem in and of itself, it's the idea that cheating could be shown to be pleasurable for the cheaters. Since Spade is having an affair with a married woman, the Hays code may have been satisfied with the idea that Sam regrets it, with him commenting to someone (I think Effie) that he wishes he never met her to begin with, because she's deeply jealous and clingy and even sends the police after him at one point. Furthermore, even though I doubt the movie would've ever been going there given the source material and trappings of film noir, the Code would've had a problem with it if anyone had gotten rich at the end of the movie, because crime should not be shown to pay! Another area where the Hays code would've impacted this movie is Cairo himself. When Effie first comes into Sam's office and tells him Cairo is waiting to see him, she hands Sam Cairo's business card. He sniffs it and notes that it smells like lavender. This and some of Cairo's other mannerisms are unspoken indications that Cairo is a gay man. One small thing that you missed in the end is that while Gutman and Cairo are *intending* to keep chasing the bird, Spade has given their names to the police over the phone and tied them to poor murderous Wilmer. Wilmer took his orders from Gutman, Cairo and Gutman are clearly in leagues with one another. When the police arrive in person to take O'Shaughnessy away, they say they've already rounded both of them up, so all three are likely to end up in prison. I think the thing in both of your thoughts on old films is to think simple. In terms of the dialogue, older movies are generally going to be pretty obvious when they want you to know a character is saying one thing or thinking another. In most cases, erring on the side of whatever seems most straightforward will probably be correct. The same goes for an older movie with unremarkable technical craft. The way I would describe it is that the cinematography is strictly functional: whatever is the simplest framing, the simplest composition or design. I think It Happened One Night has some style, but I do think in comparison to The Maltese Falcon or Casablanca, you would think of the great shadow work and use of silhouette in the Bogart films, whereas all It Happened One Night is generally trying to do is frame two characters together so they can banter and then lock the camera in place -- Capra was more focused on the performances and the dialogue. As far as film noir goes, one of the tricky things is that people always struggle with an unambiguous definition. I think the easiest way to explain this is that film noir is the movie version of crime fiction that became popular during the Great Depression. People were desperate, and so the noir fiction of the time is about desperate people who get wrapped up in crimes and plots fueled by that desperation, which eventually spin out of control. I think film noir is often referred to as a "crime genre," but as you can see, that's sort of backwards. The key element is that feeling of spiraling, sweaty despair, that sort of fear or anxiety, even though it's not a horror genre exactly. You can see that running through both The Third Man and The Maltese Falcon. In the Third Man, the protagonist Holly Martins was desperate to figure out what happened to his friend, and his friend's girlfriend Anna was desperate to protect her own secrets. Here, it's largely Ms. O'Shaughnessy who is desperate to get the bird, but there's desperation in Gutman and Cairo to get there first, and eventually desperation in Spade to make sure he gets out of the situation unharmed. In the same way that the 1970s is filled with political conspiracy thrillers in the wake of the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War, film noir is like a wave that passed through Hollywood reflecting the mood of the culture in the 1930s and 1940s.

Tyler Foster

Oh, one other small thing I forgot: director John Huston later had a daughter, actor Anjelica Huston. John also later appeared in an acting role in one of the greatest neo-noirs of all time, which I'm sure you'll see someday as well...

Vincent Hollow

Me, when Sam throws Cairo into the couch: "Heh, all that with a cigarette. Nice." KL, two seconds later: "Wow, he did all that with a cigarette in his mouth." The Cinema Psychic strikes again.

Vincent Hollow

It was a loooooooong time since I first watched this, but boy, that "When you're slapped, you'll take it and like it." line is so damn funny. There were a few instances where Humphrey Bogart gave Looney Tunes vibes with his deliveries and mannerisms.