Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
4/4
The Maltese Falcon review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 05/01/2013
"But business should be transacted in a businesslike manner." Viewing this again for better appreciation, the effect was positive. Sometimes simplicity is best in presenting a great story. Private investigators Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) and Miles Archer were approached by Ruth Wonderly (Mary Astor), who was looking for her sister. Archer has been shot so Police Detective Tom Polhaus (Ward Bond) and Lieutenant Dundy (Barton MacLane) investigates Sam. Ruth admits her real name is Brigid O'Shaughnessy. Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) meets Spade to recover an ornament by means of force. Brigid talks to Sam about the Falcon. Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet), the "Fat Man" gives Sam a call.
One minor detail that this critic found mysterious was an unknown Captain Jacobi of the La …
Rating of
4/4
"The Maltese Falcon" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 03/15/2012
A lot of films that are considered "classic" are viewed because you feel you ought to rather than because you want to, and the result can be disappointment. The Maltese Falcon is an all-time classic that not only deserves to be seen, but demands it. Bogart's cynical anti-hero was far from the square-jawed do-gooder that was the staple of the crime story of the time, and Huston's own adaptation of Hammet's novel has barbed dialogue zinging off every character like a hail of ricocheting bullets. Some examples of this type of film can be too convoluted for their own good, but the comparatively straightforward plot of The Maltese Falcon makes it the perfect entry point for anyone interested in Film Noir, and what you'll find is a wealth of taut, witty dialogue, timeless characters and one of …
Rating of
3.5/4
Fantastic Film Noir!!!
mdtinney - wrote on 10/04/2009
I wish film were so pure these days. This is a simple (on the surface) murder case which when looked at, has multiple layers of deceit and deception. The "bird" itself carries a curse, but where is the bird--is there really a bird? Those who hunt for it form a tenuous bond, devoting their very existences to the search. Bogart stumbles into the case, the lonely, baggage carrying private eye--intrepid to the bitter end. A man not to be bought. Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre, multidimensional bad guys--Mary Astor--cool--confident--certain her charms will out. Everyone knows what happens. Comic relief comes in the form of Elisha Cook, the gunsel, overconfident and violent, and in way over his head. This is no longer a movie to me. It's a series of memorable lines, facial expressions and …
