Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor and Peter Lorre in the John Huston movie ‘The Maltese Falcon’

An early example of the film noir genre comes to us in part thanks to the directorial debut of John Huston in his movie The Maltese Falcon (1941). Based on the 1930 book The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett and indebted to The Maltese Falcon (1931) movie that it remade with Huston himself writing the screenplay, this National Film Registry inaugural inductee is the object of our review this day.

(From left, Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade and Jerome Cowan as Miles Archer in the John Huston movie The Maltese Falcon).

The film opens in San Francisco, California with prospective customer Ruth Wonderly presenting herself to private investigator Miles Archer to find her missing sister. Wonderly’s sister had supposedly gone missing from the sisters’ New York home, having come to San Francisco with Floyd Thursby. Hours later, Archer’s private investigator partner, Sam Spade as portrayed by Humphrey Bogart, learns from the police that Archer had been killed. Mary Astor and Jerome Cowan portrayed Ruth Wonderly and Miles Archer, respectively.

(From left, Lee Patrick as Effie Perine and Gladys George as Iva Archer in the John Huston movie The Maltese Falcon).

Police Detective Tom Polhaus and Lieutenant Dundy, portrayed by Ward Bond and Barton MacLane, respectively, inform Spade that Thursby, too, has been killed. Spade, who had previously found that Wonderly had mysteriously checked out of her hotel in the intervening period, is suspected of having killed Thursby as retribution for the latter’s supposed killing of Archer. Gladys George portrayed Iva Archer, the widow of Sam Spade’s deceased partner, Miles Archer.

(From left, Ward Bond as Detective Tom Polhaus, Barton MacLane as Lieutenant Dundy and Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade in the John Huston movie The Maltese Falcon).

The next day, the plot thickens as Sam Spade meets with Ruth Wonderly; Wonderly has taken to calling herself Brigid O’Shaughnessy. Admitting to Spade that Floyd Thursby was her partner, we learn that the fiction of a missing sister from the previous day had been fabricated. Spade agrees to investigate the killings despite O’Shaughnessy telling Spade that Thursby likely was Archer’s killer without knowing who had killed her former partner. Joel Cairo, as portrayed by Peter Lorre, eventually hires Spade to find the Maltese Falcon, the film’s MacGuffin.

(From left, Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo, Mary Astor as Ruth Wonderly/Brigid O’Shaughnessy and Sydney Greenstreet as Kasper Gutman in the John Huston movie The Maltese Falcon).

A complicated subplot surrounding the desire to obtain the MacGuffin reveals connections between Brigid O’Shaughnessy and Joel Cairo; Cairo and O’Shaughnessy demonstrate displeasure over Kaspar Gutman’s pursuit of the very same MacGuffin. Gutman, as portrayed by Sydney Greenstreet, is assisted by Wilmer Cook. Elisha Cook Jr. portrayed Wilmer Cook. An unburdening of the different strands by Spade foils the further pursuit of the MacGuffin to Istanbul, Turkey, points to the murderer and brings the possibility of a romantic entanglement for Spade and O’Shaughnessy to resolution.

(From left, Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade and Elisha Cook Jr. as Wilmer Cook in the John Huston movie The Maltese Falcon).

The mystery and crime of The Maltese Falcon hold up well enough to current storytelling, despite the plotting of the story being a bit dated for being nearly 80-years old at the time of this writing. I grant The Maltese Falcon as written and directed by the John Huston 4.0-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, December 2, 2023

Top 20 Movie ‘Vertigo’

On December 18, 2016, we at Matt Lynn Digital published my estimation of the Top 20 Movies ever made in ranked order. At the top of that list is the Alfred Hitchcock directed movie Vertigo (1958).

(Alfred Hitchcock, left, making his cameo in Vertigo).

The greatness of this film rests first in the narrative style, mixing mystery, thriller, romance, and psychological illness. The trope of psychologically compromised characters offers compelling cinema that begets multiple film viewings that have yet to get old for me. The notion of psychological compromise in central character perhaps most famously portrayed in recent popular culture with the cable television show Breaking Bad (2008-2013).

(James Stewart starring as John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson in Vertigo).

James Stewart stars in Vertigo as John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson, a former police detective who separated from law enforcement owing to his vertigo, which in the film is associated with a fear of heights. Ferguson is called into action to assist friend Gavin Elster, who purportedly worries about the well-being of his wife who has been behaving irrationally. Tom Helmore portrays Gavin Elster. Part of the film’s mystery is Elster’s bringing his Ferguson into the story, and his motivation in seeking help from a man, Scottie, who suffers from vertigo.

(Tom Helmore as Gavin Elster in Vertigo).

Kim Novak stars as Madeleine Elster. Madeleine is the glamorous wife of wealthy husband Gavin, a noticeable effect of a romantic nature on men, and a far-fetched case of spirit possession. Scottie becomes quickly taken by Madeleine, looks to solve her mystery, and fails at the suicidal inclination of the spirit who seemingly compels Madeleine to end her life. The movie events begin moving into thriller from mystery as one must look to the involvement of Gavin Elster in ending the life of his wife while unraveling Scottie as well.

(Kim Novak starring as Madeleine Elster in Vertigo).

Midge is the logical, compassionate ex-fiancée who shares a home with Scottie. Her role, played by Barbara Bel Geddes, is to help anchor Scottie in reality. Midge attempts to win Scottie back to reality through affection, motherly nurturing, and finally the cold reality of logic when sanity is at its fullest question of fantasy. The continuing balance impairment that is metaphorically important in this tale of Scottie is clearly getting further out of hand when Midge exits the story.

(Barbara Bel Geddes as Midge Wood in Vertigo).

The entanglement of Scottie’s sanity and the identity of his ultimate love interest at the is expressed through Kim Novak. The central fiction that is not obvious to the viewer until well into the film is one I keep to myself in this review. While I choose not to reveal this for those yet to view this film, accept my point that the psychological impact is intense, meaningful in both its dark and romantic underpinnings, and full of emotional currency within the larger stories of Scottie and the people embroiled in the relationships with Gavin Ester. The choices made in service of those relationships is where the narrative force of the movie really finds its feet.

(James Stewart, left, and Kim Novak in Vertigo).

There are many layers within the movie Vertigo that make for compelling cinema. Slogging through of the layers and depth within the movie are not the easiest thing. It is partly for this reason that I can watch the movie repeatedly and still identify new subtleties and meanings. This movie is the best movie I have ever seen. While I am loath to give any movie this grade, I grant Alfred Hitchcock‘s Vertigo the top ranking in my movie listing with 5.0 stars of a scale of one-to-five stars.

Matt – Wednesday, April 3, 2019