Film Pairings — The Maltese Falcon And The Maltese Falcon Plus One More

The Maltese Falcon film most of us know and love is unquestionably the best.  But there was more than one American version.   There were three.

The Maltese Falcon (1931) – After seeing the 1941 version (several times), it is difficult to imagine other actors, or other approaches. However, for old film buffs (or is that simply buffs for old films?), this is an enjoyable movie, but falls well short of its now obvious potential.  This earliest version had Sam Spade as a shallow, well-dressed, smooth-talking, money-grubbing ladies’ man.  The pre-code era film played up the sex angle in this production, and the homosexual attraction between two of the crooks was not repressed as it was in the later version. The film starred an obnoxiously leering sexual predator — as we see it now — Ricardo Cortez as Spade and Bebe Daniels as the sexy, double-crossing vamp.

Satan Met A Lady (1936)  — This little curiosity was filmed in between the original film and the classic. It starred Bette Davis, who was reportedly having a tough time in her career and Warren William in the Bogart part.  It’s pure speculation on my part, but after the incredible film success of Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man in 1934, the studio wanted to remake the original Falcon in the fashion of the successful light-hearted Thin Man comedy mystery.  It didn't’ work on so many levels it’s hard to count. They added nightclub scenes so that a dapper Sam Spade could be seen as a worldly Nick Charles. The writers traded wise guy barbs for an attempt at witty banter and had a smarmy Warren William struggle with William Powell’s copyrighted combination of smart and silly, resulting in a difficult to take dandified version of Sam Spade. Warren William is no Powell and legendary as she is, Bette Davis is no Myrna Loy. The best fun here is seeing the delightful Marie Wilson and a young Arthur Treacher in supporting roles. Though entertaining in retrospect, Satan bombed and didn't help Davis resuscitate her career.

The Maltese Falcon (1941) — and while the first Falcon is entertaining, the second attempt a failure, the third won the championship. I cannot possibly know what was in Hammett’s head, but I always thought he succeeded in creating two classic but different literary characters in Sam Spade and Nick Charles.  I also suspect they are created from the extremes of his own personality.  Spade was a reflection of Hammett’s early career as a detective for Pinkerton and Charles a reflection of his high-living, carefree aspiration. The Maltese mystery as it was recreated in 1941 was the tale of a  tough, steet-wise character who, despite temptation, was true to his convictions. Yet the end was tragic — the noir formula missing from the other two versions. Another lesson that comes with looking at these films side by side is how important supporting roles can be. The 1941 film is solid all the way through. We not only appreciate Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor in this one, we are enamored of the secondary characters as well, the subtly menacing crooks played by Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet and Elisha Cook. Ward Bond also appeared as did Walter Huston who directed.

Drinks for the evening? These aren’t gritty crime films for the most part.  Drink something civilized for heaven’s sake, martinis, sherry, even champagne.  For the non-drinker, a spritzer without the alcohol.

Opinion — Nine, Nine, Nine Part One: Top Nine Crime Films

1.Blade Runner — Is it possible for a robot to have a soul? Director Ridley Scott builds a fantastic marriage of noir and science fiction. Just as L.A. Confidential recreates the recent past, Blade Runner creates a believable near future. (Based on a book by Philip K. Dick)

2.No Country for Old Men — Heads or Tails, die now or later. It makes no difference — what you do, evil stalks you and yours. The typical Coen Brothers dark humor rides a desolately thin line as the movie tells us there is no escaping evil or the collateral damage it brings. (Based on a book by Cormac McCarthy).

3. Gosford Park — This is an Agatha Christie on steroids, though, of course it was not based on an Agatha Christie story. Before he created television’s “Downton Abbey,” Julian Fellowes created Gosford Park, a kind of murder-in-the-parlor mystery that tops the sub-genre. Robert Altman directs a sterling cast.

4. Fargo — The Coen Brothers do it again and again. They can make you believe in the absurd. Unlike No Country, Fargo’s dark humor is laugh out-loud. The people are so real and yet what they do is so insane. That’s why we laugh. It’s so true.

5. The Godfather: This is the standard for “mafia” movies. However, it is much more than that. Francis Ford Coppola sets up the relativity and the complexity of right and wrong in a powerful, richly told tale. (Based on a book by Mario Puzo)

6. The Maltese Falcon —What can I say? As a mystery writer, this just might be as good as it gets. Unlike the uneven screenplays based on Raymond Chandler’s classics (with the possible exception of the Bogart version of The Big Sleep) this Hammett private eye tale is perfectly rendered. (Based on a book by Dashiell Hammett)

7. The Talented Mr. Ripley (also Purple Noon) The first is the American version, starring Matt Damon; and the second is the same film done earlier by the French with Alain Delon. Both are perfect portraits of a charming, ingenious sociopath. The films are intricate, fun, and stylish. Cynicism at its best. Timeless. Ripley’s Game, with John Malkovich as Ripley, is also a fine crime film. (Based on books by Patricia Highsmith)

8. L.A. Confidential — You can choose to watch a movie made in the 1950s. Or you can watch a 1950s film from the perspective of the late 1990s. Oddly, the rear-view mirror approach gives us a rich cinematography not available in the fifties. (Based on a book by James Ellroy).

9. Chinatown — Roman Polanski may be one of the most underrated directors. However, this film shows up on nearly everyone’s list. There’s no question about its qualifications. It’s Los Angeles a couple of decades after L.A. Confidential. A lesser-known Polanski film, Frantic, is also well-worth watching.