THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) Reaction | First Time Watching

After his partner is murdered, private detective Sam Spade is drawn into a deadly search for a priceless statuette.
Intro - 0:00
Reaction - 1:40
Discussion - 29:36
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[@uma.n2680]

Dashiell is also responsible for the Thin Man series and the subsequent movie adaptations with William Powell and Myrna Loy and it's such a comedic ride, watching a couple be charming at each other while solving murders.

[@maximillianosaben]

I have a replica Maltese Falcon statue tucked away in my closet. One of my all-time favorite birthday gifts!

[@user-cr5mq9lz8r]

Are you sure its just a replica?

[@melenatorr]

Greenstreet and Lorre became a sort of informal partnership and made a few movies together. One of my favorites is "Mask of Demetrious" and also "Three Strangers".

[@Tiisiphone]

I love film noir. Humphrey Bogart is probably one of my top 10 favorite actors. Charismatic, sarcastic, he had great screen presence. If you like him you'll probably enjoy The African Queen and The Caine Mutiny.

[@DelGuy03]

I'm glad you enjoyed this. A couple of fun details: Spade keeps referring to Wilmer as Gutman's "gunsel." It does indeed mean "your gun-carrier," but a secondary meaning is "your boyfriend" with an implication of weakness and (consistent with the time) general contempt. Both Hammett and the moviemakers counted on getting this past most readers/viewers. (The screenplay follows the book almost word for word.) The captain who staggers in with the falcon is a cameo appearance by a distinguished actor: Walter Huston, director John Huston's father. He shines in bigger parts in the movies both before and after this, including the title role in Dodsworth (a great film that should be better remembered, and Reacted to), The Devil and Daniel Webster (he plays the devil), and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (again with Bogart and directed by his son John), for which he won a Supporting Actor Oscar. The Huston acting family is now 4 generations deep.

[@TheTerryGene]

The “cop on the left” is Ward Bond and, yes, he was Burt the cop in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” He was also a regular in John Ford/John Wayne films. He starred in the huge TV hit “Wagon Train” prior to his death in 1960.

[@glennwisniewski9536]

Ward Bond: one of the detectives here and, yes, in It's a Wonderful Life as Bert. Was also a frequent co-star with John Wayne (23 films) and later starred in the TV series Wagon Train (still being re-run today) until he died of a heart attack midway through the series and was replaced by John McIntire (the sheriff in Psycho).

[@PedroCastillo_1980]

The iconic line "The stuff that dreams are made of"

[@scarletibis3158]

Love some Bogey!

[@PedroCastillo_1980]

​@@scarletibis3158👍👍👍👍

[@MrJohnTeacher]

A rephrasing of a line from Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'. In Act 4, Scene 1, Prospero says, "We are such stuff As dreams are made on; and our little life Is rounded with a sleep."

[@thequietrevolution3404]

"The Maltese Falcon" was one of my dad's favorites. Other great Bogart movies in this "Film Noir" style include "The Big Sleep" and "Key Largo". Great reactions.

[@Billy-zv6gv]

This was my Dad's favorite Bogey movie! Brings back great memories. Thanks for watching this, you two! Humphrey Bogart's also awesome in Petrified Forest movie here in Arizona. Enjoy!

[@malcolmmceasy2252]

The detective whose voice you recognized is Ward Bond, who had roles in several important films, including "The Long Gray Line" and "Fort Apache"

[@asterix7842]

This movie is perhaps the greatest and best known example of a genre called film noir. You might also want to check out The Third Man (1949) with Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles. You noticed that both Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre were in Casablanca with Bogart. These movies were fimed when Hollywood was operating under the studio system. Actors signed contracts with studios and only made movies for that studio, so it was not unusual to see the same groups of actors together in different movies. Humphrey Bogart has always been one of my favorite actors. A few more favorites I'd recommend are The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), Key Largo (1948), and The African Queen (1951). With Christmas coming up, a good Bogart Christmas comedy is We're No Angels (1955)

[@Jen-Mom]

Thanks for the suggestions! 😊

[@Yngvarfo]

Another great Bogey movie is "The African Queen," also directed by John Huston. Great interplay with Katherine Hepburn. He doesn't wear a hat or coat in that one, though. 😊 You might also check out Clint Eastwood's "White Hunter, Black Heart," a somewhat fictionalised tale of the making of the movie.

[@shainewhite2781]

One of the best noir films ever made! Nominated for 3 Oscars including Best Picture but didn't win any. This was the directorial debut of John Huston.

[@clarencewalker3925]

George Raft turned this role down as he didn't want to work with a novice director. Serendipitous for Bogie, who won an Oscar for "The African Queen, directed, again, by John Huston.

[@rg3388]

An early favorite of mine. I pretty much memorized this film half a century ago in the pre-VCR days when I had to use a cassette recorder to capture the audio from the TV speaker. I also took still photos of the TV screen. Unlike the source novel, the film could not explicit label Cairo as gay. But note the use of the phallic umbrella handle in his first scene. Huston fought for an extra day of rehearsal for the final scene and it paid off.

[@geraldmcboingboing7401]

OMG!! I did the same thing with my cassette recorder. Some of them still play. Maxell products were really good back then!!!!

[@jentoby73]

After seeing this movie I read the book by Dashiell Hammett, and the clever dialogue as well as the plot in the movie is almost identical to the novel. He’s one of the quintessential hard boiled cynical detective mystery writers from this era and his dialogue translate well to movies. So much so that Hammett also had a successful career as a screenwriter.

[@uma.n2680]

He's also responsible for writing Nick and Nora Charles, and the thin man series, I've seen all six movie adaptations with Myrna Loy and William Powell, and it's such a delight to see them be charming at each other while solving mysteries.

[@heavycritic9554]

One of my favourite movies of all time! Bogart, Lorre and Greenstreet all bring their A-game, with Mary Astor as a pretty much pitch-perfect femme fatale. It's such a wonderfully hard-boiled detective movie. I can't help but love it! 🙂

[@flarrfan]

Next classic poll, include The African Queen, not my favorite Bogart but the pairing of Bogey with the magnificent Kate Hepburn is very much worth a watch.

[@TedLittle-yp7uj]

So many people think the Production Code (written in 1930 revised and enforced from 1934-1968) required that criminals pay for their crimes but that is not true. In fact it specifically stated that it was not always necessary provided that it was made clear to the audience that it was wrong. A famous example of a criminal getting away with it is "It's a Wonderful Life," when Potter steals the bank deposit. It was the audience that complained if criminals were not punished. There were at least two other reasons that Rick did not go off with Ilsa in "Casablanca": that's is what happened in "Everybody Comes to Rick's," the play from which the movie was adapted, and such an ending would have ruined Rick's redemptive arc as he regains his idealism. There were apparently some discussions of alternate endings but it would seem that the real question was how to have Rick stay behind without being arrested. Hence the line, "Round up the usual suspects."

[@heavycritic9554]

31:08 Another point here: If you want to see Peter Lorre being unbelievably creepy, you should watch the movie "M", from 1931, directed by the great Fritz Lang. It is in German, though, but a subtitled version is even available on youtube.

[@philowens7680]

If you haven't seen it, you'll enjoy "The Big Sleep". Bogart does a great job. The whole cast is great and the script is a joy!

[@MarcosElMalo2]

The script is a mess! But it’s a fun movie, enough fun to overcome the script deficiencies.

[@jsapcakrrow]

I first watched this movie about 20+ years ago & loved it. I went out & bought the book. The movie stuck to the book very well.

[@rafaelrosario5331]

You are right Nick that's Ward Bond who appeared in It's a wonderful life .

[@TTM9691]

Great reaction. You ask when did things change. In the late 40s the "method" started being developed and studied and it made a splash on Broadway with Marlon Brando and "A Streetcar Named Desire". With the movies it was method actors Marlon Brando, Montogmery Clift and James Dean who really made the first big splashes, although there were many young actors that were using it. With the collapse of the Hayes Code (censorship code) in 1966, it's like a dividing line: Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate (1967), Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway & Gene Hackman in Bonnie And Clyde (1967). By the late 60s it was hard boiled realism that the 70s were known for: Midnight Cowboy (1969) again with Dustin Hoffman, Easy Rider (1969) with Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson.....etc etc. There's also the influence of Italian films of the 40s-70s and the French new wave and the whole european film scene but that's something for another comment!

[@bobbuethe1477]

Now that you've seen "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon," you'll love Neil Simon's "The Cheap Detective," starring Peter Falk doing a great Bogart impersonation. It has an all-star (for 1979) cast.

[@joefrog91]

Came here to say the same thing.

[@bobbuethe1477]

And it's free (with ads) on KZbin!

[@jefmay3053]

What about 'The Black Bird' with George Seagal?

[@tommiller4895]

The D.A. was played by Neil Hamilton who best known for playing Perry White in the 1950's/1960's series "The Adventures of Superman". Peter Lorre was famous for doing Horror and Detective movies. He also did a Movie series as the Oriental Detective Mr. Moto (not PC today but accepted back in the day). Actor/Magiciam Harry Anderson (Night Court) opened a Magic Shop in New Orleans called Spade and Archer. Please review Christmas in Connecticut. A great screw-ball comedy starring Barbara Stanwick.

[@hannahl8]

Such a great classic & great reaction! No one delivers sardonic lines like Bogart. The African Queen is my favorite of his, please check it out.

[@frankmahovlich5099]

Love that you both appreciate classic old films; I'm 70 so this film was "old" to me when I first saw it on TV. Now to suggest two good parodies of this "Film Noir" classic. The Cheap Detective (1978) stars Peter Falk as a Sam Spade type, Madeline Kahn as the classy dame who lies so much she can't keep her hair color straight & Louise Fletcher and many others in a film that is half Casablanca & half Maltese Falcon. If you like Steve Martin, there's Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982). Steve's the detective in this one. It's filmed in black & white because it incorporates many scene clips from actual 1940's film noir movies for Steve to interact with ; quite cleverly done and costumes, scenery and lighting is very well matched. It's your channel, take it or leave it.

[@Gort-Marvin0Martian]

Love this one. I love virtually everything Bogart chose to be in. Spade knew it was her. His partner never drew his gun because it was her. Spade just played her along. And why not get a little on the side. LOL "Here's looking at you kid." - Casablanca "The stuff dreams are made of." - Maltese Falcon Great reaction guys. Y'all be safe.

[@stevenspringer1599]

as long as you're in the neighborhood (one of Marilyn's earliest appearances): "The Asphalt Jungle" (1950) - a seriously excellent crime caper

[@thomastimlin1724]

Peter Lorre is in this and was "Ugati" in Casablanca later...

[@StreamingNomad]

The one bit of tech I love in this film are those cigarette striker lighters -- fancy tech for a bad habit.

[@rafaelrosario5331]

Your next Bogart film...the Christmas themed We're no Angels....Bogart and Pals escape prison on Christmas eve and fun ensues....also features Basil Rathbone of Sherlock Holmes fame....you might ask what does Bogart and Christmas have to do with each other? Bogart was born on Christmas day! Steven Bogart son of Bogie and Becall is alive today at 74 years of age. Thanks for your take on many of my favorite films.

[@anthonyleecollins9319]

What a wonderful movie. Most of the dialogue is right out of the book (except "the stuff that dreams are made of"). The story is that Howard Hawks, knowing Huston was going to direct his first picture, gave him a copy of the book and said, "Just shoot the book." (Except for the stuff which wouldn't have been allowed in a movie in those days, of course.). Oh, and in terms of the transition from stage to screen that you talked about, it's worth noting that Sydney Greenstreet was a stage actor, and this was his first ever movie role.

[@aresee8208]

Probably the most famous offspring of anyone involved with the movie is Anjelica Huston, daughter of director John Huston. She is most definitely still alive at age 72. Her 1985 Academy Award for best supporting actress for "Prizzi's Honor" (directed by her father), made the Huston family the first to win oscars over three generations - besides Anjelica, her grandfather, Walter Huston, won best supporting oscar for "The Treasure of Sierra Madre," (also directed by John Huston), and her father, John Huston, won oscars for both best director and best screenolay for "The Treasure of Sierra Madre." Thus, John Huston directed both his father and daughter in oscar winning roles.

[@Lepidopray]

I love the movie. Never read the book, but in the movie there's a suggestion that Cairo is a bit of a "fancy man" as they might have said back then. They couldn't be explicit because of the Hayes Code. Gutman also holds on to Sam's hand a bit too long when they meet. Also Sam calls Wilmer a gunsel....look up the second or third definition of that word.

[@Hexon66]

For the time, I think they (Huston at any rate) was extraordinarily, and unmistakably, suggestive regarding Cairo. Brigid practically outs him in Spade's rooms, and his relationship with his cane in Spade's office during their first meeting is fairly explicit in its perspective.

[@jakubfabisiak9810]

There are some more great film noir to watch: This Gun for Hire (1942) with Alan Ladd, and Veronica Lake The Big Sleep (1946) with Humphrey Bogart (known for being confusing, because they couldn't mention a lot of things due to the Hayes' Code) The Naked City (1948) - shot almost entirely on location in NYC back when movies were made in Hollywood studios. Touch of Evil (1958, but the 1998 edit that restores the film to Welles' vision from the 52-page memo he wrote to the studio on how he wanted the film edited) Also some neo-noir L.A. Confidential (1997) - one of the best neo-noirs with a star-studded cast Body Heat Devil in a Blue Dress Angel Heart (with Mickey Rourke, and Robert DeNiro).

[@stevemiller6923]

Another enjoyable reaction. Thanks. You have already received several good recommendations for Humphrey Bogart movies. Since you enjoyed this one, I would add "The Big Sleep", one of the best Bogie and Bacall movies.

[@kathrynjones9938]

I love when you watch the movies from the 40s and 50s. So much better than current films.

[@jenniferjones2863]

The actor who played Wilmer played Icepick on Magnum P.I. In the 80’s.

[@thomastimlin1724]

That's Elisha Cook Jr., an excellent character who had a long career of playing weirdos, sometimes in comedy, he was one of the greatest character actors of all time in film and TV.

[@Lepidopray]

​@thomastimlin1724 He was also in The Big Sleep with Bogart and Becall. While we're at it, the D.A. was played by the actor who played Perry White in the 1950s Superman series.

[@anthonyleecollins9319]

And he was in an episode of Star Trek ("Court Martial").

[@melenatorr]

@@thomastimlin1724 He was called "the world's lightest heavy" because he so often played this sort of character, and was so small and slight. This movie was Greenstreet's screen debut. Magnificent!

[@nevrogers8198]

One of the best uses of a MacGuffin, until the briefcase in Pulp Fiction.

[@clarencewalker3925]

Miles Archer was portrayed by Jerome Cowan, even though he tried to prosecute Santa. And if Patreon subscribers like this move, I suggest "Farewell, My Lovely" with Robert Mitchum. You won't be disappointed.

[@P-M-869]

Detective Tom Polhaus - Ward Bond - has played in a number of Westers. A couple of other Bogart movies I like are "Key Largo" and "To Have and Have Not" where he met his true love Lauren Bacall.

[@jnagarya519]

Peter Lorre was an east European Jew. He became a huge star with his first (German) film "M".

[@egonrhoodie2745]

Hello guys me and my grandma loved watching movies together.. She told me stories of Dracula and Bridge on the river Kwai Blessings and happy thoughts! ❤🎉❤🤗🦹‍♂️🧙‍♀️🧛‍♂️

[@cnault3244]

Another great reaction viewing. Now you two should watch The African Queen.

[@bigbow62]

I have another classic for you 2 The Grapes of Wrath (1940) A multi award winning movie... Gripping powerful a movie that should be viewed, i don't think anyone has reacted to this classic yet ! Also now that we are approaching Christmas i have a wonderful feel good movie.... Lilies of the Field (1963) Staring Sidney Poitier

[@drlee2]

Yeah, this movie was basically the prototype and laid the groundwork for the film noir genre, yet it still feels like a perfect film that never gets old watching it. One of the most influential films in history. I'm pretty sure that the Falcon was a fake. Cairo explained it that the guy they stole it from switched out the real artifact with this fake version because he knew that someone would try to steal it. There's no way Gutman would have just given up so easily while checking to see if it was the real thing after chasing the falcon for 17 years. The only reason that the fake falcon was "important" in the end is because it was evidence as part of the criminal investigation, but also a creative choice by the director to focus on the object that drove the movie's plot.

[@darost]

Love the classic hard-boiled detective & no one was better than Bogart. I remembered a few more that show different times with unconventional detectives, all in L.A. except as noted: The Long Goodbye 1973 (Elliot Gould as Philip Marlowe) Blood Simple 1984 (Coen brothers, Texas) The Big Lebowski 1998 (Jeff Bridges as Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, another Coen brothers) Really enjoying your obvious enthusiasm! Watch movies!

[@rxtsec1]

The stuff that dreams are made of is a classic line. I think it's afi 100 for movie quotes

[@rxtsec1]

#14 to be exact

[@williambranch4283]

A classic film noir that made Bogart a star

[@MarcosElMalo2]

The implication that Effie wasn’t at home is that she was not exclusively cheating with Sam. She had been with another lover.

[@MrRizzo1961]

Next Bogart movie you should react to is The African Queen with Katherine Hepburn ✌️♥️

[@jnagarya519]

You should check out the "Firesign Theatre" recording about "Nick Danger"

[@parsifal40002]

This movie was the first film noire made.

[@wolandbegemotazazello]

There are, of course, different forms or styles of acting and there have been for centuries.. See Naremors's classic tome Acting in the Cinema for an excellent historical analysis of acting and acting forms. Needless to say, the tone of a film--comic, tragic, dramatic, melodramatic, satirical, parodic--calls for different acting styles. See American sitcoms vs the American Western... Camera angles emphasise and exaggerate certain features including Guttman's girth...See Citizen Kane... Miles's wife is irrelevent to the story once her husband's has passed and once we know that she has a thing for Sam and they have had a thing. She has no bearing on the stuff that dreams are made of. Preminger is important in bringing about the demise of the code. So were foreign films imported into the US in the 50s. By the 60s, as a consequence, the Code was essentially irrelevent and dead. See Bonnie and Clyde. Of course, Hollywood studio films were filled with innuendo during the Code. There are, for example implied gays in a number of films during the zenith of the code. Cairo? Personally, I prefer the witty innuendo of the classics to being hit on the head by the rather boring literalist and unimaginative filmmakers who dominate Hollywood today. A bientot, Canade...

[@scgreek1114]

Man do I ever miss clever dialogue like this. 😭

[@MrJohnTeacher]

The Falcon is more or less a MacGuffin--an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself. The statue they finally got their hands on was indeed a fake.

[@jnagarya519]

I can't believe your mother hasn't seen any of these movies.

[@SpielbergMichael]

I hope you watch The Big Sleep.

[@thomasripley1548]

One thing about these old movies detevtives were allways geting bashed in the head.. if it happened half that much in real life they all woildve been concussed....

[@Jen-Mom]

😅

[@butkovicharts]

Sorry your huntches are wrong... Greenstreet was that big, no pillows needed. Wilma- is Elisha Cook Jr. he was in many, many films down the road after this flick... Ward Bond was the "girlfriend" of the Dick -lol! He was in many, many iconic films and a regular on John Wayne flicks too. Peter Lorre- an iconic actor in many, many awesome roles... but start off in his own series of films as "Mr. Moto". Yes- he was the orginal Mr. Moto... he played a Japanese dick in those early moive roles of his. Hope this helps... The slang lanuage was actually a hollywood thing, and if anyone in real life in the 1930s 40s spoke in that 'gangster' type of lingo- it came from watching too many such movies as this one. But yeah sure as hell beats the crap these young kids speak today.

[@isoldejaneholland8370]

Some kids back then, probably, but my great-grandmother grew up in the 1940s, and I can't imagine her ever saying,"That dame has swell gams." 😉 😅

[@thomasripley1548]

Badic the same actors , with the contract system back then.... bxt should be Treasure of the Sierria Madre........Nadges we dont need no stinkin badges......

[@thomasripley1548]

That's basically, wow if only my fingers could spell....

[@thomasripley1548]

Ward bond long time friend of marrion morrisin uh er john wayne, yeah thats the ticket....

[@pormantu]

Gunsel😂😂😂

[@ErnestAdams]

Joel Cairo was supposed to be gay, but of course they couldn't say that outright. This is the 1940s notion of what a gay man was like.

[@isoldejaneholland8370]

Today, this movie would be "cancelled" for incessantly fat-shaming Caspar Gutman! (Even his last name is yet another fat joke.) But that's always true when you watch old movies through our lens. Oooh, Joel Cairo wears cologne, and that means he's......you know. 😮 But I've spent the past decade watching brooding movie stars in artsy b&w commercials selling stuff like "Dior for Men." And before that I went to school with teen boys drenched in that nauseating Axe Body Spray. 😊 Yuck. So a guy wearing perfume doesn't mean anything.