The Maltese falcon

Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett.; Pacific Film Archive collection; non-circulating. Access by appt. only. CBPF.; Photography, Arthur Edeson ; editor, Thomas Richards.; Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet.; The focus is on private eye Sam Spade as he investigates the murder of his partner and searches for the mysterious, priceless falcon. This was a prototype for film noir in the feeling of unease running through the presentation of a claustrophobic world animated by betrayal, pain and hints of perversion. However, there is also a vein of dark humour more often linked with the private eye film. Bogart as Sam Spade is the archetypal forties 'hard-boiled' private eye who is ultimately validated as the the masculine hero. Classic film noir tends to question unified and potent masculinity. Huston's direction here is also more matter-of-fact and visually less expressionistic than the later noir-influenced detective films.; PFA 1616-01-15129. D0442; PFA 1616-01-15129. CONDITION NOTE: checked 2012 KW: moderate scratching throughout; some splices; appears to be poor duplicate; R3 warped, R1-R2 slightly so; startup sprocket damage R2