MovieChat Forums > The Maltese Falcon (1941) Discussion > I have tried many times to watch this mo...

I have tried many times to watch this movie

posted 15 years ago by ruthlessroddy
55 replies | jump to latest

Not only am I a BIG Noir fan, but a big Bogart as well. Not that Bogart wasn't good in this, but everytime I've tried to watch this movie, it just loses me at the end. It's not that Bogart's bad (he's great) I think maybe Mary Astor annoys me a little, but I've never been blown away by this film. Now, that being said, 'The Big Sleep' was fantastic, same for 'To Have and Have Not' and 'In a Lonley Place', or other non-Bogey films like 'Double Endemnity', 'Out of the Past', 'Sunset Boulevard' etc. all classic films. But for some reason I just don't quite get the hype over this one. It's good, but I just don't feel it's as good as it's reputation. Although I love the line where Lorre says "You always have a very smoooooth way of explaining things don't you"? and Bogart says "What Da-ya want me to do, learn to Studder?"

Don't get me wrong, there ARE some great scenes and Bogart himself is worth the price of admission because he was just TOO cool for his own good (in just about everything he did), but to me, this film falls short of the 'Greatness' it has notoriously been proclaimed to be. 7 out of 10 is what I'd give it.

TPRoddy1968

[–] gvytui 10 years ago

I was a bit underwhelmed by this film to be honest. Still good, but not nearly as gripping as some of the other films mentioned. I too gave this 7/10 - entertaining for what it's worth, but I can't figure out why it's as acclaimed as some of the other great noirs of its day.

[–] information_police 10 years ago

Oh, stop taking it so seriously and enjoy it!

I love it for it's sardonically humorous moments. The dialogue between Kaspar Gutman and Spade is great, "I love talking to a man who loves to talk." or whatever the line is. It's just clever funny from such an odd character. And Peter Lorre, is so funny as a tough guy. The line from Spade at the end is so great, "If you're a good girl, you'll be out in 20 years - I'll be waiting. If they hang you, I'll always remember you." Just so cold and cruelly funny. It's great stuff!

Nobody's looking for a puppeteer in today's wintry economic climate.

[–] mdonln 10 years ago

And that's okay if you don't like it. We won't all like the same films. We don't all get the same feeling from the movies we watch. Like you said, if any one element puts us off, like not liking a particular actor or character, it can turn us off to the entire project. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just how it is.

I first saw this movie when I was growing up. At that point I didn't like it at all but my older siblings loved it. I think perhaps I couldn't keep up or it was over my head then. I avoided it for a few years then happened to catch it on cable recently. Now I like it a lot and probably for the same reasons I hadn't liked it before.

There's a lot going on in this movie; much of which is fairly subtle. I like the story, the pacing, the mystery; well, everything. I was never a Bogart fan but, in this movie; this viewing, I liked him. He's totally believable in the role and plays it with a mix of humor and seriousness. I can definitely see why it's a classic.

[–] cabbageboy316 10 years ago

The Maltese Falcon is an excellent film, though I do not think the original 1931 film is this crap movie that others here are making it out to be. I much prefer the casting in some instances. Bebe Daniels is much more of an alluring femme fatale than Mary Astor (who honestly seems like someone's middle aged mom, which she was 3 years later in Meet Me in St. Louis). I like Thelma Todd better as Iva Archer as well.

I think I might know why some people aren't 100% down with this film. There's just too much talking going on here and not enough action. In various cases we don't even see important action points (the ship burning for instance) and don't ever see the seemingly interesting Floyd Thursby character. I think this and The Big Sleep suffer from this same phenomenon, namely the plot and our ability to care rests on finding the killer of a character we don't know or care about whatsoever. Here it's Thursby (and Miles to be fair). In The Big Sleep it is Sean Reagan.

[–] snsurone 10 years ago

You all have to understand that this was John Houston's first film as a director.
And IMO, he did a great job considering that.
He would go on to win an Oscar directing Bogie (and his father Walter Houston) in THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE.

I love this movie for various reasons, one of them being that Bogie played a man on the right side of the law and who is alive and healthy at the end.

[–] alice-enland 9 years ago

I'm with the OP. I think his is a good movie but a so-so story.

"Stuff that dreams are made of"? More like "Stuff that schemes are made of."

[–] garylampkin 8 years ago

I have to say you put your finger on the same issue that I believe brings this noir classic down a few notches from say a D.O.A., or Double Indemnity, or White Heat, or Asphalt Jungle, or Sunset Boulevard(my co-favorite with Touch of Evil), namely a clear mis-cast with Mary Astor. I might give it an 8 being generous because of the rest of the cast, and great script.
This was not my favorite Bogey noir either- Probably, In a Lonely Place or The Big Sleep for this genre. My all around favorite is Casablanca with close tie for second with To Have and Have Not and The Treasure of Sierra Madre.
If you haven't checked any Japanese noir out yet I highly recommend doing it. Kurosawa has a couple of good ones, also Criterion Collection has a good 5 movie set from 5 different directors, "Nikkatsu Noir". Next I'm looking in to some French and Italian noir.

[–] kenny-164 8 years ago

First of all The Maltese Falcon is the first film that pulled together all of the elements of film noir, starring the best actor of the genre, very early in his career doing film noir (ftr I do not like High Sierra near as much, although it has its fans), which before had mostly consisted of related gangster films. It was also one with an excellent supporting cast.

Gary in the preceding post takes issue with the casting of Mary Astor as Ms. O'Shaugnessy. He is not the first to do so, but I totally disagree. She was exceptionally convincing in playing a character who was duplicitous to the core. People often confuse their lack of patience with the character as some kind of negative over the actor's performance. One must distinguish these.

I think the other thing at work here is the way Mary Astor was presented, specifically the hairdo and to a lesser extent the clothes and hats. She was chosen to have that look because she was in truth what used to be called a "fast woman" pretending to be almost school marmish. But Sam sees right through that, saying at one point "Say you're not exactly the kind of person you pretend to be" or something close to that. And let's be clear Mary Astor was six years younger than Bogart when this film was made, with him about 40. SHe is not supposed to be some teenager or early twenty year old.

But Mary Astor clearly was an attractive woman. It is also noteworthy that she soon appeared again with Bogart, Greenstreet and Lorre in Across the Pacific. Someone must have liked her here.

This film often is compared to The Big Sleep since both are clearly within the film noir genre and Bogart the lead in both. I love both films. But the narrative in Sleep sometimes risks getting in the way of the film. In Falcon the plot serves the themes of the film in a much more efficient fashion. Somehow the urban cosmopolitanism of Falcon is also superior.

And while some point to High Sierra as Bogart's breakout film as an A list star, this is really the more successful film and the one that really helped him. John Huston, too. (Mary Astor, who made over 100 films and later tv, did have a few more good films after this. but the general view of her career was that he signing a 7 year contract with MGM four years later was not a good move for her.)

[–] grizzly228 8 years ago

Funny that you say that because I wasn't a fan of The Big Sleep, but love Maltese Falcon. I guess everyone has their own tastes and expectations.