The Maltese Falcon (1941)
An entertaining detective film noir mystery even by modern standards.
Presentation:
Humphrey Bogart plays his signature skeptical character this time as a private investigator trying to unearth the priceless Maltese Falcon. The film has noir aspects with decent cinematography, but the focus is on its talent and story. For a thriller made in 1941, the pacing and tension does get thrilling especially toward the climax and almost goes toe to toe with modern films in excitement. However, like all of the classic films, the language doesn’t always translate with the reveal of the mystery explicitly spoken as opposed to shown. It’s also revealed so quickly that it will be very easy to miss; you’ll likely have to rewind to fully grasp how the events happened.
Conclusion:
A fun detective mystery thriller with some spy, deception and action elements that resemble the building blocks of a 007 film. If you like classic films, this a one of the more well executed and presented thrillers. The climax is quite weak, or lack thereof, but even for casual audiences, you might find yourself absorbed by Bogart’s unstoppable performance.
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Recommendations
Hollywood film noir doesn’t seem that high up anymore.