| Maltese Falcon | |
|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:The_Maltese_Falcon_1931_Poster.jpg) theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Roy Del Ruth |
| Screenplay by | Brown Holmes Maude Fulton Lucien Hubbard (uncredited)[1][2] |
| Based on | The Maltese Falcon 1930 novel by Dashiell Hammett |
| Starring | Bebe Daniels Ricardo Cortez |
| Cinematography | William Rees |
| Edited by | George Marks |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 75 or 80 minutes[2] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Maltese Falcon is a 1931 American pre-Code crime film based on the 1930 novel The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett and directed by Roy Del Ruth. The film stars Ricardo Cortez as private detective Sam Spade and Bebe Daniels as femme fatale Ruth Wonderly. The supporting cast features Dudley Digges, Thelma Todd, Walter Long, Una Merkel, and Dwight Frye.[3] Maude Fulton and Brown Holmes wrote the screenplay; one contemporaneous report said that Lucien Hubbard was assisting them.[1]
While the film was successful, its legacy was deeply hampered by the enforcement of the Hays Code. The film was remade by the studio twice, with its 1941 remake starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor overshadowing its predecessors. The film was not seen in its entirety until after the collapse of the Code in the mid-1960s. A print has been held by the Library of Congress since the 1970s.[4]
- ^ a b "The Maltese Falcon (1931): Notes". Leonard Maltin Classic Movie Guide. Penguin Group (US) Inc. 2010.
- ^ a b "The Maltese Falcon (1931)". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
- ^ "The Maltese Falcon (1931)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
- ^ Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress. The American Film Institute. 1978. p. 110.