The Maltese Falcon

"A story as EXPLOSIVE as his BLAZING automatics!"

Oct 18 1941 Approved 1h 40m
Film-Noir, Mystery

A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.

Plot

Spade and Archer is the name of a San Francisco detective agency. That's for Sam Spade and Miles Archer. The two men are partners, but Sam doesn't like Miles much. A knockout, who goes by the name of Miss Wonderly, walks into their office; and by that night everything's changed. Miles is dead. And so is a man named Floyd Thursby. It seems Miss Wonderly is surrounded by dangerous men. There's Joel Cairo, who uses gardenia-scented calling cards. There's Kasper Gutman, with his enormous girth and feigned civility. Her only hope of protection comes from Sam, who is suspected by the police of one or the other murder. More murders are yet to come, and it will all be because of these dangerous men -- and their lust for a statuette of a bird: the Maltese Falcon.

Written by

John Huston, Dashiell Hammett

Directed by

John Huston

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Warner Bros. Pictures

Languages

English

Awards

Nominated for 3 Oscars. 8 wins & 4 nominations total

Scores
# of Votes
170,348
Average Rating
7.9 out of 10
Metascore
97
Popularity
NA