The Maltese Falcon

Going back in time again, I just recently got around to finally watching noir classic The Maltese Falcon starring Humphrey Bogart. As with The Third Man, this film stuck out on my watchlist as if to shame me for not keeping up with the classics. Surely the, rather aged, hype surrounding the film would damage my experience but now let's see if it is one still worth checking out.

When you think of film noir, the image of a private investigator with a gun holster, sitting in a smoky office with blinds cutting out most of the busy world behind may come to mind, and that is exactly the type of character we see Bogart play here. But hey, it was 1941 so the noir genre was in its early days before the trope would become part of the iconography. The story sets about with an attractive woman visiting Bogart's office with a job for him that soon involves the murder of his colleague before several sophisticated criminals show up.

With a running time of just under 90 minutes, this is a speedy film with a sharp screenplay that Bogart is able to put to good use with his charismatic wit. The man is on fine form and really demonstrates his acting chops with a cool, calm and collective ease that helped to make the film endure the test of time. The supporting cast that includes various names from the past including Mary Astor and Gladys George are all great, but M's Peter Lorre really stands out as one of the eccentric criminals on the hunt for the mysterious Maltese Falcon.

In some way this has aged but if anything that adds to the charm and character of the film. The Maltese Falcon is one very fine film that should not fall out of memory and at such a short running time, I can easily recommend this and one that I will try to watch again.