The Maltese Falcon

Director: John Huston (Across the Pacific, The African Queen, Prizzi's Honour)
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet
USA, 1941

Seen: Sept 25, 2006 at the Bloor Cinema.

Reason to see: It's on my 101 list of films I can't believe I haven't seen, as well as being on many 'best of' lists. It also happened to be at a rep theatre, therefore will be week 13/52 on my #7 of my 101 - See 1 film a week in the theatre for a year. Talk about double duty!

I hadn't seen a film noir flick, and didn't realize this was one so that took me a bit aback at first but then it once settled into that it was a delightfully dark, twisted plot with turns, surprizes, deflection and drama dripping from every line and every moment. To be honest I couldn't really follow it all but I think that was part of the fun, just to let it unfold before you and gasp or question or smile and nod knowing like you knew *that* was coming. Quite a treat.

It was also really great to see a lot of people in the audience on a rainy Monday night. They even clapped and cheered at parts, gotta love the enthusiasm.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it, especially those interesting in Mysteries & Film Noir

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© Shannon Ridler, 2006