What a beautiful movie!

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Warner Brothers made three films of Dashiell Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon" in just over 10 years. The last one that starred Humphrey Bogart in 1941, is the classic film endures with audiences well into the 21st century. This first rendition of 1931 was made just the year after Hammett's novel was printed. That followed its serialization in the leading crime-adventure magazine of the day, "Black Mask."While mildly successful at the box office, this version largely failed to impress the critics and readers of the novel. The reason becomes clear from the start. The plot follows the story fairly closely, but the setting and characters were not true to the story, as Hammett presented them. Sam Spade's apartment is quite luxurious, which in itself is a mystery considering that his detective agency is hard up for money. Most of the scenes are well lit, making it appear more like a stage play that a sultry murder mystery. The characters lack the depth as Hammett saw them. The film seems to focus more on Sam Spade's womanizing than the mystery and crime. Ricardo Cortez goes overboard in his portrayal of Spade with a devil-may-care attitude. He seems hammy as a fun-loving, easygoing cynic. The rest of the cast are little more than passable, with one exception. Dudley Digges is quite good as Casper Gutman. But for Sydney Greenstreet in the 1941 role, Digges's performance would be the one most identified with the role. And, on the opposite end, Bebe Daniels just doesn't deliver a convincing performance for the role of Ruth Wonderly.One thing struck me as strange in this film. In so many scenes, Sam Spade sits down, even while others are standing and talking. It looks awkward on film, and one wonders if he were out of energy and too tired to stand. It looks quite weird. Some of the dialog is taken right out of the book. Some is made up. Here are some favorite lines from this film. Sam Spade, "We didn't believe you. But we believed your $200. You know, darling, for that amount of money, I'd let you tell me a lie every day." Ruth Wonderly, "You don't think I had anything to do with those murders?" Sam Spade, "I forgot to ask you that. Did you?" Ruth Wonderly, "Oh, no. Of course not." Ruth Wonderly, "You won't go to the police, will you?" Sam Spade, "Go to them? Why, all I have to do is sand still and they'll be swarming all over me like a bunch of bees."Sam Spade, "Well, if I'm peddling it, I'm selling to the highest bidder." Ruth Wonderly, "You have a lot of trouble with your women, don't you, Sam?"Ruth Wonderly, "You don't love me. Same Space: Oh, I think I do."

. . . Humphrey Bogart's THE MALTESE FALCON of 1941 is like saying THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN is far sexier than Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, simply because it has more overt sex in it. To someone who has never seen the latter masterpiece, sure, the earlier fumble may seem like something is better than nothing. Unfortunately, the plot of the 1931 movie is hopelessly convoluted, and someone who has never seen the Bogart version (1941) would be hopelessly at sea, such as the movie-goers of 1931 (which is probably why this movie could not hold a candle at the box office to Al Jolson in his follow up to THE JAZZ SINGER, THE SINGING FOOL). Sure, actress Bebe Daniels is sort of topless in private eye Sam Spade's bath tub, but there's not that much more nudity than in Jamie Leigh Curtis' mom's shower scene in Hitchcock's scream fest, PSYCHO. Surely the young teenage boys of 1931 could have found something sexier around the hay stack in the back 40 than they could by shelling out a dime to see this version of THE MALTESE FALCON. If not, one has to wonder what REALLY was so good about those late, lamented "good ol' days."

Something went out of Bebe Daniel's personality in the talkies. She had made the transition with ease (apart from being dropped by Paramount because they didn't think she could talk but she soon put them wise). Apart from a few early musicals, the roles she was given were shady ladies, dutiful secretaries, or mistresses. The vivacity and impish appeal that had made her silents such fun was gone."The Maltese Falcon" also went under the title "Dangerous Female" when it was released to TV, so it wouldn't be confused with the later Humphrey Bogart classic. It was also identified as "The Woman in the Floral Pyjamas" and has some of the raciest, sexiest scenes I have ever seen in a pre-code movie, and along with "Baby Face", it was one of the films that hastened the dreaded Breen Code of 1934.The movie positively oozed sex - from the opening shot of a woman client, adjusting her stockings as she kisses Sam a fond farewell. Is there something going on between Sam and Ettie (Una Merkel)?? I don't think so - Ettie seems too smart for that and she is the one constant in his life, besides, he simply doesn't have the time!!! He has just met Mrs. Wonderly (Bebe Daniels) when who should phone up but Iva Archer (Thelma Todd) upset because he has been ignoring her. Another person who overhears the conversation is Miles Archer (Walter Long) but before he has time to teach his two timing wife a lesson he is shot in an alley.Ricardo Cortez is no Humphrey Bogart - I don't mean that in a "putting down" way. Cortez plays Sam Spade as a flinty, smart alecky womaniser, with a sprinkling of humour (also a sprinkling of good taste as well - I am sure that was a photo of Louise Brooks in his apartment). Bogart played him as world weary but someone you could sympathise with. Of the three villains - no one could put more menace into the phrase "I'm a man who likes to talk to a man who likes to talk" than Sidney Greenstreet but Dudley Digges was excellent in the role. He certainly didn't have the domineering presence of Greenstreet (who did?) but he specialised in roles of quiet evil ("The Mayor of Hell", "Massacre"). I thought Dwight Frye was more than a match for Elisha Cook Jnr - he didn't have as much to do and he only uttered a few lines but he bought a vulnerability to his role. The person I thought let the team down was Bebe Daniels. Don't get me wrong, I really love Bebe in the silents and in some of her talkies ("Silver Dollar", "Counsellor at Law" (she matched John Barrymore in sincerity) and "42nd Street" (she played her role with a lot of feeling)). I just think Mary Astor played the role with more warmth and sincerity, so you really cared about what happened to her at the end. Bebe just didn't seem to have the emotional depth.The two people I really loved in this movie were Walter Long (so fantastic as the hardened criminal who takes an intense dislike to Laurel and Hardy in "Pardon Us") and Thelma Todd. There is another sexy scene in this movie where Iva bursts into Sam's apartment, sees Bebe and shouts "What is she doing in my dressing gown"!!! The way Bebe takes it off - like it is poison!!! Anyway Thelma Todd and Walter Long play Mr. and Mrs. Archer. Walter Long married to Thelma Todd - that is surely the stuff that dreams are made of - his dreams!!!Highly, Highly Recommended.

I recently sat down and watched the more-renowned 1941 version of this and then, by way of comparison, watched this earlier take on the same story. It's an approach I'd recommend, as the two versions complement each other wonderfully. While the 1941 is proto-noir with all its labyrinthine motivations and machinations, this lesser-known version creaks a fair bit and, although the performances are generally awkward and the direction stilted, everyone has their moments. Bebe Daniels, for instance, shines as the "heroine", exhibiting far more bubble and downright sexiness than Mary Astor did. Which segues neatly into this version's most startling asset: sex. Quite a bit of it, by Hollywood 30s standards. coming pre-Hays Code, there's a fair amount of flesh on view and an abundance left to the imagination. The scene with Daniels taking a bath was astonishing for its sexiness and the homosexual frisson between Gutman and Gunsel was quite marked.The script is very much the same, and it's fascinating seeing such familiar lines coming out of unfamiliar mouths. This film, however, fills in some holes that the '41 version skated over (Spade's affair with Mrs Archer, for instance) so, seen together, they can be seen as two pieces of the same jigsaw puzzle. As I said, the performances are a little stiff, there are some delightful moments (watch as they wait for the arrival of the falcon: Daniels cheating at Solitaire and watching to see if anyone sees her; Cortez as Spade playing with a kid's game, chewing gum and idly looking around). It could use a little jazz-age looseness in its staging, but I think this is a worthy predecessor to the '41 version, and fans of that should definitely take a looks at this one.