The Maltese Falcon (1931 film) The Maltese Falcon (1931 film) The Maltese Falcon is a 1931 American pre-Code crime film, based on the 1930 novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett and directed by Roy Del Ruth. The film stars Ricardo Cortez as private detective Sam Spade and Bebe Daniels as Ruth Wonderly. Maude Fulton, Brown Holmes, and Lucien Hubbard (who went uncredited) wrote the screenplay. The supporting cast features Dudley Digges, Thelma Todd, Walter Long, Una Merkel, and Dwight Frye. A print has been held by the Library of Congress since the 1970s. In San Francisco, private investigator Sam Spade (Ricardo Cortez) and
The Falcon (character) The Falcon (character) "Drexel Drake" (a pseudonym of Charles H. Huff) created Michael Waring, alias the Falcon, a free-lance investigator and troubleshooter, in his 1936 novel, "The Falcon's Prey". It was followed by two more novels ("The Falcon Cuts In", 1937 and "The Falcon Meets a Lady", 1938) and a 1938 short story. Gay Stanhope Falcon is a fictional character created in 1940 by Michael Arlen. This Falcon made his first appearance in Arlen's short story "Gay Falcon", which was first published in 1940 in "Town & Country" magazine. Falcon is characterized as a freelance adventurer and troubleshooter - a