The Maltese Falcon (1941 film) The Maltese Falcon (1941 film) The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 film noir written and directed by John Huston in his directorial debut, and based on Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel of the same name. The film stars Humphrey Bogart as private investigator Sam Spade and Mary Astor as his "femme fatale" client. Gladys George, Peter Lorre, and Sydney Greenstreet co-star, with Greenstreet appearing in his film debut. The story follows a San Francisco private detective and his dealings with three unscrupulous adventurers, all of whom are competing to obtain a jewel-encrusted falcon statuette. The film premiered on October 3, 1941,
The Maltese Falcon (1941 film) 1989, but that version is no longer available. CBS/Fox Video released a 101-minute black-and-white version of the film on laserdisc in 1982. The music was written by Adolph Deutsch, who later went on to win an Academy Award. The recording was re-released in 2002 along with other film soundtrack works by Deutsch, including "George Washington Slept Here," "The Mask of Dimitrios," "High Sierra" and "Northern Pursuit." Perhaps the earliest radio adaptation of "The Maltese Falcon" was on the "Silver Theater" broadcast on the CBS radio network on February 1, 1942, with Bogart as star. "Philip Morris Playhouse" staged an adaptation