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) model a 10-pound gold replica displayed at the 69th Academy Awards. In early 1996, Ronald Winston announced that he sold the prop to a mystery buyer for an undisclosed offer "I couldn't refuse." A 45-pound metal prop known to have appeared in the film was sold at auction on November 25, 2013, for over $4 million, including the buyer's fee. On September 24, 2010, Guernsey's auctioned a 4 lb, 5.4 oz resin falcon for $305,000 to a group of buyers that included actor Leonardo DiCaprio and billionaire Stewart Rahr, owner of pharmaceutical and generics wholesaler Kinray. The prop was discovered