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 Maltese Bestiary chose to publish the book in English instead of Maltese to reach a wider audience as he believed that non-Maltese people and non-Maltese speakers would still have an interest in Maltese folklore. He also hoped to reach a wider audience to help Maltese folklore become more widely known. Much of his research was done by speaking to older relatives and by reading older books. Mifsud has cited Fr. Emanuel Magri as being a major source of his research. The book won Il-Kunsill-Nazzjonali Tal-Ktieb (Maltese National Book Council)'s prize for Best Book Production in 2015. The Maltese Bestiary The Maltese Bestiary: