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 Falcon (1931 film) Bogart and Mary Astor was released. Once restrictions were lifted from showing this film sometime after 1966, the film was retitled "Dangerous Female" for U.S. television in order to avoid confusion with the 1941 remake, which had previously been the only version available by the original name. These films were followed by other adaptations and parodies, including the 1975 comedy-sequel, "The Black Bird", in which Sam Spade Jr., played by George Segal, inherits his father's agency. 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