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 Falcon Takes Over a craven bid to cash in on the popularity of the Warner Bros. hit, "The Maltese Falcon", turning Marlowe into a detective called the Falcon (played by George Sanders) and releasing the movie with the title, "The Falcon Takes Over". The Falcon Takes Over The Falcon Takes Over (also known as The Falcon Steps Out), is a 1942 black-and-white mystery film directed by Irving Reis. The B film was the third, following "The Gay Falcon" and "A Date with the Falcon" (1941), to star George Sanders as the character Gay Lawrence, a gentleman detective known by the sobriquet the Falcon.