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 (1941 film) on such films as "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948), "Key Largo" (1948), "The African Queen" (1951), and "Beat the Devil" (1953). Bogart's convincing interpretation became the archetype for a private detective in the "film noir" genre, providing him near-instant acclaim and rounding and solidifying his onscreen persona. It was "The Maltese Falcon" that Ingrid Bergman watched over and over again while preparing for "Casablanca", in order to learn how to interact and act with Bogart. The role of the deceitful "femme fatale" Brigid O'Shaughnessy was originally offered to Geraldine Fitzgerald, but went to Mary Astor when Fitzgerald decided