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,
A Date with the Falcon with the Falcon" would be the first of many sequels that featured other actresses in leading roles. The series also became a breeding ground for other talented studio contractees including director Edward Dmytryk and actors Barbara Hale and Jane Greer. The "Falcon" series was also the progenitor of a new genre - film noir. In his review of "A Date with the Falcon", Bosley Crowther wrote, in "The New York Times", that, a pattern existed in the "Falcon" series "... the pattern. Mr. Sanders, an idle man of the world, is just about to be married—this time to Wendy Barrie—when