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
Maltese Falcon Society the Japanese chapter of The Maltese Falcon Society was still active. In 2006, the Japanese chapter produced a large-format softcover book in Japanese, "The Complete Maltese Falcon Flyer 1982-2006", which includes the first 250 issues of the newsletter with new introductions by Don Herron and other writers. In 2009, with about 90 members, the Japanese chapter continues to hold meetings in Tokyo and Osaka, to produce "The Maltese Falcon Flyer", and to present the Falcon Award. The Falcon Award is awarded by the members of the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan for the best hardboiled novel published in Japan. The