The Maltese Falcon (1931)

Director: Roy Del Ruth                                 Writers: Maude Fulton & Brown Holmes
Music: Leo F. Forbstein                               Cinematography: William Rees
Starring: Ricardo Cortez, Bebe Daniels, Dudley Digges and Dwight Frye

After the incredible popularity and longevity of John Huston’s 1941 version of The Maltese Falcon, it’s fascinating to look at the original rendering of Dashiell Hammett’s novel. The 1931 Maltese Falcon has all the same characters and the same plot, and while it doesn’t have anywhere near the personality of the later version, it’s still an engaging mystery that does justice to the original story. Ricardo Cortez began acting in silent films and spent the vast majority of his career in low budget, B films. His Sam Spade is actually a pretty good interpretation, brash instead of Bogart’s cynic, and of course he benefits from Hammett’s original dialogue. Bebe Daniels, who made hundreds of films before the sound era began, is the femme fatale and I actually prefer her over Mary Astor.

The film begins with Daniels coming into the office of Cortez and his partner. This film establishes the affair that he’s having with his partner’s wife, something only hinted at in Huston’s film. Daniels hires Cortez and his partner, Walter Long, to follow someone and that night both Long and his quarry are killed. The police hound Cortez, but he knows he didn’t do it and that they can’t prove anything. He quickly learns that Daniels was lying to him when he discovers more people are interested in the “black bird” including Otto Matieson and Dudley Digges. Gradually they all begin to think that Cortez actually has the jewel-encrusted statuette and soon he’s being held up and slipped a mickey to get it. Dwight Frye has a tiny role as Digges’ muscle, and the guy Cortez wants to give to the cops as the murderer. The anti-climax with the falcon, and spade giving up Daniels, is almost as good as the remake.

Of course it’s impossible from our modern vantage point not to make comparisons with Huston’s iconic version of the story, but it really is a good film on its own. Otto Matieson does a terrific job as Joel Cairo, while Dudley Digges’ Caspar Gutman is a little too sleazy which makes the viewer appreciate even more what Sydney Greenstreet brought to the role. It’s also a beautiful looking film. The surviving print is crisp and clear, with rich, velvety black and white tones. The camerawork is admirable as well. Director Roy Del Ruth is probably best known for the many musicals he filmed during his career. But he and cameraman William Rees do a great job with depth of field and a fairly mobile camera that, while still deeply rooted in an early thirties sensibility, is quite effective. As with many films from this era, some kind of film score would have been a nice addition, but all we’re left with is some incidental source music.

The story would be remade once more before the definitive version. This film from 1936 was played more for comedy and was titled Satan Met a Lady, featuring Bette Davis and the great Warren William. A special edition of the 1941 film includes all three versions of The Maltese Falcon made by Warner Brothers. The cast of Huston’s version made a radio show of the film in 1946 for Squibb, but there was also a Lux Radio Theater production made three years earlier starring Edward G. Robinson. It seems an odd choice of casting but he does a great job and it’s a version worth seeking out. All in all, the original version of The Maltese Falcon is a satisfying early thirties mystery, and though it has nowhere near the vibrancy of the 1941 remake, it still comes highly recommended.