“The Maltese Falcon” is a brilliant classic film noir about a detective who takes a case brought to him by a very secretive woman and got tangled in a crime web. The film is directed by John Huston, and the main characters are played by Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George and Peter Lorre. The story was written by Dashiell Hammett, and the screenplay also by John Huston. The film was released on October 3rd, 1941. The locations for the movie include San Francisco, California, USA. Maltese Falcon is about a San Francisco detective, Sam Spade and his female client, Miss Wonderly. The Maltese Falcon is an intriguing movie that involves murder, crime investigation, mystery, and suspense. It is a film that involves a detective who …show more content…
The notable futures of the settings include the little lighting, dark corners, and shadows. The setting emphasizes the use of shadows and darkness in the movie. Not forgetting the important feature I noticed while watching the film. The use of smoke or smoking cigarette by the characters. The use of smoke can be directly overlooked as a hobby, but observing the characters, the smoking scenes surrounds a mystery or puzzle. A perfect example would be a scene where Sam questioned Miss Wonderly. She decided not to answer but rather smoke a cigarette. Another important feature of this film is the Femme Fatale. The Femme Fatale in this movie is the Sam’s Spade female client. Femme Fatale is believed to be dangerous, beautiful and double-dealing. In the film Maltese Falcon, the Miss Wonderly is cunning and deceptive, and she always creates problem for Sam. When Miss Wonderly was introduced into the movie, she had a wonderful costume compared to the secretary. Miss Wonderly was in high heels, furs, gloves, and hats. Not forgetting the Male costume, Sam, and other male characters can be seen wearing suit and hat. An important fact is they all carry guns and those who did not carry have the ability to use one when the situation
Dashiell Hammett’s novel, The Maltese Falcon, is a hard-boiled detective novel; a subset of the mystery genre. Before the appearance of this sub-genre, mystery novels were mainly dominated by unrealistic cases and detectives like Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. As Malmgren states, “The murders in these stories are implausibly motivated, the plots completely artificial, and the characters pathetically two-dimensional, puppets and cardboard lovers, and paper mache villains and detectives of exquisite and impossible gentility.” (Malmgren, 371) On the other hand, Hammett tried to write realistic mystery fiction – the “hard-boiled” genre. In the Maltese Falcon, Hammett uses language, symbolism, and characterization to bring the story closer to reality.
The Pacific coast port city of San Francisco, California provides a distinctively mysterious backdrop in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon. Unlike many other detective stories that are anchored in well-known metropolises such as Los Angeles or New York City, Hammett opted to place the events of his text in the lesser-known, yet similarly exotic cultural confines of San Francisco. Hammett used his own intricate knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area - coupled with details collected during a stint as a detective for the now defunct Pinkerton Agency - to craft a distinctive brand of detective fiction that thrived on such an original setting (Paul 93). By examining the setting of 1920’s San Francisco in The Maltese Falcon, it becomes apparent that one of Hammett’s literary strengths was his exceptional ability to intertwine non-fictional places with a fictional plot and characters in order to produce a logical and exceedingly believable detective mystery.
	The Count of Monte Cristo, written by Alexandre Dumas, tells the story of a man, Edmond Dantes, a sailor who goes through being betrayed by his enemies and thrown in to a dark prison cell to planning revenge on his enemies. His behavior and personality changes after spending 14 years in jail for a crime that he didn’t commit. Edmond Dantes was thrown in jail ,after being framed by his enemies, accused of committing treason and being a bonapartist. The story takes place during the Napoleonic Era while the usurper, Napoleon has escaped to his place of exile, the Isle of Elba, located in the Mediterranean Sea.
PORFIRIO, R., SILVER, A., & URSINI, J. (2001). Film noir reader 3: interviews with filmmakers of the classic noir period. New York, Limelight.
In traditional hard-boiled American detective fiction there are many themes that seem to transcend all novels. One of those themes is the concept of power and the role in which it plays in the interaction and development of characters. More specifically, the role of women within the novels can be scrutinized to better understand the power they hold over the other characters, their own lives and the direction of the story. Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon exemplifies the varying ways in which female characters attempt to obtain and utilize power in hopes of influencing, manipulating and succeeding.
The book I read and am doing a presentation on is called Saving Private Ryan by Max Allen Collins. Saving Private Ryan is about the heroism of soldiers of soldiers and their duty during wartime, World War Two. This story is to remind you, the reader, that war is nothing but hell, orders on the front line can be brutal, and absurd. The story is set in Europe of 1944, as the Nazis are still advancing and taking over cities and countries. On June 6th, 1944, Captain Miller, and hundreds of other men leave Europe to accomplish one mission, Operation Overlord, also known as D-Day. When they get there, there will be a new task awaiting them.
The genre film noir has some classical elements that make these films easily identifiable. These elements are displayed in the prototypical film noir, Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity. These elements include being filmed in black and white, a morally ambiguous protagonist, and a prominent darkness. However, the most striking part of a film noir is the femme fatale, a woman who craves independence through sexual and economic liberation. In his film, Chinatown, Roman Polanski uses many of the classic elements of a film noir, however he twists many of them to reflect the time period. This is particularly evident in his depiction of his “femme fatale,” Evelyn Mulwray.
V for Vendetta is a rather graphic novel written by Alan Moore in the late 1980's. The novel takes place in an alternate-reality; one in which Britain is ruled by a fascist government rules over Britain, and the rest of the world is believed to be in ruins due to nuclear war. The main protagonist/villain, depending on your viewpoint, of the story is a man simply called "V", He is a mysterious man and a self-described anarchist who survived a government experiment of a compound called Batch 5. Although his face is never shown in the book, V still draws the reader’s attention by being such a dark presence.
The film stays in line with classic noir in many ways. The usage of dark sets and high contrast lighting, which creates heavy shadows on the actors faces, makes the movie feel like it all happens at night and in dark alley ways. The story focuses on the inhumane parts of human nature. Each of the main characters experiences some kind of tragedy. For Vargas his tragedy was in dealing with Quinlin who has set out to frame him and his wife. For Quinlin his entire life represented a man consumed with darkness who lives his life with a “Touch of Evil.” Menzies was a hopeful man who looked up to Quinlin but was let down. For the viewer, film noir represents truth, even if it is not a truth that all people would like to hear.
Film noir is not a genre of film but rather defined through its subtle qualities of tone and mood. Noir was also a specific period in Film history, mostly sprouting in the 40’s. Numerous amount of films helped contribute to the popularity of film noir, but there were some that innovated the way we portrayed it. Maltese Falcon was one of the pioneers of film noir that influenced many more noir type of films such as The Devil in a Blue Dress. With plots being different but yet a similar feel towards the movie. Similar character roles are very common in noir, like in the Maltese Falcon and The Devil in a Blue Dress. Both films use very alike characters that help give it a better noir feeling. In the Maltese Falcon, Sam spade is the main character but unlike regular plots. Sam is an anti-hero that works
The Maltese Falcon and Sherlock, A Study In Pink are indeed very different detective films. The Maltese Falcon came out in 1941 in the classic black and white. The use of rotary phones, elaborate fur scarves, classic fedoras and oversized trench coats dated the film to the fullest degree. Sherlock a BBC series that commenced airing in 2010, made use of special effects, it truly was a modernized film. In contrast to the rotary phones, the characters in Sherlock utilized cellphones and had the internet to aid in solving mysteries. In addition, to the obvious visible differences between the films, the characters, Sam Spade and Sherlock Holmes had many distinctive qualities.
I just had a wonderful chance to see the movie Maltese falcon, and would like to give my opinion on it. the movie is about the illusive Maltese falcon, a rare statue made for the king of Spain in 1500’s. the falcon had been made of gold and covered with ruby’s and gems of immeasurable wealth. The movie is a great movie even in today’s times, And the acting is superb.
The movie exhibited the time in which it was made. The fifties were a time of glamour, prosperity, and entertainment; people coveted the highest standard of living. The movie presented these similarities in the grandeur of the wardrobe and jewelry that the characters wore. Smoking and drinking was a customary practice in the fifties and in the movie. Men were not the only ones drinking, for women indulged in these habits
While there are many different ways to classify a Neo-noir film, Roman Polanski’s, Chinatown captures many. The 1974 movie consists of many of these elements, including both thematic and stylistic devices. One of the main themes of neo-noir film that is constant throughout the film is the deceptive plot that questions the viewers’ ideas and perceptions of what is actually happening in the film. Every scene of Chinatown leads to a twist or another turn that challenges the practicability of the film’s reality. All of the never-ending surprises and revelations lead up to the significant themes the movie is trying to convey in the conclusion of the film.
The themes of the film are timeless, but the historical period in which the film takes place is also very significant. As the movie begins, the family?s youngest son has just recently returned from World War II. As the movie progresses, parallels are made between the Corleone family and the rest of the world. The war between the rival families is much like the conflicts between nations during World War II. After Don Corleone is shot in the streets, it?s a wake up cal...