It will soon be the 68th anniversary of the first truly great Hollywood 'film noir,' the glorious, 'The Maltese Falcon.' A peerless ensemble cast bring to life the characters made famous in Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel, but it is Humphrey Bogart - excelling as the archetypal anti-hero, Sam Spade, in John Huston's directorial debut, who drives the film, who gives it its wonderful energy, delivering a performance which was to cement his reputation as one of Hollywood's greatest actors and leading men. Hammett's novel had been filmed twice before - most controversially in 1931, pre the Hays production code. But, it is Huston's elegiac version that has lasted and; thanks to the inspired casting, the deftly handled direction and the presence of the most celebrated Macguffin in film history, the film will remain one of the most revered movies of the golden era.
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