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"The Maltese Falcon" (1941) |
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Written by Administrator
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Feb 02, 2009 at 12:18 PM |
 February 13th, Sam Spade is a partner in a private-eye firm who finds himself hounded by police when his partner is killed whilst tailing a man. The girl who asked him to follow the man turns out not to be who she says she is, and is really involved in something to do with the 'Maltese Falcon', a gold-encrusted life-sized statue of a falcon, the only one of its kind.
Two different Hollywood versions of Dashiell Hammett's hard-boiled "The Maltese Falcon" are scheduled to show on Feb. 13 and Feb. 21 in conjunction with the Peoria Public Library's "Big Read" program.
The 1941 classic will screen at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13. Filmmaker John Huston's first directing effort, the 100-minute gem also was the first big starring role for Humphrey Bogart, who'd been a reliable Warner Brothers actor for years. Co-starring Mary Astor, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet, it's a deft mix of double crosses and single-minded zeal, of complexity and simplicity. Illinois Central College film professor Craig Shurtleff will introduce the movie.
The following week, Peoria author and historian Norm Kelly will introduce a lesser-known but interesting 1931 version of "The Maltese Falcon" for a 7 p.m. show on Saturday, Feb. 21. The 80-minute motion picture stars Ricardo Cortez as Sam Spade and Bebe Daniels as femme fatale Ruth Wonderly, and features familiar 1930s actors including Una Merkel, Thelma Todd and Dwight Frye.
This version of "The Maltese Falcon" – sometimes broadcast under the title "Dangerous Female" – is packaged on a DVD along with a third version – "Satan Met A Lady," starring Bette Davis.
The annual Big Read program is designed to revitalize the role of literary reading in American popular culture, and "The Maltese Falcon" is an unusual choice.
"It is a detective novel – one of the best ever written," said Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. "It's also a brilliant literary work, as well as a thriller, a love story, and a dark, dry comedy. |
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Last Updated ( Mar 15, 2010 at 08:29 AM )
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