Movie Description Hard-drinking private eye Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) sleuths the backyard of San Francisco in search of an elusive black bird statuette while evading the setups of three disparate miscreants: the duplicitous Brigid, the perfumed Mr. Cairo, and the scheming Fat Man. John Huston's brilliant directorial debut is aided by first-rate performances, excellent camera work, as well as the director's acute attention to detail while shooting the film. Based on the crime novel by Dashiell Hammett. Academy Award Nominations: 3, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Sydney Greenstreet), and Best Screenplay. Previous versions of the story were filmed in 1931 (a.k.a. DANGEROUS FEMALE) and in 1936 (as SATAN MET A LADY, starring Bette Davis), and poorly redone in 1975 (THE BLACK BIRD).
| Credits | | Producer: | Henry Blanke | | Cast: | Barton MacLane, Charles Drake, Gladys George, Jerome Cowan, Murray Alper, Robert Homans, Ward Bond, William Hopper |
| Details | | Edition: | 3-Disc Special Edition |
Editorial Reviews "...The real spark in this suavest of mysteries is provided by its eccentric collection of villains..." -- 5 out of 5 stars Total Film - p.84 - John Wrathall (03/01/2000)
"...Bogart was always in control....The movie is refreshingly cynical..." Los Angeles Times - Mark Chalon Smith (09/03/1998)
"...Huston's strategy is crafty....It's all style. It isn't violence or chases, but the way the actors look, move, speak and embody their characters..." Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (05/13/2001)
"...FALCON is the archetypal American detective yarn..." Premiere - Premiere Staff (12/01/2003)
"Boldly manipulative light and shadow, utilizing drastic camera angles, and introducing Bogart's Sam Spade, the first-time director's detective classic defines film noir." -- Grade: A Entertainment Weekly - Jeff Labrecque (10/06/2006)
4 stars out of 5 -- "[The film] remains enjoyable for its razor-sharp dialogue....A great example of vintage studio alchemy." Uncut - Geoff Andrew (03/01/2007)
"There is a spareness of style here that puts many of today's bloated thrillers to shame." Sight and Sound - Matthew Leyland (03/01/2007)
5 stars out of 5 -- "This is pure essence of film noir -- essentially starting the genre..." Ultimate DVD - Jan Vincent-Rudzki (03/01/2007)
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