Humphrey Bogart didn’t always praise his own movies, so it means a lot that he described one hit as “practically a masterpiece“. These days, audiences have become accustomed to actors advertising every single one of their own movies as an entertaining and worthwhile experience. It seems as though it’s part of the job of a Hollywood star, but this means that their recommendations are little more than a salesperson’s patter. This certainly isn’t the case with Bogart, who was famous for his outspoken opinions about his own movies and those of other people working in Hollywood.
Bogart’s best movies demonstrate his talents as one of the greatest movie stars ever. However, he let his feelings be known about some of his lesser movies. He considered Swing Your Lady his worst film performance of all, and he described his only horror film, The Return of Doctor X, as a “stinking movie“. Bogart was at home in the film noir genre, playing gangsters or hard-nosed detectives, but he was forced to take on plenty of roles in his early years at Warner Bros. that he openly despised. Under these circumstances, it’s worth listening to when he decides to praise one of his own films.
Humphrey Bogart Considered The Maltese Falcon To Be A Masterpiece
The Detective Thriller Helped Catapult Him To Stardom
The Maltese Falcon is one of the movies often credited with launching Bogart’s career into the stratosphere, and he obviously had a fondness for it. In Jeffrey Meyers’ book Bogart: A Life in Hollywood, he quotes Bogart as saying “It is practically a masterpiece. I don’t have many things I’m proud of… but that’s one“. Critics agree with Bogart, giving The Maltese Falcon a 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It also received three Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and it was a box office success at the time.
There have been several Sam Spade movies and TV shows, but The Maltese Falcon ensured that the character would always be ᴀssociated with Humphrey Bogart. Dashiell Hammett’s detective is described as blonde, strong and mischievous, but Bogart’s snarky, morally gray take on the character was a hit. Sam Spade is one of Bogart’s greatest characters, making good use of his wry, downbeat persona. The 1941 version of The Maltese Falcon is a different prospect to the 1931 original, but it’s now seen as a definitive adaptation of Hammett’s novel.
Humphrey Bogart Is Right, The Maltese Falcon Is A Masterpiece
The Maltese Falcon Remains One Of Bogart’s Best Movies
Bogart was right to single The Maltese Falcon out for praise. Not only was it an important turning point in his career, but it remains one of his most compelling and enchanting movies. While its dialogue-heavy style won’t appeal to everyone, it’s a delight for film noir fans, with a dense, twisty narrative that keeps the audience guessing. The plot ties a murder investigation, a steamy romance and the hunt for a fabled treasure into a wonderfully complex tangle, with Bogart’s cunning detective left to try and make sense of it all before he ends up ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.
Like The Big Sleep or Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon gives Bogart a ton of brilliant dialogue. He has a quip for every occasion, whether a lover has fallen into his arms or a gun is being pointed in his face. It’s almost as if some of Sam Spade’s dry one-liners are intended as asides to the audience, since they rarely benefit him and only give the violent thugs around him one more excuse to wipe the smile off his face. The Maltese Falcon is an addicting mystery, but Bogart almost turns it into a comedy by sheer force of will.
Bogart isn’t the only actor who delivers a captivating performance in The Maltese Falcon. Peter Lorre plays one of his shifty criminal types, while Mary Astor gives a good account of herself as a femme fatale who can never be trusted. Sydney Greenstreet was nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role in The Maltese Falcon, even though it was his film debut at the age of 61. The cast is vital to keeping The Maltese Falcon moving. It has an outstanding script, but it could easily feel overly wordy and static if the actors weren’t so believable. Fortunately, The Maltese Falcon is still entertaining over 80 years later.
