Gonzo version of THE MALTESE FALCON plays fast and loose with the book in some ways and stays faithful in others. Rather entertaining, if completely misguided.

A somewhat enjoyable and clever version of The Maltese Falcon. Instead of adapting it into one the hard-boiled films that Huston and Ruth produced, Dieterle decided to make it into a light comedy, changing names and appropriate details for comedic effect (for example, the Gutman character becomes a woman with a fat spoiled nephew, and "Cairo" comes back to apologize for destroying "Spade's" room) and changing hard-boiled dialogue into humorous repartee. It's a reasonably funny noir send-up.