The Maltese Falcon
1941
Drama, Crime
1h 40m
Sam Spade, a private detective, gets involved in a murderous hunt for a valuable statuette (imdb)
Directed by:
Your probable score
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The Maltese Falcon
1941
Drama, Crime
1h 40m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 70.87% from 4638 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews
(4638)
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Rated 24 Dec 2009
100
99th
Great screenplay, great direction, and a perfect cast in this greatest of all private eye films. Life here is nothing but one long poker game. Everybody is bluffing, and nobody ever tells the whole truth.
Rated 24 Dec 2009
Rated 18 Jun 2007
8
93rd
One of the granddaddies of noir, and thanks to John Hutson's high-suspense direction and the dark and brooding atmosphere I strongly prefer it to The Big Sleep. The only weakness is Mary Astor, who isn't nearly as hot as I pictured Brigid from the book. Also, we have some cool scenes where the unarmed hero disarms his gun-wielding opponent, clearly ripped off from Brett Ratner's Rush Hour.
Rated 18 Jun 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
95
99th
Every moment is joyous, in this greatest of all detective films. It is an incredibly self-assured directorial debut: Huston said that he felt “an immediate mastery”, not “in the sense that I was an expert or good director but in the sense of its being right and therefore true for me”. He goes on: “I felt myself at one with the Sam Spade character, and [Dashiell] Hammett’s mentality and philosophy were quite congenial to me. The story was a dramatization of myself, of how I felt about things.”
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 20 Oct 2010
96
99th
The first full-fledged noir. With an off-the-charts incredible cast it, first and foremost, delivered on the attitude developed in Hammett's hardboiled fiction. It struck the right distrustful mood and established the detective role as that of a mediator between the corrupt underworld and the just as rotten men of the law, as well as his conflict between staying alive by his code or getting involved with a femme fatale. Rarely, if ever, have all these conventions been put to better use since.
Rated 20 Oct 2010
Rated 14 Aug 2007
80
61st
Great cast and great story, but it left me sort of... empty. I'm glad I've seen it, anyway.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
84
81st
Not particularly impressed with Huston's directing. Like Sierra Madre, I found it adequate but unremarkable. His screenplay (and Hammett's story) are excellent, but to me the real attraction here is all the talent onscreen. Bogie is a joy to observe, as always, and the supporting cast is top-notch as well. Mary Astor seems miscast, but you can't complain about the performances from Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Elisha Cook, and Lee Patrick.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 10 Jun 2008
85
92nd
Tough guy heterosexual Bogart has affairs with partner's wife and the client, humiliates and one-ups a series of homosexuals and women, and turns trying to keep your false teeth in place into the defining gesture of aggressive masculinity. Awesome. Incidentally, 'gunsel' colloquially meant 'prison bitch', in Yiddish slang. Only subsequently did it come to mean 'gun-wielding criminal', because of this very movie.
Rated 10 Jun 2008
Rated 22 Dec 2008
8
78th
Other noir films such as Double Indemnity, Shadow of a Doubt,... were better than this one. It felt a bit juvenile, lacking some nice chemistry between the main characters and filled with performances that didn't really thrill me. It's still a lovely and stylish film with an interesting plot, and one of the better directorial debuts I've seen, but I wish I liked it more.
Rated 22 Dec 2008
Rated 27 Mar 2007
100
98th
The standard by which all other film noirs and mysteries must follow. Wonderful characters, a sparkling script, a believably twisty plot and a man named Humphrey Bogart makes this film worth watching again and again.
Rated 27 Mar 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
90
97th
Bogart is smooth as silk in this polished and intriguing noir. Full of wonderful characters, sharp dialogue, and an effective dark and brooding atmosphere.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 19 Sep 2007
3
61st
A bit campy and claustrophobic, but very important in the history of film noir. It's not even the first noir (that would be Stranger on the Third Floor), but it went a long way to establish the conventions of the "genre."
Rated 19 Sep 2007
Rated 11 Feb 2008
92
98th
They don't make movies like this anymore.
Rated 11 Feb 2008
Rated 14 Nov 2009
7
68th
This is one of the reasons why Bogart is a legend. Elisha Cook Jr. could not keep up with Bogie at all and just looked foolish trying to act with the legend. Solid movie, a bit overrated, but still good. I'm glad I saw it. Also, Mary Astor is a dead ringer for Julianne Moore.
Rated 14 Nov 2009
Rated 13 Dec 2006
91
96th
I'm simply loving it ... one of the best and stylishst film adaptations of a hard boiled novel.
Rated 13 Dec 2006
Rated 25 Feb 2007
85
83rd
Classy and clever. Humphrey Bogart is great. One of the first film noirs I ever saw and what a way to start. A classic!
Rated 25 Feb 2007
Rated 27 Feb 2007
89
95th
Theres a reason it's considered one of the best Noir films.
Rated 27 Feb 2007
Rated 01 Mar 2007
4
70th
One of the most iconic movies in American history, mainly for Bogart, but the supporting characters - Lorre, Greenstreet, etc. - are fantastic as well. This is the movie that basically invented film noir, and it stands up on its own as an excellent movie, rather than only a historical artifact.
Rated 01 Mar 2007
Rated 19 Mar 2007
93
90th
The Maltese Falcon is one of those achievements in film history that can not be ignored. It's certainly not the best film noir movie but it's the one that is often credited with being the catalyst to spark the new wave of noir. It's an excellent tale directed by John Huston and led by the iconic Humphrey Bogart. It's one that shouldn't be missed.
Rated 19 Mar 2007
Rated 17 Apr 2008
96
85th
Great story, absolute gem of the Noir genre, and I've got nothing but praise for it, but it does lack that certain edge which really puts other Noir fare like The Third Man over the top for me.
Rated 17 Apr 2008
Rated 01 May 2008
30
7th
It feels like a dull crime-novel in an uninspired film-costume.
Rated 01 May 2008
Rated 09 May 2008
95
96th
I think my favourite performance here is Greenstreet's. I can't get enough of him as Gutman. He's wonderful with the part.
Rated 09 May 2008
Rated 10 Jun 2008
7
67th
I'm not contesting that this is a good film - I enjoyed it - I just wasn't completely satisfied with it. Sure, the cast and story are both great, but in the end, it left me sort of empty.
Rated 10 Jun 2008
Rated 23 Dec 2008
80
63rd
It's a good film. I think it's definitely hyped because of Bogart and Huston, but good acting and directing, fine story and everything. It just never really came to me as 'brilliant'.
Rated 23 Dec 2008
Rated 02 Jan 2009
91
82nd
A smoothly handled and desolately classical film that's a fellow pioneer of the now crumbling, almost entirely uninhabited Noir genre. Bogart puts the rest of the cast to shame with one of the most shining and brightest performances ever to be witnessed by citizens around the world. Who can resist his snappy one-liners? He's an absolute riot and fan favorite! In Huston's directorial debut, he truly embraces his full potential, making for a masterpiece to be remembered until all is gone.
Rated 02 Jan 2009
Rated 16 Jul 2009
87
85th
Some of the wittiest and slipperiest dialogue you'll ever hear. Bogie smokes and shmuzes his way to the answer of this riddle, and thankfully, brings the rest of us along for the ride. While I wanted to kill Astor's 'femme fatale' for being so predictable (you can see through her like glass), she acted it well, while the rest of the cast and plot is fantastic.
Rated 16 Jul 2009
Rated 26 Jan 2012
90
95th
Bogart is such a badass in this one, but he's a badass who is clearly having a lot of fun, which in turn makes it fun for the viewer. I mean, the guy learns that his partner just got murdered and the first thing he does is order a sign-writer to scrub his partner's name off the window. The second thing he does is try to get off with the partner's widow. That's cold as fuck, but kind of funny at the same time. Great cast, great script, great pacing, great film.
Rated 26 Jan 2012
Rated 09 Apr 2012
100
98th
Not so great. All they did was string together a bunch of awesome famous quotes...oh wait...
Rated 09 Apr 2012
Rated 14 Jul 2014
75
67th
MacGuffin: The Movie
Rated 14 Jul 2014
Rated 25 Jul 2015
60
69th
Some fun to be had for sure. But a couple of things I found strange, about Spade's 1.) Indifference to his partner's demise (he reacted the same as if he'd been told it might rain in tomorrow) and 2.) The lack of any hint that Spade was falling for the dame at all (or vice versea) until the very final scene. Who to blame? The writers? Director? Bogart? I don't know, maybe there were a few steamy scenes on the cutting room floor? This was good. Casablanca is miles better. (June 2023)
Rated 25 Jul 2015
Rated 23 Feb 2016
75
74th
At times, it seems more contrived than archetypal. That said, Gutman is a great villain, with an entitled solipsism so festering that (ironically) everything but the MacGuffin registers as a joke to him. Its greatest feat is that the moral code of its protagonist is only made clear at the very end: a professional loyalty engendered in the simple acknowledgement that a detective who can't figure who killed his partner can't possibly be very good at his job, a trust based in masculine competence.
Rated 23 Feb 2016
Rated 03 Apr 2017
3
36th
i recently read 'red harvest', in which the convoluted plot flowed dreamlike along the subtle emotional undercurrents of its narrator's hard-boiled prose. this film needed more of that to earn its climactic speech, but the bulk is a deliciously silly lark (not helped by the score), somewhat inert and drily expository but carried by a killer cast and witty script. bogart's vaguely disturbing spade sowed the seeds for a screen persona that would reach a horrifying zenith with IN A LONELY PLACE.
Rated 03 Apr 2017
Rated 30 Nov 2006
94
84th
One of the best Noir detective stories. Always a pleasure to see Bogart explaining it all to us. Stylish film, always fun to watch.
Rated 30 Nov 2006
Rated 12 Feb 2007
85
68th
Not Bogy's best by any means but a film that really tells a good story and keeps interest very well.
Rated 12 Feb 2007
Rated 04 Mar 2007
100
98th
Its the stuff that 100 ratings are made of GET IT AHAHAHAHHA
Rated 04 Mar 2007
Rated 12 May 2007
87
93rd
A true classic. Humphrey Bogart makes a great performance in this mystery thriller.
Rated 12 May 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
90
95th
Classic gumshoe flick, one of Bogey's best. It's got fantastic dialog and a superb supporting cast.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
90
88th
The kind of required viewing if you're in love with films. Humphrey Bogart is a tough nut in this Noir picture about a lot of shady people looking for an expensive paperweight.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
95
97th
How to comment on a classic? Everything about this film is absolutely great, starting from Bogey's unmatched charisma and appearance, to the intruiging plot.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
87
94th
Great old movie, no matter if you're young or old, it's utterly enjoyable, and worth watching if you want to see the original detective noir story.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
96
93rd
C'mon... It's Sam Spade. 'Nuff said.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 22 Aug 2007
95
95th
I know everyone thinks its cliche, but it started the cliches.
Rated 22 Aug 2007
Rated 15 Sep 2007
75
79th
Enjoyable film noir. The cast is good and the dialogue is strong.
Rated 15 Sep 2007
Rated 20 Oct 2007
100
94th
The standard for film noir of the 40s, with a iconic cast that conducts acting class on screen (Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Elisha Cook Jr.). The film's climatic scene, where Bogart tells Astor that she is "going to take the fall" is the "stuff that dreams are made of..." Brilliant.
Rated 20 Oct 2007
Rated 23 Nov 2007
89
88th
Fantastic film noir. Excellent acting by all characters. Bogey is one of the greatest actors in the history of film. A terrific mystery film. Hasn't aged one bit.
Rated 23 Nov 2007
Rated 01 Jan 2008
90
90th
One of the relatively few film noir movies I've seen, but a classic.
Rated 01 Jan 2008
Rated 19 Jan 2008
96
97th
Exellent story by Dashiell Hammet. Great actors at their best Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Elisha Cook Jr.
Rated 19 Jan 2008
Rated 29 Feb 2008
65
65th
I guess this is the quintessential film noir, but nowhere near the best. To really take it in you have to discount that every element of it has since been done to death. In and of itself it's a reliable cinematic translation of the hard-boiled detective novel - clever, dense with wisecracks, but not very insightful or authentic. It's engaging enough but I must say I'm not crazy about movies that are this chatty. If people talked so fast and so much in reality we would all die of headaches.
Rated 29 Feb 2008
Rated 29 Mar 2008
85
77th
A generally excellent film, but I felt the romance aspect let it down slightly. Bogart's interactions with Astor have no snap or crackle, at least until the final scene.
Rated 29 Mar 2008
Rated 04 May 2008
7
80th
Very entertaining from start to finish. Incredible screenplay and dialogue, backed with great talent. Still, its not very memorable.
Rated 04 May 2008
Rated 11 May 2008
84
83rd
Bogart is great as usual and Huston keeps the story going with solid pacing. A noir classic for a reason.
Rated 11 May 2008
Rated 11 Jul 2008
100
90th
A thrilling noir mystery involving a lot of cool guys in awesome suits and hats spouting snappy one-liners and punching each other on the neck. Really cool, really awesome and really enjoyable. Keeps you wondering right up until the end. Classic.
Rated 11 Jul 2008
Rated 04 Oct 2008
93
95th
Awesome. Really enough said. Film noirs basically start here.
Rated 04 Oct 2008
Rated 24 Dec 2008
98
99th
Brilliant film, with Bogart cranking out his lines in hyper speed. The whole cast is brilliant, and this is one of the films every film buff must see!
Rated 24 Dec 2008
Rated 03 Mar 2009
94
89th
Terrific, entertaining, funny in spots. All you could ask for. Recommended.
Rated 03 Mar 2009
Rated 11 May 2009
8
93rd
I don't really have any quibbles with this movie whatsoever. Perfect lead in Humphrey Bogart, great supporting turns by Lorre and Greenstreet, twisty story and a killer ending. The cinematography is beautiful, too.
Rated 11 May 2009
Rated 03 Jun 2009
90
90th
You can't not love Bogart in this. He is a man who is In Control in pretty much every scene in the movie, and that it just great to watch.
Rated 03 Jun 2009
Rated 23 Jul 2009
94
93rd
A perfect movie, marred only by the casting of the female lead. If it had been Bacall, this would be superior to The Big Sleep.
Rated 23 Jul 2009
Rated 12 Jun 2010
71
49th
It has the style, the lines and the great performance from Bogart to keep me entertained, but on its own it wasn't as good as it's reputation. Nevertheless, it's worth giving it a try.
Rated 12 Jun 2010
Rated 10 Feb 2011
85
94th
This is one my favourite film's. The acting script and pacing of this film is spot on.The last scene between Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) and Brigid O'Shaughnessy (Mary Astor) is fantastic.
Rated 10 Feb 2011
Rated 23 Mar 2011
100
95th
Excellent, fast-paced film noir with outstanding performances, great dialogue, and concentrated attention to details. Huston's first film and Greenstreet's talky debut. First of several films starring Bogart and Astor.
Rated 23 Mar 2011
Rated 21 May 2011
100
99th
Bogart is the man, he'll outwit you and charm your girl. It's really hard not to get totally swept up in it, from the dialogue to the superb acting, to the visuals. It just does everything so well. I don't really see it as predictable either, considering the time it was made. It's all about context... 70 years ago things would have been different, so I judge the movie on how it handles itself. Not to mention, everything is so good you just get involved. Predictable be damned.
Rated 21 May 2011
Rated 04 Jul 2011
70
50th
It's very good, but it's perhaps a little too over-praised. Quite a bit of time is spent explaining the plot for the audience's benefit. Furthermore, the love story is stupid and contrived. That's what I didn't like. What I did like is how charming, confident, and funny Bogart is. It occurred to me watching this that I hadn't really seen him laugh before. His character clearly thinks that he's the smartest man in the room, which is fun to watch, because he is.
Rated 04 Jul 2011
Rated 07 Oct 2011
93
91st
This film is incredible. The cast, the tight and unpredictable script, the setting, Huston's direction; they're all amazing.
Rated 07 Oct 2011
Rated 20 Jul 2012
95
93rd
The rapport between Bogart and Lorre is worth the proverbial ticket price alone, but every scene of The Maltese Falcon exudes excellence. One of the crowning cinematic achievements of the forties, for sure.
Rated 20 Jul 2012
Rated 02 May 2014
75
81st
Its innovation is still palpable despite being diluted by years of parody and cliche. All of the supporting actors are excellent -- Lorre in particular -- but I found the "romance" completely unconvincing. Not sure why the femme fatale was costumed like a nun, but sure. I'm also not entirely sure why so much attention was devoted to the Macguffin (did we really need a whole monologue?) but these are small gripes on a fine film with a strong ending.
Rated 02 May 2014
Rated 18 Jan 2016
79
77th
Decently shot and directed early noir with a fast paced narrative, witty dialogue and enjoyably twisty plot. A couple of very finely crafted scenes and all of the actors are great. Lorre especially is a magnetic presence. It has a lighter touch than I expected and almost works as a cynical comedy in many ways. Very solid movie but didn't really blow my mind in a way I perhaps expected.
Rated 18 Jan 2016
Rated 23 Jun 2020
65
64th
All the elements necessary for a great noir film are here, but for some reason (at least for me) they do not fall into place. Perhaps because at times it descends into caricature, particularly as regards the villains.
Rated 23 Jun 2020
Rated 16 Apr 2023
73
88th
The Maltese Falcon has a well-acted, intricate plot and good dialogue but the pace is relatively sluggish by modern standards despite the twists-and-turns. Lorre actually saves the film for me, adding a level of campy light-heartedness in an otherwise shady noire. The cinematography is interesting more than impressive; mostly well-shot static cams, but the scene in the hotel room reminded me of Indiana Jones the the Last Crusade. Overall, a little dated but it stands the test of time.
Rated 16 Apr 2023
Rated 26 Sep 2023
91
78th
Surprisingly brilliant twists and turns of the story and the characters, very good humour, and a more or less interesting female character. A re-watch with subtitles will be necessary though.
Rated 26 Sep 2023
Rated 24 Feb 2007
70
82nd
Classic.
Rated 24 Feb 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
94
93rd
O falcão maltês / Relíquia macabra, filme de estreia do grande John Huston, tinha sua première em New York há exatos 80 anos, mudando para sempre o jeito de fazer filme policial inaugurando o molde do gênero noir.. Coleção Folha Clássicos do Cinema.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
95
80th
great film, Bogart rules.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
75
51st
I realize people love(d) it, but it just doesn't work for me. The thing is so convuluted that even after it's been explained, I still don't get it.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
90
82nd
Been a while since I've seen it, but I remember being sucked into its world.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 14 Aug 2007
5
93rd
Seminal work in the classic noir cycle, debut of an important director, and among the defining roles of Bogart's career. That's quite a loaded reputation, to which the film lives up. It's one of the best non-Hitchcock MacGuffins, wherein the physical artifact is less important than the search for a greater truth, which is: moneyed gluttons will spare no moral expense in the pursuit of more wealth. So many poker faces, such depths of deceit: it's all a little convoluted, but quite a bit of fun.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
Rated 25 Sep 2007
75
37th
Another Bogart classic noir.
Rated 25 Sep 2007
Rated 10 Dec 2007
58
60th
I've seen this a couple of times, and I'm always really enjoying it during the first half, but then I lose interest. Maybe it's too heavy on dialogue, or maybe the characters are too unsympathetic. Bogie is very good and I appreciated how cool - and cold - the character is, and how influential the film has been, but IMO Bogie and Huston have better films, and there's plenty of better Film Noir out there.
Rated 10 Dec 2007
Rated 11 Jan 2008
80
60th
Good mystery with a story that still stands up today. Some strong acting and characterisation with just enough suspense to keep the story rattling along.
Rated 11 Jan 2008
Rated 01 Mar 2008
91
85th
# 173
Rated 01 Mar 2008
Rated 31 Mar 2008
72
39th
Meh. I like dialogue, but this script is WAY too fast for my feeble mind. Another 10-20 minutes of exposition would have been great. So the movie suffers from a little dating. That girl's pretty cute. Bogart's in his element, and it's good to see him team up with his Casablanca buddy (a bad guy I think) before that film was made. Not really a mystery that involves the audience.
Rated 31 Mar 2008
Rated 31 Mar 2008
90
97th
In my top 25.
Rated 31 Mar 2008
Rated 05 Apr 2008
86
90th
This is a classic. Humphrey Bogart is great.
Rated 05 Apr 2008
Rated 15 Apr 2008
86
87th
Classic noir, this is unbelievably bleak for a studio picture by today's standards, and even more so back in 1941. That's mostly why I love it, see? That and the cold, snappy dialog that Bogie drops with ease. It's Huston's directorial debut, and a more involving plot is all it's missing. Not that it matters: it whisks its rich characters from one tight-lipped dialog-driven scene to the next so tightly, the plot is irrelevant. Bogart begins here what he would later perfect in Casablanca.
Rated 15 Apr 2008
Rated 17 Jul 2008
99
96th
Every single flavor of awesome injected straight into your face. The first noir and still one of the absolute finest of its genre and indeed one of the better american movies ever made.
Rated 17 Jul 2008
Rated 03 Oct 2008
61
16th
That one hour and forty felt more like three.
Rated 03 Oct 2008
Rated 04 Oct 2008
73
44th
The first hour is pretty slow, there is no real detective work in this movie either, all Bogey does essentially is talk to people and take their guns. I can't say that any of the acting done in this movie is really that good at all, they all seem very unrealistic and I can't relate to any of the characters. I do have to give kudos to the story though, it was a good story, but I wouldn't expect less from a classic hardboiled mystery.
Rated 04 Oct 2008
Rated 18 Oct 2008
89
93rd
Simply great! Really good work by Huston and Bogart.
Rated 18 Oct 2008
Rated 19 Dec 2008
92
84th
161
Rated 19 Dec 2008
Rated 06 Feb 2009
83
87th
Slick and at times funny dialogue. With good tension and a solid script.
Rated 06 Feb 2009
Rated 01 Mar 2009
90
33rd
Great script, witty dialogues and remarkable Humphrey Bogart are strong points of this movie. Also Peter Lorre is very interesting. His acting is most notable in the scene in which he breaks and starts crying and weeping upon finding out that the hawk is counterfeited.
Rated 01 Mar 2009
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