Anyone catch the replay of the first version of "The Maltese
Falcon" on Turner Classic Movies? I stupidly was watching the
downer "Sid and Nancy" and missed the first half before
remembering the Falcon was on.
There were certainly many lines that were replayed in the
1941 John Houston remake. I imagine most of those originated
with the novel but it's been too many years for me to say for
sure. It's time I reread that one as well as some of the
Chandler novels to refresh myself.
Dudley Digges made a good Gutman although I still prefer
Greenstreet. I liked Dwight Frye's Wilmer. What a year 1931
was for old "Once Bitten" as it included nifty roles in
"Dracula" and "Frankenstein" as well as Wilmer. As his
authorized biography DWIGHT FRYE'S LAST LAUGH notes, the
pre-production code days of 1931 allowed the homosexual
relationship between Gutman and Wilmer to be more explicit.
Richard Cortez as Spade also conducted a strip search of Bebe
Daniels as Wonderly that even though most of it was off-stage
would never have passed the censors in 1941. Cortez's Spade
was fascinating in that his reading of familiar lines was so
different from Bogart's. The comparison increases my respect
for Bogart's performance and Houston's direction.
I rather enjoyed seeing the first adaptation although it
pales beside Houston's. The worst thing about the 1931
version is the awful anti-climatic last scene in the prison.
I think that may be the most anti-climatic scene in the
history of motion pictures.
Richard Moore
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