Bill Denton wrote:
> Here's something to look forward to: this year
Warner Brothers will be
> reissuing the 1941 movie version of THE MALTESE
FALCON on DVD and
> including the two earlier adaptations: THE MALTESE
FALCON (1931, with
> Ricardo Cortez as Spade) and SATAN MET A LADY (1936,
with Bette Davis as
> the Brigid character). I saw SATAN MET A LADY years
ago but I've never
> seen the first version.
I saw them both on the same day on TCM a couple of years
back. They both stank in completely different ways. The
second one took way too many liberties with the plot, and the
Spade character was this jaunty, cowboy hat wearing clown.
Also, Davis was all wrong for the Brigid character, played it
brassy all the way, which, as anyone who has read the book
knows, is not how Brigid gets men to do her dirty work for
her. I don't recall much about the Ricardo Cortez version
plot-wise, because I was utterly distracted by the wooden
acting of the less-than-stellar cast. On the other hand, it
is entertaining to watch them, knowing what the story was in
store for once Huston got his hands on in, first as
screenwriter, then as director. Can it be possible that even
at this late date, we underestimate the ability of John
Huston as a director? Watch those three films together, and
see how he frames a shot, the angles and lighting he chooses.
I don't think budget has much to do with it. He was just a
genuine student of the craft.
Thanks for the head's up on this, Bill. I already own THE
MALTESE FALCON on DVD, but I'm definitely going to keep my
eyes peeled for this version.
Brian Thornton
RARA-AVIS home page: http://www.miskatonic.org/rara-avis/
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 02 Feb 2006 EST