When Warner Brothers did the original The Maltese Falcon, they had in mind trying to convert silent star Ricardo Cortez from an ersatz Rudolph Valentino. Latin lovers were going out of style and the cynical Sam Spade character seemed just the thing to give Cortez a new image. Though Cortez did a good job, this Maltese Falcon was put in the shade by the classic with Humphrey Bogart.
Cortez's Spade is more of a smart aleck than a cynic. If you've seen the Bogart version you know exactly what happens here. The cast that Warner Brothers assembled to support Cortez and Bebe Daniels as Ms. Wonderly is a good one. I particularly liked Dudley Digges as Guttman and Dwight Frye as Wilmer. The gay relationship is more pronounced as this version is before the Code.
It's a good film, but a curiosity most of all to those of us who are fans of the John Huston version.
Cortez's Spade is more of a smart aleck than a cynic. If you've seen the Bogart version you know exactly what happens here. The cast that Warner Brothers assembled to support Cortez and Bebe Daniels as Ms. Wonderly is a good one. I particularly liked Dudley Digges as Guttman and Dwight Frye as Wilmer. The gay relationship is more pronounced as this version is before the Code.
It's a good film, but a curiosity most of all to those of us who are fans of the John Huston version.