ACTING DUETS Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre The Maltese Falcon 1941 🎥 The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 film noir directed and scripted by John Huston in his directorial debut, based on the 1930 novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. It stars Humphrey Bogart as private investigator Sam Spade and Mary Astor as his femme fatale client. Gladys George, Peter Lorre, and Sydney Greenstreet co-star, with the latter appearing in his film debut. The story follows a San Francisco private detective and h

One of the least subtle MacGuffins, THE MALTESE FALCON ('41) provides motive for intrigue and serves as the film's title. In some ways, the Maltese Falcon is quite literally "the stuff that dreams are made of," as the audience pursues the idea of the object with the characters. | Turner Classic Movies: TCM