The Maltese Falcon

Considered one of Hollywood’s first major film noirs, John Huston’s 1941 debut feature enthralls with its seedy pulp thrills and moody mise-enscene, not to mention a superstar-minting performance by Humphrey Bogart. Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett, this suspenseful mystery follows detective Sam Spade as he tumbles headlong into a twisting web of intrigue involving suspicious gentlemen, a mysterious femme fatale, and the eponymous ‘Maltese Falcon,’ a jewel-encrusted statuette of untold value. Decades later, The Maltese Falcon remains influential and admired, and in 1988 became one of the first films to be marked for preservation by the US National Film Preservation Board.

9/12 (Sat): Film talk with Lau Yam