Turner Classic Movies is showing 31 days of Academy Award winning movies - today they are focusing on the award for Best Supporting Actor, and in 1941, Sidney Greenstreet was nominated for playing the Fat Man, Kasper Gutman, in The Maltese Falcon.
Humphrey Bogart plays Sam Spade in one of the all time classic roles. Bogie set the standard for tough guy private eyes that actors still try to live up to today. The movie was also nominated for Best Picture, and John Huston (in his directing debut) received a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. The movie is adapted from Dashiell Hammett's novel of the same name, and to be honest, Huston didn't adapt that much. Hammett's book was the first book on tape I ever listened to, and much of the dialogue in the movie is word for word lifted from the book. The movie does omit all mention of sex between Spade and Brigid O'Shaughnessy in deference to the Hays Office.
If you haven't seen this movie lately, it is worth watching again, as are many of Bogie's movies, such as Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), Casablanca 1942), To Have and Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), Key Largo (1948), In a Lonely Place (1950), The African Queen (1951) (for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor), The Caine Mutiny (1954), and We're No Angels (1955).
If you have never seen We’re No Angels, a personal favorite of mine, I highly recommend it. In this lighthearted movie, three convicts escape from prison on Devil's Island just before Christmas and arrive at a nearby French colonial town. They go to the store of Felix Ducotel, the only store that gives supplies on credit. Whilst there, they notice that his roof is leaking, and offer to fix it. They do not actually intend to fix it, but decide to remain there, until nightfall, when they will steal clothes and supplies, and escape on the ship waiting in the harbour. They become involved with the family - the hapless father is about to lose his store to thieving relatives - and the convicts stay around to see things right for the family. It is a nice change for Bogart - playing a tough guy - but in this movie, with a light comedic touch.
posted by Diane at 9:28 PM
5 Comments:
If I believed in reincarnation, I'd believe that I was Bogart in my former life as he died two days before I was born--I love his work, especially the Treasure of Sierra Madre and the African Queen. I'll have to watch Angels with Dirty Faces (maybe it'll give me another English speaking movie to review as some of my critics always joke about me not watching movies without captions).
sage - those are two of my favorite movies too . . . try Angels for a bit of lighter fare! I'd love to read your review :-)
My dad is a big old time movie fan and when I was younger, we would do movie marathons on weekends. I grew up on The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Mr Smith Goes To Washington, Roman Holiday, etc.
Humphrey Bogart was damn sexy in this movie. Damn sexy.
thanks for the tip! i looooove me some movies!!!
my favorite old movie is wuthering heights. laurence olivier was the first brit i fell in love with. he was absolutely gorgeous in that movie. of course, the remake with ralph fiennes and juliette binoche was equally brilliant.
I adore and love classic Hollywood films. Especially film noir. But I must say I'm not the biggest fan of the Maltese Falcon and it is because I find it a bit misogynistic. Some of it is almost laughable in its treatment of women.
Anyway, some of my favorite film noirs are TOUCH OF EVIL, DOUBLE INDEMNITY, OUT OF THE PAST, DETOUR, and several others I have unfortunately forgot.
And isn't CITIZEN KANE the greatest? I just love the genius and art of that film.
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