Search - The Maltese Falcon on DVD

B.J. W. (analogkid01) from CHICAGO, IL
Reviewed on 7/5/2025...

I watched John Huston's 1941 classic "The Maltese Falcon" with Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor, but I want to divert for a moment and discuss the filmmaking term "McGuffin."

Stories have plot devices - physical objects that characters use and which drive the story forward. Sometimes literally drive - the Delorean in Back to the Future, for example. The shark in Jaws could be considered a plot device as well, as it certainly isn't a character with any sort of emotional arc. The Coen brothers are notorious for using briefcases full of money in a lot of their films (Big Lebowski, Fargo, and No Country For Old Men in particular).

But there exists a special sub-section of plot devices called "McGuffins." The origin of the term has been lost to film history, but basically a McGuffin is a plot device which the audience does not know the specifics of. Alfred Hitchcock defined a McGuffin as a plot device that "the audience doesn't care about," but Roger Ebert took it a step further and said that the audience doesn't even know what it *is*.

The briefcase in Pulp Fiction is probably the most obvious example of this. What's in the briefcase? The characters know, but we the audience do not. It's something valuable enough that Big Brain Brett and his crew wanted to steal from Marcellus Wallace, and its mysterious glow was enough to distract Ringo/Pumpkin from shooting Jules in the face. But as Yolanda/Hunny Bunny says, "Goddammit, what is it?" We'll never know.

A briefcase full of cash or a satchel of diamonds can never be a McGuffin. We the audience understand why that's valuable and why characters would clamber over each other to get it. What about the Ark of the Covenant from Indiana Jones? Not a McGuffin - there's an entire scene where characters discuss what it is and why the Nazis want it.

So we can conclude that in the realm of plot devices, McGuffins are *rare* and the term should be *rarely* used. (Film nerds, unfortunately, drop the term entirely too frequently in an effort to appear insightful.)

Now, why do I mention this?

The titular Maltese falcon in the film is often cited as an example of a McGuffin, but I am here to tell you - IT IS NOT. The opening crawl of the film even describes the falcon as being "encrusted from beak to claw with rarest jewels," and "priceless." So okay, it's basically a satchel of jewels only in falcon form, got it. I understand why the characters would want it.

Oh, but I digress - is the movie any good?

I gotta say I was pretty bored by it. It's got a metric ton of intrigue, that's for sure, but it also has an equal amount of pure exposition. Film is a visual medium, and the adage says "show, don't tell." Instead of *telling* us about how the falcon was stolen from a galley back in the 16th century, they could've *shown* that. Instead of *telling* us about the fire aboard the La Paloma, they should've *shown* it (which they do, a bit, but Huston leaves out the entire rescue of the Falcon from the boat). Between the labyrinthine plot and the overabundance of conversation, the film's a bit of a slog to get through. I do acknowledge that John Huston is regarded as one of the "greats" and The Maltese Falcon was his first film, so I'm interested in seeing some of his other works.

Bottom line: the next time a film nerd uses the term "McGuffin" inappropriately, punch them in the teeth. You might do a little time but I'll make sure your commissary account is topped off, and when you get out you'll be a "made man." Word will get around and nobody will come near you. You'll own this town.

Grade: B-minus

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 1/20/2019...

This is a classic and many people like it but I just could not get into the movie.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Great Blu-ray, but lacking in supplements

jrc | Jonesboro, AR USA | 10/09/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Gorgeous transfer of this classic film. Contrary to popular belief, these old black & white pictures look great on Blu-ray. I subtracted one star due to the relative lack of significant bonus material. Basically, you only get the bonuses from the 1st and 3rd disc of the previous DVD 3 disc set: making of documentary, Night At The Movies program with shorts and trailers, radio plays, etc. Unfortunately, Warners chose not to include either of the two previous adaptations of FALCON, which were on disc 2 of the DVD edition. SIERRA MADRE Blu-ray has comparable extras, but also includes the 125-minute John Huston biography feature. Surely Warner had room on FALCON's Blu-Ray to at least include the 1931 version! Still, for the price, it's an acceptable package."

I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble.

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 08/16/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"He may not look like a "blond Satan," but Humphrey Bogart became the ultimate Sam Spade in "The Maltese Falcon," the classic movie adapted from Dashiell Hammett's noir mystery. It's a gloriously seedy, dark path through a tangle of lies, murders and and thefts, all centering on the legendary



"Shoo her in, darling." A beautiful woman (Mary Astor) comes into Miles & Archer's detective agency and claims to be looking for her sister, who has supposedly gone off with a guy called Thursby.



Just an ordinary case? Wrong. Later on, Miles is shot, followed by the mysterious Thursby -- and since Spade (Bogart) has been dallying with Miles' wife, he's a prime suspect. After being grilled by the police, Spade visits the client -- now calling herself Brigid O'Shaughnessy -- and gets the real story out of her. Or not. Seriously, this woman lies like most people say "Hello."



Things go from bad to worse when Spade is kicked around by little weaselly Joel Cairo and the sinister yet hearty Fat Man. Like O'Shaugnessy, they are searching for the priceless Maltese Falcon, a jeweled bird statue covered in black enamel. Who has the Falcon? Who stole it? Who killed for it? And who might kill again to get it back?



The San Francisco of "The Maltese Falcon" is a smoky, shadowed world, where men and women from across the world ruthlessly pursue priceless treasures. In fact, it's fortunate that this film was filmed before the advent of color, because the black-and-white film just adds to the murky, bleak atmosphere.



The plot is a little hard to follow at first, since there seem to be two unrelated mysteries that don't seem to have anything to do with each other. But as Spade unravels lies and motives, the subplots are twined together and the story becomes truly brilliant. The dialogue is sharp and witty ("I've been bad, worse than you could know." "You know, that's good, because if you actually were as innocent as you pretend to be, we'd never get anywhere").



And the small cast put the "anti" in antiheroes -- everybody is painted in dark shades of gray. Bogart's growly Sam Spade is strangely charming, and you end up liking him even though he's not much better than the crooks. Astor plays a floaty fluffy femme fatale who has a nastier side, Peter Lorre is wonderfully creepy as Joel Cairo, and Sydney Greenstreet is pleasantly sinister as the Fat Man. The only really GOOD person seems to be Effie.



Sharp, dark and very twisted, this is a fantastic mystery full of twists, greed and the ultimate anti-heroic detective. This is primo noir!"