the other Maltese falcon

[sergebroom]

I caught parts of the Ricardo Cortez version of "The Maltese Falcon" on TCM.
Very strange to see the familiar elements done differently.
Not bad, but...
Huston, Bogart, Astor, Greenstreet and Lorre did it better.

Comments

[onyxlynx]

Oh, yeah.

The Bogart, et al., version is what I cite as a "remake done right."

[sergebroom]

Not only that, but it wasn't even the first remake. I once saw a clip of Warren William doing the scene near the end, where Spade tells the Bad Dame that he's going to send her to prison. Let's say I can understand why that one is never seen.

About Huston's version... I heard that what he did was to take the dialogue straight out of the novel, add in the usual script indications and the studio, which didn't know what he'd done, called it the best adaptation ever.

"Quotes. Why did it have to be quotes?"
Is that from 'Writers of the Lost Art'?

[onyxlynx]

Is that from 'Writers of the Lost Art'?

It is now.

[sergebroom]

:-)