Originally Posted by
Poet
The Maltese Falcon.
Five out of five stars. I just love it.
Now, just for comparison, go and watch the 1931 version, with Ricardo Cortez and Bebe Daniels. Its a really early talkie and not as good, but a lot of fun anyways. Its also pre Hayes code, so there are things they could more directly, such as Sam Spade and Iva Archer spending the night together (complete with disheveled room) and the much more direct allusion to the nature of the relationship between Guttman and Wilmer Cook.
Interesting side note - Ricardo Cortez was sort of a 2nd tier Rudolf Valentino; his real name was Jakob Krantz, a Jewish guy from NYC. In the 30's Hispanic guys were easier to market than Jews, so they made up a phony backstory. He's pretty good, too!
Here is two short scenes so you can do a compare and contrast
“What fresh hell is this?”
"A man who picks a cat up by the tail learns something which he can learn in no other way." - Mark Twain