Film Analysis: The Maltese Falcon

Cinema has gone through numerous iterations since it inception in the late 1800s. Although film-making varied from generation to generation, one thing remained constant and that was the eight major Hollywood studios. Many of these studios are around today such as Warner Brothers, MGM, and Universal Pictures. Most of the studio’s longevity was based off of their involvement during the height of the studio era commonly referred to as the “Golden Age of Hollywood.” Throughout this essay I will decipher a film from 1930 to 1952 and discuss the major characteristics of narratives in the studio system era. My analysis will be based on the film, The Maltese Falcon, a film noir classic released in 1941. The film was directed by John Huston as well
Before you know it, Spade’s partner is murdered and morally ambiguous characters are encountered. Although, there are an abundance of memorable scenes in The Maltese Falcon. The segment that I chose to analyze was the final scene of the film in which Bogart delivers the line to Astor, “It’s the stuff that dreams are made of.” This particular scene had many elements of classical Hollywood style such as meaning through context, sound continuity, and low key lighting. For example in the final scene between Detective Sam Spade and Miss Wonderly, Spade tells Wonderly that "I won't because all of me wants to regardless of the consequences but you've counted on that with me the same as you counted on it with all the others." Mary Astor shrinks back as Spade reluctantly accepts her kiss and you can just feel her diminish into a defeated, broken woman. Also, the combination of dialogue, sound effects and melancholy music helped provide a stream of continuous sensory information to bridge the cuts from speaker to speaker; which is essential for a dialogue heavy mystery. Finally, The Maltese Falcon placed heavy emphasis on unique camera techniques and low-key lighting. In the majority of the scene, fill lights on the two actors faces were weak to add to the dramatic ambiance of the film. The perfect execution of these elements is why The Maltese Falcon is considered amongst the pinnacle of film
I appreciated the director’s eye for detail in each scene. Also, I enjoyed the unique personalities of each character as well as the dialogue between them. Although, this movie was created amongst thousands of other film during the studio era. It endured through the years because many considered it to be the first classic in the film noir genre in Hollywood and the standard of cinematic storytelling. Even in the present day, this cinematic masterpiece will leave audiences with a delightfully bitter