The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon was John Huston's directorial debut in 1941. Warner Brothers made their fortune from the 1920's through the golden age of Hollywood by following generic conventions that they repeated as they knew that there was an audience for genre films.  They also created a star in Humphrey Bogart who would play the detective role 'and develop his screen persona in this film as tough, worldy wise detective 'Sam Spade' who resists the charms of the femme fatale, despite falling in love with her.

Look at these screenshots from the film and analyse how they are used to create meaning in film noir.

 You could also use a voice-over to provide context at the start of the film. Who would the voice belong to?

 An establishing shot is followed by a shot through the window of the detective agency. What city is this?

 The detective needs a quirk or a signature to add to their character. What will yours be?

The femme fatale visits the detective agency to explain her situation, which then triggers the narrative.  What is the enigma in your narrative?

 This close up focuses on the cry for help of the femme fatale. WHat would the script be at this point?

 Low key lighting is a feature of Warner Brothers films. Why did this stylistic choice develop in film noir?

 The costume of the detectives is generic and notice the single light source. What will your detective wear?

Often a newspaper title is used in the narrative. What effect does this have?

 The locations in film noir are often similar. Where is this and how do the characters interact?

 Joel Cairo played by Peter Lorre is perhaps the most memorable character.  How is he represented?

 The Maltese Falcon could be termed the MacGuffin. What will your MacGuffin be?

 The femme fatale in need. How does the Spider and the Fly narrative operate?

 What does this shot suggest?

This shot reverse shot speaks louder than words. How?