The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)

The Maltese Falcon
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Huston
Screenplay byJohn Huston
Based onThe Maltese Falcon
by Dashiell Hammett
Starring
CinematographyArthur Edeson
Edited byThomas Richards
Music byAdolph Deutsch
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release dates
  • October 3, 1941 (1941-10-03) (New York City)
  • October 18, 1941 (1941-10-18) (United States)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$375,000
Box office$1.8 million

The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 American film noir written and directed by John Huston in his directorial debut. Based on the 1930 novel by Dashiell Hammett, it is a remake of the 1931 film.

Starring Humphrey Bogart as private investigator Sam Spade, Mary Astor as his femme fatale client, and Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet as villains, the film follows a life-and-death quest for a jewel-encrusted falcon statuette in San Francisco.

The film premiered in New York City on October 3, 1941, and was an immediate success, eventually becoming one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress to be included in the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 1989.