The Maltese Falcon is a film noir that written and directed by John Huston in 1941, it based on a novel of the same name, of Dashiell Hammett in 1929. Starts Humphrey Bogart as Spade, Mary Astor as Wonderly or O’Shaughnessy. In this film, we will analyse the film noir elements in the film.

Film noir, French for dark film or black film, it is a term coined by French critics in 1946. It is a cinematic term used to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Most of these films included investigator, and he will encounters deceptions and malice during the investigation. Film noir was popular from the early 1940s to the late 1950s, the period of political instability – time of World War II and the Cold War in United States. In 1940s, film noir was an expression of male concern at women’s growing economic and sexual independence that threatens masculinity while it reinforced family values during 1950s, overcome the femme fatale is intricate to the reassertion to male identity because of women expanded their worldview beyond domestic spheres when they joined the workforce due to the war – men fought in the war. Film noir featured a world of criminals, darkness and violence with characters’ central motives – usually greed, lust and ambition, associated with a low-key, black and white visual style, that influenced by German Expressionist – dark with lots of shadow, high contrast lighting and oblique vertical and horizontal lines. The scenes in film noir are usually lit for light, it always have alleyways or cramped corridors. Their themes are cynical, pessimism and dark, it corrupted characters, fatalistic themes, blurred morals and intellect. Much of the attitude derives from hardboiled antihero and femme fatale of tales of criminal motives, and it usually features a narration.

Here will have a brief of The Maltese Falcon. Spade, a private investigator meets Wonderly, for helping her to look for her missing sister, who involved with Thursby. Spade ask his partner, Miles to track Thursby but has been killed, and so with Thursby. Later, Spade meets Wonderly, who now calling herself O’Shaughnessy, lie to Spade that finding sister is a story, but confess Thursday is her partner. She suspicious on Thursby killed Miles, but no idea on Thursby dead. Spade meets Cairo at his office, who offered him $5000 to find a ‘black figure of bird’ on behalf of a fat man. Spade knows O’Shaughnessy and Cairo know each other when they meet up. The fat man, Gutman finally meets Spade, he offered $25000 to find the black figure of bird. Jacobi, a captain of ship brings a bundle contained the black figure of bird to Spade office before dying after shot several times. While in the end, Spade found out Wilmer, a young man who keep following him earlier, a subordinate of Gutman killed Thursby and Jacobi, and O’Shaughnessy killed Miles to implicate Thursby.

We will start our analysis here.  The first and the most basic thing that had influence on film noir is the hardboiled detective which is Spade. Then we will have the tales of criminal motives – the whole film is investigating about his friend’s murder case and the black figure birds. The theme is cynical, dark and pessimistic. The ‘cynical’ element is talking our protagonist – Spade. He has the detectives interrogating as he is the detective. The ‘darkness’ is dark with lots of shadow. It influenced by the German Expressionistic – lighting and shadows. It is not because of the whole film is in black and white, but we can still see that, the scene always is in a room, which require a lot lighting to create the shadows. Apart from that, the story most of the time happen in night. The shadows are an iconic visual in film noir – characters’ faces may have obscured by darkness in partially or wholly. Setting also included dimly-lit interior, which was mentioned before – inside a room that required lots lighting. 

Now we will have the character portrayal. The characters in the film have motives behalf action. We have the greedy (Spade, he always wants the money for investigating the murder case and finding the black figure bird.), the corrupted (Spade, he gives O’Shaughnessy up even she killed his friend, Miles despite his feeling toward her.), the killer (Wilmer, he killed Thursby and Jacobi under Gutman, and O’Shaughnessy, she killed Miles.), and the criminals (almost all the characters are included in this character portrayal since the film is a crime film.)

Here, we will analysis about Spade. He is a private eye. A hardboiled detective protagonist who are an antihero. He witnessed the violence of organized crime, dealing with a legal system that become corrupt as the organized crime itself. He is cunning and smart, he has the skill of investigate a case, and he finally found out the killer of the murder cases. He is tough, he hit Cairo and Wilmer violently. He also kissed O’Shaughnessy toughly. He is liar, he intend to corporate with Gutman to betray on Wilmer, which only report him to police. Lastly, he is greedy, always want the higher pay.

Next, we will analysis the femme fatale. The private eye and femme fatale are the character types that always identified with film noir. A femme fatale means a character that have her mysterious and seductive whom charms ensnare her lovers. Normally, this type of woman always led her lover into dangerous and deadly situation. Yes, our Miss O’Shaughnessy, with sound like ‘Also Nasty’. She tries to achieve her hidden purpose by using her charms such as beauty and sexual allure. She uses lies to confront Spade instead of her charms. She also implied that herself like an innocent girl, while Spade always said, “Stop that schoolgirl action” to her. She also manipulatives – tells a story to find out the black figure of bird, and wanted to pocket profits without sharing.

Here will be my afterthought, I really feel that the film is so so for me as I almost fall asleep in the halfway, but the killer of Miles, which is the miss, is out of my expectation. It is such a surprise.