MJB SCRIPT REVIEW | THE MALTESE FALCON
- michaelbrand01
- Mar 6
- 5 min read
โ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ, ๐๐ผ๐โ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ โ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ!โ | ๐ ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ - ๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ก
The original detective noir and whodunnit, all surrounding a mysterious statue. Humphrey Bogart in possibly one of his most iconic roles. This is the OG of film noir detective movies and a stone cold classic; THE MALTESE FALCON.
Plot in a nutshell: After he is visited by a mysterious femme fatale, San Francisco private detective Sam Spade finds his partner dead. So begins a case that involves three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette.
Love me a classic. Especially a good old fashioned, black and white, detective movie.
Sunday afternoon bliss. The film is a golden age legend. Can we say the same about the script? Letโs get in thereโฆ
So, what did I learn from THE MALTESE FALCON?
1. Dialogue - wonderful. Not only do we get a feel for these characters and who they are, but at times you can tell itโs masking whatโs really going on underneath. The dialogue carries the story, it carries the conflict and it also keeps us on our toes. Do we, the reader, even really know whatโs going on? In stark contrast to the action directions, this is wonderfully rich dialogue. Of the time, yes, but so brilliantly utilised.
2. Action Directions - This is mad. The script opens with a cast list and then character descriptions! Thatโs so cool. To see how older scripts used to do it. A big fat no-no these days, but what a window into the past. Swish.
3. Action Directions 2 - ok, so the script is of a particular era. A lot of things here wouldnโt stand these days. Within the first 10 or so pages, one of the female characters is ogled and leered at by the other two main male characters in a way these days that wouldnโt be considered acceptable. So pretty much, weโre going to have to take a deep breath with this script and understand that itโs from a certain period in time. So if it feels wrong when youโre reading it, odds are, it is.
4. Action directions 3 - the action directions here are very long winded. Far too much unnecessary detail, especially lingering on the character descriptions. Itโs almost as if they have been written after it has been cast. Then thereโs the plethora of directions for the actors, which smothers almost any opportunity to bring something individual to the performance. We donโt need a 10th of whatโs on display here, but what is written is very elegant and beautifully descriptive. So once again, of a certain time and luxurious in its description, but wholly unnecessary.
5. Action Directions 4 - itโs funny, but I canโt help noticing that the way the scenes have been written in this script, appear to service shooting in less locations. Meetings of different characters seems to happen in the same place over and over again. I get it. Itโs economical for the production. But does seem to feel a little restricted in how big this world could be. Stillโฆ
6. Actors - I would recommend being wary if you get a script like this, indicating actions to be taken during dialogue or during the scene. It can become very restrictive, leaving you in a place to have to argue anything you want to do naturally with the director, writer or producers. Which no actor wants to be in the position of having to do. How you get along with the script will entirely depend upon how you get along with the director, so just a bit of notice to keep an eye on things like this. Action directions should be minimal at best, leaving you free to interpret the character from the language (and possibly a little bit from the action directions).
7. Actors 2 - the part of Gutman is an exercise in memorising multiple monologues. This guy has so many lines, it might as well be King Lear. A proper challenge for those of us who donโt typically enjoy memorising long passages. But also a good note to writers to bear in mind that some poor soul has to memorise this lot, in order to bring it to life. So, whilst his character has a lot of exposition and plot motivation, it doesnโt particularly reveal a huge amount about the character. Gutman is here to propel the story, rather than be an interactive part of it. But a part of it he still is and his characteristics certainly stand out. Challenging role in my opinion.
8. Story - this is where the gold is. Twists and turns, secret agendas, past misdemeanours crawling up to show their ugly little faces. The magic here is in the dialogue and the story it tells. The action directions are literally decoration. Itโs the building mystery of why people are killed and what everyoneโs different agendas are. The slick twists and turns keep you guessing and characters can literally spin on a dime as to their loyalties or responsibilities. It is such a wonderfully mischievous and magical enigma, the script. Keeps you guessing and does a stunning job of keeping you on your toes. For a near 80-year-old, pretty nifty.
9. Finale - well, this is definitely an odd one for the books (and plays into my theory of writing economically). The whole thing takes place in a living room, as the main characters wait for the arrival of the title statuette. Not exactly explosions, car chases or running gun battles, but it is a formidable character study. This is where the whole cast go poker face and we wait to see what happens. Loyalties vanish and the only people who can be trusted by the last page are the cops (as it should be). This is a corking example of how simple you can keep a finale. Just a good old fashioned chat. With guns. In a room. But it plays out to the truth of this piece; itโs a character study. Itโs not Chekhov or Wilde, but it does the same job none-the-less. Intriguing.
Story wise, an absolute classic. Rich in detail, a humdinger of a detective story with twists, turns and more than a little historical magic. This mustโve been an absolutely cracking read at the time it reached the hands of producers, and the story is so good here, that you can see how it became such a long lasting pillory of film noir and a hugely important piece of celluloid.
Seriously, give it a roll. Educate yourself on what a true golden era classic character study looks like. Fascinating.
Link to the script:
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