Warren William plays a scoundrel of a private eye named Shayne (no relation to the character in the series starring Lloyd Nolan). He tangles with a gang of thieves looking for the legendary Horn of Roland which is supposedly stuffed with jewels. Along the way, William battles the likes of Bette Davis and Arthur Treacher to get to the bottom of some murders and find the priceless artifact.
Calling this film a remake of THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) is really a misnomer, as only the smallest bits and pieces from the exceptional Dashiell Hammett's original story remain. All the the great sarcasm, grit and intelligence was stripped away in this truly bad retooling of this prior film that had starred Ricardo Cortez (the more famous Humphrey Bogart version would not appear until 1941 and was the 3rd version of the story). While I usually like Warren William in movies, here he plays the role almost like it's a comedy, not a serious drama. Because of this, you have no idea how he possibly solves the murders!! As for the Fat Man and his cronies, having the old dame and her limp gang (with, of all people, Arthur Treacher?!) play these roles was just insulting and dumb. Why they had the very dippy Marie Wiilson in the film is anyone's guess--as it further reinforced the comedic aspects of the film--making it seem even less serious than a Saint or Falcon series film.
Overall, perhaps my 4 is too generous--especially considering how little they did with such great material. Still, if you totally ignore that it's supposed to be THE MALTESE FALCON, then it's at least an agreeable enough time-passer.
By the way, I watched the Ricardo Cortez version just before seeing this film and the contrast was amazing. Fortunately, you can get both films on the same DVD from Warner Brothers/Turner Entertainment.
Calling this film a remake of THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) is really a misnomer, as only the smallest bits and pieces from the exceptional Dashiell Hammett's original story remain. All the the great sarcasm, grit and intelligence was stripped away in this truly bad retooling of this prior film that had starred Ricardo Cortez (the more famous Humphrey Bogart version would not appear until 1941 and was the 3rd version of the story). While I usually like Warren William in movies, here he plays the role almost like it's a comedy, not a serious drama. Because of this, you have no idea how he possibly solves the murders!! As for the Fat Man and his cronies, having the old dame and her limp gang (with, of all people, Arthur Treacher?!) play these roles was just insulting and dumb. Why they had the very dippy Marie Wiilson in the film is anyone's guess--as it further reinforced the comedic aspects of the film--making it seem even less serious than a Saint or Falcon series film.
Overall, perhaps my 4 is too generous--especially considering how little they did with such great material. Still, if you totally ignore that it's supposed to be THE MALTESE FALCON, then it's at least an agreeable enough time-passer.
By the way, I watched the Ricardo Cortez version just before seeing this film and the contrast was amazing. Fortunately, you can get both films on the same DVD from Warner Brothers/Turner Entertainment.