The Maltese Falcon

The first film version of Hammett's The Maltese Falcon (retitled Dangerous Female for TV): if it's not quite the solid classic of the Huston version (1941), the two adaptations are still remarkably similar, and it's fun to watch the earlier cast run through the characterisations that Bogey, et al, have made so familiar. Cortez, for instance, is a slightly sleeker Sam Spade, Daniels not quite as viper-ish as Mary Astor, while Digges makes good as 'the fat man', even if he doesn't really have the waistline.