Five Movie Props I'd Like to Own (Volume I)

1. Larry Talbot's Cane from The Wolf Man. My interest in this prop isn't because I'm a huge fan of the movie. Don't get me wrong...I like The Wolf Man, but it wouldn't rank among my top 5 Universal horror classics. However, Larry's wolf-head silver cane--which ultimately becomes the weapon used to kill him--is just so cool. The actual prop was made of cast rubber and painted silver. Bob Burns, who has amassed a treasure trove of movie props, owns the original. Universal make-up artist and prop master Ellis Berman gave him the cane in 1948 when Bob was 13. You can buy replicas of it now.

2. Charles Foster Kane's Snow Globe from Citizen Kane. Yes, the Rosebud sled is the most famous prop from the movie, but let's be honest, I don't know where I'd store a sled. The globe, with its little snow-covered house, figures into one of the film's most iconic scenes as it falls from Kane's hand to the floor and smashes. You can buy a replica of it, too, for under $40.

3. The Portrait from Laura. Who wouldn't want the famous painting of Gene Tierney hanging over their fireplace? Actually, it's not technically a painting. Director Otto Preminger didn't think portraits photographed well, so he had a photo of Gene Tierney "smeared with oil paint to soften the outlines." The "portrait" was used in two other films as well: On the Riviera (1951) (in which you can see it in color) and Woman's World (1954)--which doesn't even star Gene Tierney.

4. The Maltese Falcon sculpture. It may be the second most famous prop in movie history (topped only by the ruby slippers). A Las Vegas hotel magnate bought the original Falcon at auction in 2013 for $4.1 million. That put it way out of my price range! However, Vanity Fair later published an interesting article about other supposedly real Falcons used in the movie, too. It's all very mysterious. I'd like one, but, heck, even a solid resin knockoff on Amazon runs around $119. That's not what my dreams are made of.

5. The Hourglass from The Wizard of Oz. Naturally, I thought about the ruby slippers and I even considered the big crystal globe in which the Witch spies on Dorothy. In the end, though, I opted for the hourglass because it scared the crap out of me as a kid when the Witch turned it over and told Dorothy: "Do you see that? That's how much longer you've got to be alive. And it isn't long, my pretty. It isn't long."

Seven Things to Know About Sydney Greenstreet

1. Sydney Greenstreet did not appear in a movie until he was 62. His film debut was pretty memorable, though—he played Kasper Gutman in The Maltese Falcon.

2. Despite a number of popular supporting performances (e.g., Casablanca, Christmas in Connecticut, Devotion), etc., he received only one Oscar nomination. That was for The Maltese Falcon and he lost in the Best Supporting Actor category in 1941 to Donald Crisp (How Green Was My Valley). It was a strong field that year, with the other nominees being James Gleason (Here Comes Mr. Jordan), Walter Brennan (Sergeant York), and Charles Coburn (The Devil and Miss Jones).

3. Greenstreet’s screen career consisted of just 23 films made between 1941 and 1949. Warner Bros. paired him with his Maltese Falcon co-star Peter Lorre nine times.

With Peter Lorre in Three Strangers.

4. Peter Lorre said of Sydney Greenstreet: “He was not only one of the nicest men and gentlemen I’ve ever known, I think he was one of the truly great, great actors of our time.” According to the biography The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre by Stephen Youngkin, Lorre referred to Greenstreet as “the old man,” while Greenstreet called Lorre “Puck.”

5. Tennessee Williams dedicated his 1946 one-act play The Last of the Solid Gold Watches to Sydney Greenstreet. Williams conceived the role of an “old-time traveling salesman” with Greenstreet in mind for the lead (Vincent Price played the part in 1947 at a small theatre in Los Angeles.)

6. Greenstreet provided the voice of Rex Stout’s portly sleuth Nero Wolfe in a half-hour 1950-51 NBC radio program (you can easily find episodes on the Internet). Fans of Stout’s books often criticize the series for taking too many liberties (e.g., Wolfe rarely mentions his orchids and, though reclusive, he's willing to leave his beloved brownstone on occasion).

Sydney Greenstreet and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca.

7. Sydney Greenstreet, who battled kidney disease and diabetes, died in 1954 at age 74. Despite a brief acting career, he created a pantheon of memorable characters. My favorite may still be Kasper Gutman, so I leave you with this quote from The Maltese Falcon (imagine it delivered by Mr. Greenstreet—as only he could): “I couldn't be fonder of you if you were my own son. But, well, if you lose a son, it's possible to get another. There's only one Maltese Falcon.”


This post is part of the What a Character! blogathon co-hosted by Once Upon a Screen. It was delayed from last week and now technically starts on November 21st. Click here for the full schedule.

Bogie on Blu-ray

Tomorrow, Oct. 5th, Warner Bros. will release on Blu-ray two classics starring Humphrey Bogart, The Maltese Falcon (1941) and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). This will be the Blu-ray debut for both films.

The Maltese Falcon was writer/director John Huston’s directorial debut. It was an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett and had already been brought to the big screen before, in 1931 and again in 1936 as Satan Met a Lady starring Bette Davis. Huston’s film was nominated for three Academy Awards, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Sydney Greenstreet), and Best Adapted Screenplay, but was awarded none.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was also written and directed by John Huston, adapted from B. Traven’s novel of the same name. The film won three Academy Awards, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor (Walter Huston, director Huston’s father), and was additionally nominated for Best Picture.

Bogart may have not been recognized by the Academy for either performance, but they are undoubtedly two of his best and make for a splendid double feature. The Blu-ray presentation for both films is outstanding. Skeptics, take note: the high definition transfer is not a glossy, superficial manipulation of the images. Instead, the movies are crisp and free of scratches, like they have simply been polished, and complete with strong, beautiful sound quality.

Each Blu-ray release comes loaded with special features. There are features on both films, as well as an audio commentary by biographer Eric Lax, who is thorough and highly informative. An hour-long radio broadcast of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre with Bogart and Walter Huston is featured on the Blu-ray, with two shorter radio shows of The Maltese Falcon (starring the film’s original cast) and a third one with Edward G. Robinson. There are also various shorts, cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny and one with Porky Pig, newsreels, and trailers (including one for Satan Met a Lady).

Standout features include a profile on John Huston on the Sierra Madre Blu-ray and Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart on the Falcon disc, a TCM special hosted by Robert Osborne. My personal favorite of all the features is Breakdowns of 1941, which is essentially a collection of outtakes featuring James Stewart, Gary Cooper, Bette Davis, and Bogart in a couple of bloopers. James Cagney appears in the majority of the outtakes, from the 1940 film, Torrid Zone, and his outtakes, primarily with frequent co-star Pat O’Brien, are hilarious.

The special features vary in quality, and some of them have been included in previous DVD releases, but they are essential additions for Bogie enthusiasts. Many of Bogie’s fans may already own a copy of The Maltese Falcon or The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, but if one is looking to upgrade or is a Bogart completist, these Blu-rays will make wonderful enhancements to a Bogie collection.

For discussions on both films, see The Maltese Falcon and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

The Dark Mystery of the Maltese Falcon

Considered by many as the first Hollywood film noir, The Maltese Falcon (1941) was John Huston’s directorial debut. What a way for a director to emerge out of the shadows!

Besides directing one of the best detective films ever, Huston also wrote the Oscar nominated screenplay, which was adapted from the 1929 Dashiell Hammett novel of the same name. Nominated for Best Picture, the film stars Humphrey Bogart as immortal detective Sam Spade. Bogart and Huston worked well together and made four more legendary films together: Key Largo, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The African Queen, and Beat the Devil.

Set in San Francisco, the film quickly introduces us to detective Sam Spade (Bogart) when his secretary, Effie (Lee Patrick), announces a new client, Miss Wonderly (Mary Astor). For those of you who have seen the entrance Astor makes, take a moment and imagine Geraldine Fitzgerald (Ann from Dark Victory) making that same entrance. No, it doesn’t work for me, either. Yet, Fitzgerald was originally cast as Ruth. Thankfully fate stepped in and allowed Astor to play her greatest role ever. Ruth has come to the Spade and Archer (Jerome Cowan) detective agency to find her missing sister, who has run away with a shady (and according to Miss Wonderly, violent) dark-haired and bushy eyebrowed character named Thursby. Asher agrees to follow her to her meeting with Thursby at the St. Mark Hotel. Big mistake. Soon Archer is looking down the barrel of a gun and is gunned down in cold blood. The fact that we don’t see the face of the assailant is a typical film noir device and sets up one dynamite ending.

Another classic film noir element is displayed when Spade goes to the scene of the crime: a shadowy deserted alley with one streetlight. After Spade is informed by Sergeant Polhaus (Ward Bond) that Archer must have known his killer because his gun was still holstered, he calls Miss Wonderly’s hotel and learns that she has checked out. The next morning he awakens to accusations from the police and the news that Thursby has also been murdered.

But wait, they aren’t the only ones who suspect Spade may be a killer. Archer’s wife Iva (Gladys George) thinks Spade killed her husband so they could be together (they were having an affair). As Iva sniffles on, Miss Wonderly calls to let Spade know she’s moved to the Coronet Apartments under an assumed named: Miss Leblanc,

He arrives at the Coronet to learn from Ruth that she lied about her real name (it’s actually Brigid O’Shaughnessy) and that she hasn’t been forthcoming about Thursby. It would seem that she met him in the “Orient” and hired him to protect her. She lays it on thick and convinces (with the aid of money) Spade not to tell the police about her. He agrees, but he knows there’s more to the story.

Back at the agency, Spade meets Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre), a gay man who at first offers Spade $5000 to find a statue of a black bird but then pulls a gun on him. Now, this film was made in 1941, so it is surprising that Lorre was allowed to play his character so stereotypically gay. Anyway, after being knocked out by Spade, Cairo hires him to help find the black bird.

Later, Spade returns to the Coronet and finds Brigid in the sharing mood: she’s really a bad girl dressed up in a helpless woman’s body. No, you don’t say? Spade informs her of Cairo’s offer and she offers him more than money. This is followed by a rather brutal kiss by Spade and a demand that she start being honest. She does this by agreeing to meet Cairo.

At this meeting we are introduced to a new character’s name: the Fat Man. We also learn that Brigid and Cairo hate each other—this shows a whole new, nasty side of Brigid. After being slapped rather hard by Brigid, Cairo pulls out his gun, only to be disarmed yet again by Spade—and for good measure Spade slaps him three more times and utters the classic line, “When you’re slapped, you’ll take it and like it.” Meanwhile, Brigid gets her well-manicured hands on Cairo’s gun just as the police arrive to question Spade about his affair with Iva. This allows Cairo to escape and for Spade to press Brigid about how she became involved with Cairo. A story of double-crosses ensues. Not deterred by this woman who admits she’s always been a liar, Spade spends the night with her.

The next day Spade goes to Cairo’s hotel and notices the man whose been tailing him (Wilmer, played by Elisha Cook, Jr.). Deducing that he works for the Fat Man, Spade tells him to tell his boss that he’s looking for him. This must have worked because when he returns to the agency he has a message from Mr. Gutman, a.k.a the Fat Man. He also learns from Brigid that someone has ransacked her apartment (Cairo).

Later, Spade goes to Gutman’s hotel, where he is greeted at the door by Wilmer. When he finally meets Gutman, it is easy to see why he’s called the Fat Man—or Gutman for that matter. All 300 lbs. of Sidney Greenstreet earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his portrayal of this strangely polite but menacing man. Spade doesn’t learn much from this meeting, but he learns that the black bird is extremely valuable.

After being harassed by the police yet again, Spade is once again picked up on the street by a gun-wielding Wilmer. After disarming the poor sap, Spade fully embarrasses him in front of Gutman. Appreciative of Spade’s manner, Gutman finally reveals the long (and I mean long) history of the Maltese Falcon (the black bird) and the fact that he’s been obsessed with having it for 17 years. He offers Spade $50,000 to bring it to him. Ah, but it is only a ruse to allow the drugs in Spade’s drink to take effect. With Spade passed out on the floor, Gutman, Cairo and Wilmer head off to find the bird themselves. When Spade wakes up he finds a newspaper clipping about a boat coming in from Hong Kong and surmises this must be where Gutman is headed. When he arrives at the docks he finds the boat ablaze.

Back at the agency, Spade is shocked when a fatally injured man (Captain Jacobi played by Huston’s father Walter Huston) stumbles into his office and delivers the falcon to him. Soon thereafter Brigid calls to tell Spade where she’s at, only to scream at the end of the call. First he stows the falcon at a bus terminal, then he goes in search of Brigid. When he arrives he finds an empty lot and the bells finally chime as to the fact that Brigid is indeed a liar. Yet, when he finds her hiding in a doorway near his apartment he still takes her into his apartment, where he finds Wilmer, Cairo, and Gutman waiting for him when he turns on the lights. And so the scene is set for one of the greatest endings in film history.

After informing the crew that he has the falcon, he demands that they come up with a fall guy for the murders. He suggests Wilmer, but Gutman refuses (evidently the term gunsel, which is used by Spade to describe Wilmer, was a homosexual term for a young man kept by an older one that morphed into a term for a gangster) at first but then gives into the demand. Then the whole sordid mess is revealed: Brigid had given the falcon to Captain Jacobi in Hong Kong, knowing it would follow her there later, and returned to San Francisco with her partner Thursby. Gutman had Wilmer kill Thursby to get Brigid to work with him. When they saw the newspaper notice about the boat they met Brigid and Jacobi there and she agreed to work with them, but she double crossed them and had Jacobi (who was shot by Wilmer) deliver the falcon to Spade. The reason for the cryptic phone call: they wanted to get him out of the office before Jacobi arrived but the phone call came too late.

With the loose ends tied up and $10,000 in his hands, Spade has Effie bring the falcon to his apartment, where it is revealed that it is a fake! At first all hell breaks lose and there are many tears and recriminations, but then Gutman composes himself and demands his $10,000 back from Spade and he and Cairo leave. Spade calls the police to alert them to this fact, so they can pick them up. Using this as leverage against Brigid, Spade demands that she tell him the truth about Archer before the police arrive. Evidently she hired Archer so she could tell Thursby he was being followed, which would cause him to confront Archer and perhaps kill him, which would allow her to be rid of him before the falcon arrived. But Thursby didn’t do this, so she had to take matters into her own hands and so she killed Archer in order to pin it on Thursby. The truth revealed, Brigid declares her love for Spade and begs him not to turn her in. Ah, I might love you baby, but I can’t trust you, so you’re going down—basically Spade’s answer to her plea. In the closing scene, the most overt example of film noir technique, Brigid is led into the elevator by the police and when the steel cage is pulled down in front of her it casts jail bar shapes across her face. Oh, the look on that lovely face! In the word of MasterCard: priceless.

This was actually the third film version of Hammett’s classic novel. Ricardo Cortez played Sam Spade in the 1931 version and Warren William played him in Satan Met a Lady (1936). I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that this film has so many connections to Bette Davis it’s hard to keep track. In one scene in this film we see a film marquee for The Great Lie, which starred Davis and Mary Astor (who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role). This ties into the fact that Davis played the femme fatale in Satan Met a Lady.

In regards to film noir elements, the film is not overwhelmingly dark and there isn’t an overabundance of shadows. Yet, the core principles of an anti-hero who follows a code of honor (his own) who reaches into the underworld and deals with all sorts of unseemly characters and situations is at the core of this story. That Spade emerges in the end as a jaded but somewhat still respectable character is classic film noir. In addition, you have Mary Astor playing the epitome of the femme fatale (perhaps only surpassed by Stanwyck in Double Indemnity) and Lorre and Greenstreet as some of the most colorful and outrageous criminals ever imagined.

I Left My Heart...Five San Francisco Favorites

I love San Francisco, I admit it. I've lived in the Bay Area for more than 30 years and don't plan to ever leave...so, for this, my premiere Cafe blog, I've picked five of my favorite films set in San Francisco and will briefly discuss each. My primary criterion in selecting these five was that each be set here. Quality was also taken into account. Each of these is a classic with a solid director, cast and script...and most are Oscar-nominated films. This time around I picked films primarily set in the city itself, not the surrounding area; Shadow of a Doubt was set in Santa Rosa and American Graffiti was filmed, in part, in San Rafael, but I focused on the city, the town Salvador Dali once referred to as "the jewel of American cities"....

1. Vertigo (1958) Hitchcock's dark, mesmerizing masterpiece has been called a valentine to the city, and it's my favorite of any film set in, shot in or that even mentions San Francisco. I could probably write more than anyone would ever want to read on the subject of why Vertigo is irresistible to me and how gloriously I feel it portrays SF in the late 1950's. But...to be brief and to the point, this is one of those rare films that pulls me entirely into its magnetic field and sweeps me along to its devastating conclusion: Scottie Ferguson (James Stewart) gazing, vacant and in shock, down upon the body of his idealized dead love...a love he's just lost for the second time. To quote Martin Scorsese, Vertigo is "like being drawn into a very, very beautiful, comfortable almost nightmarish obsession." As for its depiction of San Francisco, Vertigo shows the city off to its very best advantage...a stunning city to begin with, Hitchcock renders it flawlessly with his extensive Technicolor/VistaVision location shots: cityscapes, landmarks (the Golden Gate Bridge, the Mission Dolores, Nob Hill, Coit Tower) and street scenes. Hitchcock also does a meticulous job of recreating some classic local interiors: Ernies Restaurant, Ransohoff's dept. store, Podesta Baldocchi's florist shop.

2. The Maltese Falcon (1941) This is the first film directed by John Huston...on top of being Huston's remarkable debut (which he adapted from Dashiell Hammett's novel), it boasts an inspired cast (Greenstreet and Lorre's first of many pairings), an intriguing noir mood (it's been called the first major work of film noir), is tight and taut and delivers the goods, as Sam Spade might've remarked. Many years ago I took the "Dashiell Hammett Tour" of San Francisco (led by Don Herron who continues to conduct tours). I don't remember that much about it now other than our stop at one of Spade's haunts, John's Grille on Ellis St. (a steak/seafood joint in business since 1908 and visited by many a celebrity), and our pause at Burritt Alley, near the corner of Bush and Stockton, where a plaque proclaims: "On approximately this spot, Miles Archer, partner of Sam Spade, was done in by Brigid O'Shaughnessy." The Maltese Falcon was mostly shot at Warner Bros. studios in Burbank with some stock footage of SF, but it conveys a strong sense of San Francisco in the late 30's/early 40's...it's also one of Humphrey Bogart's early star turns which leads nicely to...

3. Play it Again, Sam (1972) Adapted from his Broadway hit and starring Woody Allen but directed by Herb Ross, the film also stars Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts and Jerry Lacy as an imaginary "Bogart". This is a Woody Allen classic that hasn't been getting it's due lately. It's an outrageously funny take on bouncing back from rejection and re-entering the "dating pool," circa the early 70's. It also happens to include a great panorama of Bay Area locales that reflect the city and the general scene at the time. Allen's character, Allan Felix, a film critic/classic film buff, lives in North Beach and makes his way around the city and area in pursuit of romance - as far north as Sausalito, Stinson Beach and Bolinas. He tries desperately and hilariously (often on Bogart's advice) to connect with women after being unceremoniously dumped by his wife. TCM viewers and other classic film fans will appreciate the amusing homage to Casablanca and many references to classic film.

4. Days of Wine and Roses (1962) An Oscar winner for Henry Mancini's original song and nominated for four others, this film addressed a difficult subject for the time: alcoholism. Directed by Blake Edwards, Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick portray a young couple on the brink of what could be an exciting life together, he's a PR dynamo, she's beautiful and sweet, they adore each other...and their swank, modern apt. features a panoramic view of the Golden Gate Bridge. But their life takes a dark turn. All in all, the beauty of San Francisco seems a perfect backdrop and metaphor for the couple's lost dreams.

5. I Remember Mama (1948) Directed by George Stevens and starring the sublime Irene Dunne, this is a sentimental favorite of mine. But first, will someone please explain why Irene Dunne never won an Oscar?!? This film was nominated for five, including Dunne's fifth and final nomination for Best Actress. Set in San Francisco around 1910, it's the story of the trials and triumphs of a family of Norwegian immigrants who have settled in the Cow Hollow district (today an upscale neighborhood, but around that time...well...cows). It's a warm family drama with Dunne as the very practical yet caring matriarch. I especially enjoy the exterior scenes that depict San Francisco 100 years ago.

Those are my five. I may have more to say about some of them and other aspects of Bay Area films, but that's it for now. Look forward to comments about these and other films set in San Francisco.