Metaphorically talking, a thriller is nothing greater than a maze (or a multitude) by way of which a collection of disreputable characters flow into looking for one thing. In essentially the most emblematic case (that of John Huston’s “The Maltese Falcon”), everybody tries to discover a falcon, no one is aware of why. Not as a result of they just like the elegant flight of such birds (since this specific falcon is unable to fly resulting from an issue in its structure: it’s made from gold) however for another cause that escapes me. The detective (Humphrey Bogart) is introduced into this rattling mess by a ‘femme fatale’ (Mary Astor). Sadly, along with this deadly girl, there’s additionally a large assortment of deadly males, all of whom trigger bother for Humphrey Bogart. To start with, they kill his accomplice, who was the mastermind of the detective company, thus leaving the enterprise brainless. At this very second, the viewers are starting to regulate to the concept they are going to be residence late for tea time. If the lifeless man had been Bogart as an alternative of his accomplice, the movie would have ended promptly and by now all of us may very well be at residence having tea and scones. (Nonetheless, this all is smart by way of field workplace efficiency, because it’s handy for any movie to final greater than 5 minutes with a purpose to keep away from riots.) The factor is that Bogart is as misplaced in such a multitude because the viewers are -perhaps much more. The additional he goes into the mess, the much less he understands something. For her half, Mary Astor doesn’t assist in any respect, fairly the opposite. If as an alternative of a ‘femme fatale’, Mary Astor had been a typical Forties American housewife, we might already being having tea and scones. However for some cause thriller followers choose a ‘femme fatale’ over a loving housewife, which is one thing past my understanding. In any case, this film meant Bogart’s particular launch into the Hollywood stardom, so he was capable of cease performing on Broadway as a refrain woman and begin enjoying roles extra consistent with his marked masculinity.
