Seminar: The Maltese Falcon

Investigate the intricacies of film adaptation in this seminar on The Maltese Falcon with film critic Jake Mulligan. Participants will compare how different scenes play out in the original novel, the classic 1941 film starring Humphrey Bogart, and two lesser-known adaptations—including one starring Bette Davis!

Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon was published as a novel in 1929, then made into three different movies by Warner Bros. between 1931 and 1941. Mulligan’s latest noir-seminar will start by giving background on Hammett and the author’s relationship with the Warner studio, then closely investigate how some crucial scenes are depicted in all four versions of the story. Participants will help unpack how the differences between adaptations may have been motivated by shifting cultural standards, changes in what Hollywood films were allowed to depict, and other historical factors. By looking at the history of Hammett, The Maltese Falcon, and Hollywood studio filmmaking in the early sound era, attendees will see that “the stuff dreams are made of” often changes year by year!

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Jake Mulligan has been writing about movies for the last ten years, publishing reviews, interviews, and other articles in DigBoston, The Boston Phoenix, and The Boston Globe. He is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and has led film-education events at the Coolidge Corner Theatre since 2018, including the classes “Defining Screwball Comedy” and “Roger Corman, Producer.”