Reading Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon over the last couple of days, I was very surprised and a little disappointed to discover exactly how faithful the John Huston / Humphrey Bogart movie was to the book. I felt like they were so similar, I was almost wasting my time by revisiting the same material, material I was already maybe too familiar with. The supporting cast seems especially true to the book - I couldn't help picturing them. Peter Lorre's dialog must have been almost word for word ripped from the pages. The one strange thing is, I don't think I ever pictured Bogart as Sam Spade - in the book, he's the one character with a much heavier, more menacing presence. I like Bogart, but I can't think of a role he ever played that seemed really menacing. Anyhow, it was sill a fine read, but I think in the future I'll remember to try a little harder to stay away from the deadly book/movie combo. 2:17 PM >>> 0 comments

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