To Have and to Have Not

It passes the venetian blinds test, as well as the corrupt system one, but this movie is just too darn hot (and hopeful) to be a noir. The morality level is teetering on flag waiving, sans an impromptu La Marseillaise sing along and even though Bogart's Harry doesn't get to the point of sticking his neck out for the cause, he will to help a beautiful girl. And boy, are they steamy together. The undercurrents and the no-one's-fooling-anyone secret smiles are all there on display. I'm almost too shy to watch, because this first blush of romance shouldn't have to be shared with me.

So instead of two people who's avarice brings about their downfall, this bypasses noir, as together, the heat melts their hard shells and they become putty in each others hands. I'm not going to re-write that! 

My favorite line is when he kisses her back and she says, "It's even better when you help." :D  Who can I give credit to for that? 

Hemingway? 

Faulkner? 

Furthman? 

Whoever you are, bravo!

The Maltese Falcon

Wordy, wordy, wordy! A feast of words, where every one of them is hearty and satisfying.  There are no fillers here. Because I'm watching this alone, I indulge in going back to the buffet time and time again. As each scene ends, I start it over with plate in hand. 

Who knew what first? What clue divulged new information? Where did the double cross or triple cross begin in the discussion? How does Sam Spade stay ahead of everyone, when he has so little to go on? Why is he so doggone smarter than I am? So many scenes have their own Freytag pyramid in them--a little exposition, rising action, inciting moment (and sometimes more than one!), climax and then the fall. This is a film to study, for it panders to no one and demands a viewer to be on his toes.

 

Besides structure, something else worth studying is the complexities and dualities of the characters and I give equal credit to the writing and to the acting. I cannot, for the life of me, know for sure where people stand and part of that is, at times, neither do they. Now that's satisfying.