The Films of John Huston: Fascinating Article on the Making of "The Maltese Falcon"

TCM's take on John Huston

This is a fair selection. I recommend "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", "The Maltese Falcon" and "The African Queen"

3:00am [Drama] In This Our Life (1942)
A neurotic southerner steals her sister's husband then vies with her for another man.
Cast: Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, George Brent, Dennis Morgan Dir: John Huston BW-97 mins, TV-PG [Close Captioned] [Email Remind Me]

4:45am [Crime] Asphalt Jungle, The (1950)
A gang of small time crooks plots an elaborate jewel heist.
Cast: Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore Dir: John Huston BW-112 mins, TV-PG [Close Captioned] [Email Remind Me]

6:45am [Musical] Annie (1982)
An orphan attracts the attention of a Wall Street tycoon and a con artist.
Cast: Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Aileen Quinn, Ann Reinking Dir: Gary Martin C-127 mins, TV-PG [Letterbox] [Close Captioned] [Email Remind Me]

9:00am [Drama] Moulin Rouge (1952)
French painter Toulouse-Lautrec fights to find love despite his physical limitations.
Cast: Jose Ferrer, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Suzanne Flon, Claude Nollier Dir: John Huston C-119 mins, TV-PG [Close Captioned] [Email Remind Me]

11:00am [Suspense/Mystery] Maltese Falcon, The (1941)
Hard-boiled detective Sam Spade gets caught up in the murderous search for a priceless statue.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre Dir: John Huston BW-101 mins, TV-PG [Close Captioned] [Email Remind Me]

12:45pm [Adventure] Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948)
Three prospectors fight off bandits and each other after striking-it-rich in the Mexican mountains.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt, Bruce Bennett Dir: John Huston BW-126 mins, TV-PG [Close Captioned] [Email Remind Me]

3:00pm [Adventure] African Queen, The (1951)
A grizzled skipper and a spirited missionary take on the Germans in Africa during World War I.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley, Peter Bull Dir: John Huston C-105 mins, TV-PG [Close Captioned] [Email Remind Me]

 

I'm a big fan. Maltese Falcon is the best film of the 40s bar none, with the possible exception of Treasure of the Sierra Madre, also a Huston film with Bogey in the lead. Both movies are just brilliant, full of authentic human moments, gripping drama, crackling dialogue, great photography, etc. Huston's latter-day efforts are not as impressive (the 196? Casino Royale is dreadful), but in his hey-day the man was a force to be reckoned with.

Of course, that he voiced Gandalf in the animated Hobbit is no slight to his resume, either.

 

I remeber watching thwe Sierra Madre one.

 

He is also the villain in "Chinatown"...

 

The Maltese Falcon is wonderful. Huston knew not to mess with Dashiell Hammett's dialogue; he knew how to cast, too.

 

He wrote the screenplay, as well.

 

His finest acting IMHO. That guy totally creeped me out. Especially when he told Nicholson what he wanted to "own."

 

He also played the Orangutan "Keeper of the Scrolls", or whatever his title was, in Battle for the Planet of the Apes.

Dude got around.

 

He directed his own father.

 

Yes, Walter Huston played the old prospector (famous for the triumphant little dance he does near the end of the picture) in Treasure of the Sierra Madre. He won Best Supporting Actor for that role.

 

Hard to believe the same guy did Treasure of the Sierra Madres, the Maltese Falcon and Annie.

 

And directly his daughter to an Oscar in "Prizzi's Honour"...

 

Sunday:

9:00am [Crime] Asphalt Jungle, The (1950)
A gang of small time crooks plots an elaborate jewel heist.
Cast: Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore Dir: John Huston BW-112 mins, TV-PG

 

Saturday on TCM:

11:30am [Comedy] Beat The Devil (1954)
A group of con artists stake their claim on a bogus uranium mine.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida, Robert Morley Dir: John Huston BW-90 mins, TV-PG

For those who haven't seen this: it was written by Truman Capote. You are warned.

 

I found that one awfully flat. Lollabrigida deserves her rep; she can be pretty smokin'. But the movie as a whole just didn't function at all.

 

Beat the Devil is the most tongue-in-cheek movie that Huston ever made, imho. Most of what makes it fun could be considered "inside humor" - but you'll be inside if you know how it pokes fun at the genre conventions. In some ways, it's the ultimate inside jokes as far as movies go.

 

I was amused by it, and for once Jennifer Jones is quite good--she has an inexplicable talent for comedy.

 

Today on TCM (check your listings) is Huston's version of "Moby Dick". IMO, despite some wonderful scenes, this is a misfire, brought on by a central miscasting: Gregory Peck as Ahab (he is one of nature's Starbucks). Oh, George C. Scott, where art thou?

 

Peck does a perfectly fine job here, although I do think the supporting cast shines here; Don't recall any of their names, but Starbuck and Stubb were memorable.

 

I thought Orson Welles had an especially fine cameo in Moby Dick.

 

Peck can't convey obsession, which is absolutely necessary to Ahab.

 

3:15pm [Crime] Key Largo (1948)
A returning veteran tangles with a ruthless gangster during a hurricane.
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore Dir: John Huston BW-101 mins, TV-G [Close Captioned] [Email Remind Me]


Great cast, good direction, the problem is the windy (literally and figuratively) play it's based on.

 

It may not be a great film, but it is by no means a bad one. I enjoy it when I watch it. A three-star film with a five-star cast.

 

7:00am [Drama] In This Our Life (1942)

"A neurotic southerner steals her sister's husband then vies with her for another man.
Cast: Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, George Brent, Dennis Morgan Dir: John Huston BW-97 mins, TV-PG"

Bette Davis chews the scenery...a lot.

 

10:00pm [Adventure] Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948)

"Three prospectors fight off bandits and each other after striking-it-rich in the Mexican mountains."

Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt, Bruce Bennett Dir: John Huston BW-126 mins,