The Maltese Falcon (novel) - Adaptations

Adaptations

The novel has been filmed three times, twice under its original title:

• The Maltese Falcon (1931), the first version, pre-Code production starring Ricardo Cortez and Bebe Daniels
• Satan Met a Lady (1936), a light-comedy adaptation starring Bette Davis and Warren William, with Sam Spade becoming "Ted Shane".
• The Maltese Falcon (1941) the third version, considered to be a film noir classic, starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, and Sydney Greenstreet.

In addition, there have been many spoofs and sequels, including 1975's The Black Bird, a spoof featuring George Segal as Sam Spade, Jr., and Elisha Cook Jr. and Lee Patrick reprising their roles from the 1941 film.

• The Maltese Falcon (2001), an audio adaptation by the BBC starring Jane Lapotaire, Tom Wilkinson, and Peter Acre was published as an audio book in 2001 and broadcast on BBC Radio 7 in 2009.

• The Maltese Falcon (2005), the official authorized stage adaptation, was produced by The Long Beach Shakespeare Company, and premiered in 2007. In 2005, an earlier stage version of the book had been adapted and directed by Martin Pope. This adaptation, by Helen Borgers, was authorized and approved by Julie M. Rivett, Dashiell Hammett's granddaughter. Both Jo Hammett, Dashiell Hammett's only living daughter, and Julie Rivett attended the premiere. The play follows the book closely and includes Spade's Flitcraft story. Two years later, in the Fall of 2007, the same company mounted a second adaptation.

• Borgers' version of The Maltese Falcon (2007), opened in Huntsville, Alabama on the AlphaStage of the Renaissance Theatre, on Wednesday, April 2, 2008 in association with the Huntsville Public Library "BIG READ" Initiative. Directed by Jim Zieliński, the play was part of a series of Falcon-related events. An additional, final run took place May 15-17 of that year.

• Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon (2008), a Grammy-nominated audiobook dramatization by the Hollywood Theater of the Ear, starring Michael Madsen, Sandra Oh, and Edward Herrmann, was released in 2008 by Blackstone Audio.