I do love Sydney Greenstreet. What a voice he had, and what a laugh. My hat is off to anyone who can do a Sydney Greenstreet impression. It's funny what a cool cat he seems saying all these seemingly deep and wise things like, "I like a man who likes to talk, I don't trust a man who doesn't," when it's really just a bunch of bunk (and Spade knows it). By the end of the film Gutman seems like just as much of an oaf as Cairo, but here, early on he seems to be the master of his domain.
I think my favorite line from the novel is how it describes Gutman as he reaches out to shake Spade's hand. "He extended his hand like a great pink star." Or something like that. I don't know why but out of all the lines from the book that one stuck to me.
42 years before I was born but one of the best movies ever written way before special effects great storyline great mystery and great triller it's a shame that today's movies can't learn from the masters
This is my favorite movie, i just realized that Gutman gave him a HUGE pour of whiskey! It was like a triple from a bartender that loves you - and he down about a doubles worth!
I like the camera angle used on Mr Gutman;he fills the entire screen,leaving no doubt as to who is the boss.I would love to see actors made up to look like Bogart,Greenstreet, and Lorre,and impersonate them in another similar thriller.
you are right I mean plot wise this movie isn't much. infact I am even willing to say the story is arguably forgettable. what isn't forgettable is the perfect perfect perfect writing and actors who were nothing short of a gift from god to bring it to life. but my favorite thing of this picture is that it is not the 1st, not the 2nd, but the 3rd adaptation of the book and the one that has gone down in history. proof that remakes don't inherently suck and we shouldn't think they do.
@ysbaddaden2003 and the Star Wars character Jabba the Hut was also based on Gutman --Greenstreet should have got an Oscar -maybe the inferred gay theme put some 1940's voters off -the second interview where Gutman drugs Spade is even more hypnotic-what makes the above scene so comically wonderful yet menacing is the way no matter what Spade answers Gutman will affably agree.
One of John Huston's best filmed moments. And like Orson Welles, his best film was also his first. Pity, but at least Huston got a decent chance to follow up his success with bigger, more ambitious films, while poor Welles got mired in a bad reputation with RKO.
I've never heard of Sam Spade, but in reading the Vampire Chronicles, the main character, Lestat, likes to claim he speaks like a cross of a boatman and Sam Spade. xD Hilarious as that mental image now is, I'm infinitely curious about this movie and plan to get my hands on it as soon as possible.
@tumadoireacht Actually, just a few minutes before I read this comment I was thinking that Han Solo might owe something to Bogart's portrayal of Sam Spade in /The Maltese Falcon/: maybe there really is something to that. Of course, /Star Wars/ certainly wasn't the first film to rehash both personas, so /Casablanca/ may have been an influence too. (Do you have a ref. for the SW influence?) Come to think of it Joel Cairo as Greedo makes startling sense too!
When Harrison Ford was hired to play Indiana Jones he was told to watch The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, since Jones was based on Bogart in that film.
I know I been commenting a lot but...gotta wonder if Gutman is being honest about all these things 'better and better!' or if he was flattering no matter what Sam said. Gutman: *Pouring liquor* Spade: That's enough. Gutman: We begin well, sir! I distrust a man that can't say 'when' it means he isn't afraid to admit a limit...You're a closed mouthed man? Spade: Yeah I hate talking! Gutman: Better and better! I like a man that doesn't like to talk! It means he loves to listen and if he loves to listen it means he weighs another man's words carefully before speaking! He doesn't just 'flap his gums' to force conversation...What would you like me to talk about? The black bird? Spade: Nah I want to hear about your life story. Gutman: Oh ho you're the man for me! I love a fellow that appreciates a business conversation with some personal touches. Well, I was born by my mother Ginger So and So and Father So and So Gutman...*five hours later* And that's how I came to be here! Tell me sir do you like Taco Bell? Spade: Yeah I like Taco Bell every once in a while. Gutman: Marvelous and marvelous! I appreciate a man that likes the fine point of life and isn't afraid to enjoy items off of Taco Bell's buck menu! I'll send Wilmer out to collect some tacos and burritos for us!
In the span of about 30 seconds, they say the word “talk” eight times. I thought it was hilarious when Gutman caps off his treatise about “talking” by saying, “I like talking to a man who likes to talk.” I know it wasn’t meant to be funny or sarcastic, I just think it shows us right away what Gutman likes to do best: talk. :-)
Yeah, I’ve known a few people like Gutman who like to share their philosophies about the world with you any chance they get based on any circumstance. Gutman doesn’t disappoint: the three different kinds of people he distrusts, how much he likes to talk, the two different things he likes about Spade, etc. Spade is all, “Cut the BS.” The character keeps calling Spade, “Sir.” Ah the good old days, when antagonists were still polite to each other even up to the point of murdering each other.
Irrelevant402 - your comment is gold. Gutman certainly had plenty of practice chasing the black bird all over the map to have to flatter and schmooze his way into and out of things.
think on the crap that passes for "film" today, and the sad actors left to perform in what are now simply image enhanced video games. greenstreet, lorre, bogart, --and the rest, are incomprable, and the lines are delivered with a timing and perfection no longer possible. what happened? television and the rapid decline in literacy.
Ah, They don't make movies like this anymore. But that shouldn't stop them from trying. I prefer good movies(like this) to the puerile drivel being spoon fed to audiences these days.
I do love Sydney Greenstreet. What a voice he had, and what a laugh. My hat is off to anyone who can do a Sydney Greenstreet impression. It's funny what a cool cat he seems saying all these seemingly deep and wise things like, "I like a man who likes to talk, I don't trust a man who doesn't," when it's really just a bunch of bunk (and Spade knows it). By the end of the film Gutman seems like just as much of an oaf as Cairo, but here, early on he seems to be the master of his domain.
I think my favorite line from the novel is how it describes Gutman as he reaches out to shake Spade's hand.
"He extended his hand like a great pink star."
Or something like that. I don't know why but out of all the lines from the book that one stuck to me.
I watched this movie with my mum after reading the book in high school.. the only time I can remember watching a film together. Rest easy Kim xx
42 years before I was born but one of the best movies ever written way before special effects great storyline great mystery and great triller it's a shame that today's movies can't learn from the masters
This is my favorite movie, i just realized that Gutman gave him a HUGE pour of whiskey! It was like a triple from a bartender that loves you - and he down about a doubles worth!
This movie is a textbook example of how to adapt a book to the screen
Gotta love the grin Spade wears as he walks off at the end of the clip....
and the genius human connection of his hands shaking, from natural nervousness in a dangerous situation as he walks to the elevator
Sam never lost his temper -- he played a role for Gutman, and he knew he sold it.
Nobody could grin like Bogart.
I like the camera angle used on Mr Gutman;he fills the entire screen,leaving no doubt as to who is the boss.I would love to see actors made up to look like Bogart,Greenstreet, and Lorre,and impersonate them in another similar thriller.
sam spade is fresh, hes what i think of when i think of america, slapping the shit out of people, smoking stogies, and drinking liquor
@0:23 From the way Gutman grabs his arm you'd think he was gonna roast it and eat it.
This was Sydney Greenstreet's first film.
And Hustons
I'll tell you right out. I'm a man who likes talking to a man who likes to talk.
4 minutes, 29 shots -and 2 spellbinding performances
THERE WAS ONLY ONE BOGIE !
When he later offered Sam Spade $250,000, that's a crap ton of money for 1941. That's more than $4.5 million in 2021 dollars.
More like $8.8 million
you are right I mean plot wise this movie isn't much. infact I am even willing to say the story is arguably forgettable. what isn't forgettable is the perfect perfect perfect writing and actors who were nothing short of a gift from god to bring it to life. but my favorite thing of this picture is that it is not the 1st, not the 2nd, but the 3rd adaptation of the book and the one that has gone down in history. proof that remakes don't inherently suck and we shouldn't think they do.
@ysbaddaden2003 and the Star Wars character Jabba the Hut was also based on Gutman --Greenstreet should have got an Oscar -maybe the inferred gay theme put some 1940's voters off -the second interview where Gutman drugs Spade is even more hypnotic-what makes the above scene so comically wonderful yet menacing is the way no matter what Spade answers Gutman will affably agree.
great scene from a great film, even if Greenstreet's farting was edited out.
w h a t
Yay the Maltese Falcon!!
Sam got pissed out of nowhere then he was just kidding.
Sam's grin shows it was an act for Gutman's benefit.
@leocomerford
Phil Tippett interview, "Empire of Dreams" (documentary): The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy documentary
Hey Actors!. You think you can Act?.Ha, ha, ha!. This is how we do it!.♥️😎
One of John Huston's best filmed moments. And like Orson Welles, his best film was also his first. Pity, but at least Huston got a decent chance to follow up his success with bigger, more ambitious films, while poor Welles got mired in a bad reputation with RKO.
they purposely destroyed Welles career.
As per lead in article number one choice is of course a black falcon statue full of uncut blow!
The character Elisha Cook played was Wilmer Cook.
@PhiloYT1 I seem to remember writing just that elsewhere.......
I've never heard of Sam Spade, but in reading the Vampire Chronicles, the main character, Lestat, likes to claim he speaks like a cross of a boatman and Sam Spade. xD
Hilarious as that mental image now is, I'm infinitely curious about this movie and plan to get my hands on it as soon as possible.
Sam Spade was the creation of Dashiell Hammett, who wrote the novel the film was based on. Hammett was an absolute master of his craft.
Why wouldnt he empty the gun before putting it into his pocket or before handing it over.
@tumadoireacht Thanks!
... really?! damn that's rare!
Is it a goof that Sam says $10,000 when Joel actually offered 5? Or is he trying to bluff Gutman somehow?
@tumadoireacht Actually, just a few minutes before I read this comment I was thinking that Han Solo might owe something to Bogart's portrayal of Sam Spade in /The Maltese Falcon/: maybe there really is something to that. Of course, /Star Wars/ certainly wasn't the first film to rehash both personas, so /Casablanca/ may have been an influence too. (Do you have a ref. for the SW influence?) Come to think of it Joel Cairo as Greedo makes startling sense too!
When Harrison Ford was hired to play Indiana Jones he was told to watch The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, since Jones was based on Bogart in that film.
@ysbaddaden2003 they finally got around to a similar mr. big in" tomorrow never dies" with robbie coltrane
I know I been commenting a lot but...gotta wonder if Gutman is being honest about all these things 'better and better!' or if he was flattering no matter what Sam said.
Gutman: *Pouring liquor*
Spade: That's enough.
Gutman: We begin well, sir! I distrust a man that can't say 'when' it means he isn't afraid to admit a limit...You're a closed mouthed man?
Spade: Yeah I hate talking!
Gutman: Better and better! I like a man that doesn't like to talk! It means he loves to listen and if he loves to listen it means he weighs another man's words carefully before speaking! He doesn't just 'flap his gums' to force conversation...What would you like me to talk about? The black bird?
Spade: Nah I want to hear about your life story.
Gutman: Oh ho you're the man for me! I love a fellow that appreciates a business conversation with some personal touches. Well, I was born by my mother Ginger So and So and Father So and So Gutman...*five hours later* And that's how I came to be here! Tell me sir do you like Taco Bell?
Spade: Yeah I like Taco Bell every once in a while.
Gutman: Marvelous and marvelous! I appreciate a man that likes the fine point of life and isn't afraid to enjoy items off of Taco Bell's buck menu! I'll send Wilmer out to collect some tacos and burritos for us!
These are two very shrewd men playing a game with each other. Trying to lull or trick each other into showing weakness or revealing too much.
In the span of about 30 seconds, they say the word “talk” eight times. I thought it was hilarious when Gutman caps off his treatise about “talking” by saying, “I like talking to a man who likes to talk.” I know it wasn’t meant to be funny or sarcastic, I just think it shows us right away what Gutman likes to do best: talk. :-)
Yeah, I’ve known a few people like Gutman who like to share their philosophies about the world with you any chance they get based on any circumstance. Gutman doesn’t disappoint: the three different kinds of people he distrusts, how much he likes to talk, the two different things he likes about Spade, etc. Spade is all, “Cut the BS.” The character keeps calling Spade, “Sir.” Ah the good old days, when antagonists were still polite to each other even up to the point of murdering each other.
Irrelevant402 - your comment is gold. Gutman certainly had plenty of practice chasing the black bird all over the map to have to flatter and schmooze his way into and out of things.
think on the crap that passes for "film" today, and the sad actors left to perform in what are now simply image enhanced video games. greenstreet, lorre, bogart, --and the rest, are incomprable, and the lines are delivered with a timing and perfection no longer possible. what happened? television and the rapid decline in literacy.
Theatre is still around. Sounds to me like you’d be happier with that.
Oh crap
Black and white concentrates the viewer on the acting without distraction. Colour films suck.
Ah, They don't make movies like this anymore. But that shouldn't stop them from trying. I prefer good movies(like this) to the puerile drivel being spoon fed to audiences these days.