The Maltese Falcon, War Bond, Kyle Chandler

Some have tried to claim that the 1941 version The Maltese Falcon was the first film noir; but while Falcon certainly influenced subsequent films, it was influenced by earlier ones, several of which are now regularly called noir. Most of the famous early examples were adapted from novels, and during the 1940s and 1950s we can find noir radio drama, noir jazz (known to Hollywood as “crime jazz”), and noir comic books. None of this means that film noir is a figment of the critical imagination. It’s safe to say that before 1941 noir was an emergent, little-known cultural category accurately describing certain French films and French popular literature; between roughly 1945 and 1950, when the French began writing about American film noir, it was a dominant category, its characteristic moods and themes affecting many different kinds of movies and other media; after 1958 it became a residual category.

John Huston’s The Maltese Falcon is ostensibly a Bay area story, pure Dashiell Hammett, with its most lingering images centered in offices and apartment interiors that could exist anywhere since they are cloistered, withdrawn, and private; still outside somewhere there is always the presence of the forbidding city, and its stringent light and dark shadow that filter into these comfortably bounded interiors more as warnings than as actualities. What is also unmistakably urban is Sam Spade’s ennui, his knowingness, his flat-footed assurance – as well as the polish and façade shown by the femme fatale. -"A Companion to Film Noir" (2013) by Andrew Spicer & Helen Hanson

Local journalist and television producer, Terri Landry, will lead a crime fiction discussion of “The Maltese Falcon” on March 18 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Covington Branch Library, located at 310 W. 21st Avenue and on March 25 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Slidell Branch Library’s temporary location, 610 Robert Blvd. Landry will lead a book and film discussion, along with a viewing of the 1941 film, “The Maltese Falcon,” at the Madisonville Branch Library on April 9 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. She will lead another film discussion at the Slidell Little Theatre, located at 2024 Nellie Drive, on April 12 from 10 a.m.-11:45 a.m., with the film being shown from noon-2 p.m. A Mystery Writers Gathering will be held in the theatre lobby with members of the community able to meet and greet the writers. A Film Noir Series at the Madisonville Branch Library will feature viewing “The Big Sleep” on April 16, “Double Indemnity” on April 23 and “Strangers on a Train” on April 30. Source: www.nola.com

Kyle Chandler's favorite film is "The Maltese Falcon" (1941). Kyle Chandler is the modern Ward Bond.

Ward Bond was a popular character actor who appeared in more movies than any other performer on the American Film Institute’s list of the top 100 U.S. films. He had roles in seven titles on the AFI list — “It Happened One Night,” “Bringing Up Baby,” “Gone with the Wind,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” “The Maltese Falcon,” “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “The Searchers.”

Jimmy Stewart is next on the list, appearing in six movies. Bond was never a leading man, but he was able to enjoy a long, flourishing Hollywood career by being a dependable presence in a number of films — from a screwball comedy like “Bringing Up Baby” to dramas (“Gone with the Wind,” “The Grapes of Wrath”) and John Ford’s searing Western classic, “The Searchers.” In all, he made 23 films with his longtime friend John Wayne and also starred in the TV series “Wagon Train” until his death at age 57 of a heart attack.

I hope Chandler — who is probably best known as high school football coach Eric Taylor on “Friday Night Lights,” for which he won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2011 — enjoys a long, Bond-like career.

He had roles in the big-screen films “King Kong” (Peter Jackon’s 2005 version) and 2011’s Steven Spielberg sci-fi romp “Super 8.” Chandler also had supporting roles in “Argo” and “Zero Dark Thirty,” which were both Academy Award Best Picture nominees (“Argo” won). That places him squarely in Ward Bond territory; Bond appeared in 11 Best Picture nominees. Source: www.kenoshanews.com