The Maltese Falcon (Warner Bros.) (1931)

A Great Story—A Great Cast— “The Maltese F alcon” Author Defends Much Maligned Detectives Dashiell Hammett Creates Great Mystery Play Starring Bebe Daniels, Now at .-.-------.-...-.. Theatre (Short Feature) _ “Nobody loves a private detective. He is the butt of a thousand jokes —the comedy relief in hundreds of novels and pictures — the thick| headed, flat-footed straight man for wise-cracking comedians on and screen, stage “Yet the life of a private detective is not altogether a succession of mistakes nor is it limited to ob taining evidence for divorce actions. Many splendid private agencies exist in cities throughout the country, and, were the official police to admit it, wide credit would be given to private investigators generally, for the proper solution of mysteries. This is the opinion of Dashiell Hammett, author of “The Maltese Faleon,” the best selling mystery novel from which Warner Bros. play of the same name, starring Bebe Daniels, and now at the .......... Theatre — was taken. Mr. Hammett before becoming a writer was for a number of years a detective for the Pinkerton Agency, and therefore is able to speak with authority. His Sam Spade, head of a detective agency in “The Maltese Falcon”—is pictured as being not unmoved by the feminine wiles of Ruth Wonderly, the adventuress, played with such sinister charm by Miss Daniels. Ricardo Cortez plays Spade and Mr. Hammett, after ’ watching his work, expressed himself as perfectly satisfied with the 4~ -al, “Cortez is just right for Sauna S8y® the auvifot, “ne evidences keen judgment and cool courage—making Spade human under temptation and altogether normal in his reactions to all sorts of trying situations. “He is hard enough and yet human too. He is smart but not heroic. He puts over the qualities I have generally found in private detectives worthy of the name. They are not a perfect lot, but neither are they as lacking in intelligence as they have been made to appear. And not infrequently they do get their man.” The story of “The Maltese Falcon” is a battle of wits between a smart detective and a clever woman. The result is never certain until the last fade-out. The picture is unique in film history in that it presents a feminine star of Miss Daniels’ importance, in a role which a less daring actress would never think of attempting. Others in the cast are Dudley Digges, Robert Elliott, Thelma Todd, Una Merkel, Otto Matiesen, Dwight Frye, Walter Long and J. Farrell MacDonald. Roy Del Ruth directed. Agostino Borgato In “Maltese Falcon” (Biography, April 15, 1931) Agostino Borgato, who plays the part of Captain Jacobi in “The Maltese Falcon,” the Warner Bros. picture starring Bebe Daniels, was born in Venice, Italy, in 1871 and educated there and in Florence. He entered pictures in 1913. He has been seen in “Magic Flute,” “Kiss in Taxi,” “Helen of Troy,” “Hula,” “She Goes to War,” “Behind the Makeup,” “Romance of Rio Grande,” “Fifi’s Father,’ “Hot For Paris.” He is five feet ten inches in height and has black eyes and gray hair. FALCON DANIELS Ricardo Cortez Cut No. 21 Cut 20c Mat 5c Page Four WwW = = WOMAN'S WEAPONS SHE USES love. From Her beauty never failed until she met the hardest detective that ever crossed her path. He wanted her for murder. She wanted him for . . Who wins? You will be swept with hair-raising speed through plot and counter plot — intrigue interwoven with mystery — You will be held spelli bound to the very end. the sensational thriller “The Maltese Falcon,” by Dashiell Hammett. STRAND WARNER BROS. VITAPHONE PICTURE FAIL— / MAN'S mystery FALCON. vtt BEBE DANIELS RICARDO CORTEZ DUDLEY DIGGES UNA MERKEL Cut No.8 Cut 60c Mat 15c¢ Digges Creates Odd Character In Weird “Maltese Falcon” (Biography, April 15, 193%) Dudley Digges, who is noted for his many excellent characterizations on stage and screen has never done a more unusual one than in support of Bebe Daniels in “The Maltese Faleon,” the Warner Brothers mystery melodrama, playing now at the Theatre. George Arliss in his autobiography “Up the Years from Bloomsbury” goes to great pains to pay Digges an exceedingly high compliment for his ability as an actor and as a stage manager. Digges has now become identified with talking pictures, after his successful “Outward Bound,” also for Warner Brothers, appearance in and will be seen in them with increasing frequency from this time on. Digges is an English actor who is equally well known for character roles in his native country and in America. He is a distinct addition to any featured cast. He began his stage career at the Manhattan Theatre in New York in 1904 with Mrs. Fiske. : LOST GRAND GIVES PROP THE JUMPS The property man on the Warner Bros. lot, during the filming of “The Maltese Falcon,” the mystery romance starring Bebe Daniels, now at the Theatre, experienced one of those moments when it is hard to be nonchalant. Ten one-thousand-dollarbills were used in one of the exciting sequences. The money is supposed to be on the person of the star who is duly searched—and it is to be found in possession of another, who confesses that he _ has palmed it. The excitement occurred when the money disappeared for good. The prop man’s anxiety was relieved when it was discovered that the grand had slipped through a pocket— the bottom of which had not been sewed—into another part of the garment. Those taking part in the weird murder mystery are Ricardo Cortez, Dudley Digges, Una Merkel, Robert Elliott, Thelma Todd, Otto Matiesen, Oscar Apfel, Walter Long, Dwight Frye, J. Farrell MacDonald and Agostino Borgato. The picture is an adaptation of the novel of the sarne name by Dashiell Hammett, formerly a Pinkerton detective Roy Del Ruth directed. Cortez Succeeds In Making A Hero Out Of Mere Detective (Biography, April 15, 1931) Ricardo Cortez -has the principal supporting “The Maltese Faleon,” the Warner Brothers’ mys tery melodrama, starring Bebe Dan role in iels, which is now playing at the Theatre. Talking pictures have increased the popularity of Mr. Cortez and he is now one of the most constantly | employed feature players in Hollywood. -He was born in Vienna but came to New York when only three years old and was educated there. After a brief fling in the financial world, Cortez turned to the profession with considerable early success. He abandoned that for pictures however, and quickly became as great a picture favorite. Early roles include “In the Name of Love,” “The Spaniard,” “Helen of Troy,” “Sorrows of Satan” and “Mockery.” More recent roles in elude a featured) part in “Illicit” with Barbara Stanwyck. Cortez who is an ardent sportsman is powerfully built, more than six feet tall, weighing one hundred and seventyfive pounds. His role opposite Bebe Daniels in “The Maltese Falcon” is considered his most important contribution to the screen to date. | Dallas Star Wins New Laurels In A Mystery Thriller iheek, nba 1931) Bebe Daniels, now starring at °° Theatre in Warner Bro “The Maltese Falcon,” chose Dallas, Texas, both mystery romance, as the place to be born in and the place to make her stage debut—for she was carried on when ten weeks the both At was touring the country in Richard III in which her mother played. She appeared at the Belasco in Los Angeles in such plays as “Shore Acres,” “The Squaw Man” and “Zaza,” Before she was thirteen she was a leading lady in two-reel comedies, playing opposite Harold Lloyd in the “Lonesome Duke” and the “Boy and Girl? series. Bebe left slap stick forever with an important role in Cecil B. De Mille’s “Male and Female” and later costarred with Richard Dix in “Sinners in Heaven.” She was then placed at the head old in comedy “Jane,” in which her parents were ap pearing. the age of four she of her own production unit and starred in “The Campus Flirt,” “Senorita,” “She’s a Sheik” anu “Fifty-Fifty Girl.” Miss Daniels’ appearance in “Rio Rita” marked her as one of the real talking picture finds. “Dixiana” followed. She was recently seen in Warner Bros. “My Past,” with her husband, Ben Lyon, as her leading man. Miss Daniels is five feet three inches in height, weighs one hundred and nine pounds and has black hair and brown eyes. Her favorite pastimes are swimming, horseback riding, tennis and flying. Was Ann Rutledge In “Tl mcoin” Now Cast In “Maltese Falcon” (Biography, April 15, 1931) Una Merkel, who plays the part of Effie in “The Maltese Falcon,” the Warner Bros. mystery play starring Bebe Daniels, now at the ee Theatre, is gratefully remembered for her portrayal of Ann Rutledge, sweetheart of Abraham Lincoln, in the recent Griffith film, which marked her talking picture debut. Born in Covington, Kentucky, Miss Merkel traveled with her parents for years, finishing her high school education in Philadelphia. She had been a child choir singer, had taught a Sunday School class— and later attended a dramatic school in New York, first securing a twoline part with Charlotte Walker in “Two by Two.” Her next work was a bit in “The Poor Nut.” She had decided — almost—to give up the stage in preference to regular meals, when John Golden gave her a chance to understudy in “Pigs,” and when it toured the country, she played the principal role. The same producer put her in “Two Girls Wanted” and then gave her the leading part op posite Lynn Overman in “The Gossipy Sex.” Jed Harris borrowed her from John Golden for the part of Betty Lee in support of Helen Hayes in “Coquette.” New York critics were unanimous in their praise. of her work and Joseph Schenck of United Artists, put her under, long term contract. Her “Abraham Lincoln” was followed by the principal role in “Eyes of the World.” Miss Merkel, who is unmarried, may be spoken of as the old-fashioned type of girl, beautiful, sane, humorous, athletic—in short, wholesome, thre AVN 7.\Kee) Cut No. 20 Cut 20¢ Mat sc