[In The Maltese Falcon] Huston displays a rare talent for the film medium is in his exact manipulation of his actors, cameraman, set designer, and others, to capture such a rich, near flawlessly correct mood, not just at moments and scenes but throughout the length of the film. It is an extremely powerful and richly suggestive work and has a rare solidity as a whole. It is a great film. (p. 49)
[Huston's hand is] obvious in his superb relating of actors to the camera, as in the way the latter closes in on Spade's bulk so that it cuts between Brigid and Cairo at their first meeting to suggest how he is in the middle, listening in to pick up what he can. There is the beautiful economy of the handling of Miles' death: a shot of a signpost, then of Miles Archer below it, his smile vanishing as a gun is brought up just inside the frame and fired at him; and lastly Miles' body tumbling down the slope behind the fence, the change in mood punched home by the score, changing from its earlier, vaguely unsettling, rather eerie quality….
This is a free excerpt of 191 words. There are 379 words (approx.
1 page at 300 words per page) in the full critical essay.
Read the rest of this Criticism with our Huston, John 1906–: Critical Essay by Allen Eyles Access Pass.
