Ali Ahmad A really good classic movie. I loved it. Marie wilson is beautiful. I think i can relate someone with her face.

Hot 888 Mama The back story of the substitute treasure being pursued here by all in lieu of the more famous black falcon is the historical horn of a knight named Roland. When this warrior attempted to use the fabled horn to summon reinforcements for his outnumbered band, the enemy killed him and FILLED THE HORN WITH JEWELS SO IT COULD NOT BE BLOWN AGAIN! You cannot help asking yourself, why didn't these guys just stomp the horn to pieces? Did they lug around so many jewels that they had run out of Zip-Locks in which to store them? Furthermore, since you cannot enamel such an unwieldy cornucopia, the suspense is taken out of the plot in that the horn cannot be dramatically scratched and proved to be a fake at the end, but rather turns out to be pretty ordinary and unlikely to have tricked anyone older than three. The pathos of the P.I. sending a woman he's half in love with to the gallows in the 1931 and 1941 versions turns into bathos here, as his partner's femme fatale lady of doom simply schemes at a way of cheating the P.I. of the reward money implausibly posted for the capture of the dead partner's killer. Sheesh!

drgarnett It was very strange watching "Satan Met a Lady" immediately after watching the 1931 "Maltese Falcon". It is very clear that Warner Bros. was trying to remake their popular version of "Falcon" to cash in on the popularity of MGM's "The Thin Man". The tone of "Falcon" has been lightened to approach comedy, while the portrayal of Spade (aka Shane in "Satan") was suaved up to try to conjure up William Powell.Unfortunately, the attempt fails despite the star power of Warren William and Bette Davis. William looks like he's trying very hard but his lines just don't carry enough comedy to pull it off. Bette Davis has many good moments but doesn't quite demonstrate the intelligent conniver her character is supposed to be. Only Alison Skipworth (as Madame Barrabas, the film's designate for Caspar Gutman) shows any real feeling for the character. Arthur Treacher doesn't seem at all like a character that would be involved in theft and murder, while Porter Hall as Ames (also the infamous company psychologist in Miracle on 34th Street) seems more like an accountant than a private detective.Part of the problem is the frenetic pace. The lines come so fast they almost step on each other. The pace doesn't allow anything to sink in before we're on to another scene. Another problem is the Hayes code crackdown, which means the film can't reproduce the boozy sexiness of "Thin Man" nor the explicitness of the earlier "Falcon". Hence it just falls flat.

MartinHafer Warren William plays a scoundrel of a private eye named Shayne (no relation to the character in the series starring Lloyd Nolan). He tangles with a gang of thieves looking for the legendary Horn of Roland which is supposedly stuffed with jewels. Along the way, William battles the likes of Bette Davis and Arthur Treacher to get to the bottom of some murders and find the priceless artifact.Calling this film a remake of THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) is really a misnomer, as only the smallest bits and pieces from the exceptional Dashiell Hammett's original story remain. All the the great sarcasm, grit and intelligence was stripped away in this truly bad retooling of this prior film that had starred Ricardo Cortez (the more famous Humphrey Bogart version would not appear until 1941 and was the 3rd version of the story). While I usually like Warren William in movies, here he plays the role almost like it's a comedy, not a serious drama. Because of this, you have no idea how he possibly solves the murders!! As for the Fat Man and his cronies, having the old dame and her limp gang (with, of all people, Arthur Treacher?!) play these roles was just insulting and dumb. Why they had the very dippy Marie Wiilson in the film is anyone's guess--as it further reinforced the comedic aspects of the film--making it seem even less serious than a Saint or Falcon series film.Overall, perhaps my 4 is too generous--especially considering how little they did with such great material. Still, if you totally ignore that it's supposed to be THE MALTESE FALCON, then it's at least an agreeable enough time-passer.By the way, I watched the Ricardo Cortez version just before seeing this film and the contrast was amazing. Fortunately, you can get both films on the same DVD from Warner Brothers/Turner Entertainment.