The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon premiered on this day in 1941 in New York City. I was not aware that it was John Huston's directorial debut - what a way to start a career. It was the movie that made Humphrey Bogart a star. I have to admit I never saw what the big attraction to Mary Astor was though.

As luck would have it - I recently re-read the Dashiell Hammett book. It really holds up well as a good read. In the book Sam Spade is portrayed as a blonde Satan (not exactly picturing Bogart while reading it but that's OK since he's so great in the movie) and Brigid O'Shaughnessy was so beautiful men would kill or die for her (definitely not picturing Mary Astor when reading the book). 

Interesting to note that Ward Bond probably became one of John Huston's "players" after doing such a fine job on this film. His portrayal of  Detective Tom Polhaus was also spot on to what I pictured in the book. 

Bond, Ward Bond.

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Books are the training weights of the mind." - Epicetus

"If you want to be a clear thinker you cannot pay attention to politics because it'll destroy your ability to think." - Naval Ravikant

"I distrust a man that says when. If he's got to be careful not to drink too much it's because he's not to be trusted when he does." - Dashiell Hammett

"Remember that to change your mind and to accept correction are free acts." - Marcus Aurelius

"The collective noun for a group of statisticians is a quarrel." - John Tukey

"I often carry things to read so that I will not have to look at people." - Charles Bukowski

"If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads." - Ralph Waldo Emerson