In Detail

In this noir classic, detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) gets more than he bargained for when he takes a case brought to him by a beautiful but secretive woman (Mary Astor). As soon as Miss Wonderly shows up, trouble follows as Sam's partner is murdered and Sam is accosted by a man (Peter Lorre) demanding he locate a valuable statuette.

Sam Spade makes an impressive existential detective as he faces one moral conundrum after another. John Huston directs with commendable restraint creating the prototype film noir – claustrophobic, perverse and intensely enjoyable. ‘This is one of the best examples of actionful and suspenseful melodramatic story telling in cinematic form.’ Variety

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