Product Details

• Actors: Bette Davis, Warren William, Arthur Treacher, Una Merkel, Thelma Todd
• Format: NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Brothers
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000J6E0T2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,665 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

These two DVD's are the second and third DVD's that were released as part of the Maltese Falcon 3-Disc Special Edition on October 3, 2006. They include The Maltese Falcon (1931) & Satan Met a Lady (1936) along with many bonus features. Among them are: Theatrical trailers; The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird documentary; Robert Osborne Hosts Becoming Attractions: The Trailers of Humphrey Bogart; Studio Blooper Reel; Three radio show adaptations featuring the movie's original stars including a version starring Edward G. Robinson.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A solid first look at the black bird from 1931, but quite a let-down in 1936, October 18, 2006

By 

C. O. DeRiemer (San Antonio, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Maltese Falcon (1931) & Satan Met a Lady (1936) - Authentic Region 1 DVD from Warner Brothers starring Bette Davis, Warren William, Bebe Daniels & Ricardo Cortez. BONUS DISC INCLUDED. (DVD)

--The Maltese Falcon (1931)
Anyone with ambition to be a film writer could do far worse than to watch Roy Del Ruth's The Maltese Falcon, made in 1931, and then watch John Huston's The Maltese Falcon filmed ten years later. The plot is the same, the characters are the same, the situations and motivations are the same. The 1931 film is good. It suffers from the kind of clunky acting common to early talkies, particularly from Ricardo Cortez as Sam Spade. Still, the story is so strong with all those double crosses, obsession with the black bird and vivid characters that the movie holds up.

So why watch the two to learn about writing for films? You won't learn much about writing if you read a poor effort and compare it with a good effort. You can learn much from reading a good effort and comparing it with an excellent effort. Here's what I mean. Take the scene when Spade is meeting Caspar Gutman for the first time in Gutman's hotel room. (In 1931 the Gutman character is played by Dudley Diggs; in 1941, by Sidney Greenstreet.) Gutman invites Spade to sit down and offers him a drink. Then Gutman looks him over, a picture of bonhomie.

From 1931: "You're a close-mouthed man, sir!" says Gutman with a friendly smile. "No, I like to talk," says Spade. Gutman chortles and says, "We'll talk if you like. And I tell right now I am a man who likes talking to a man who likes to talk."

Now see what John Huston does to the scene. From 1941: "You're a close-mouthed man?" Gutman asks. "Nah, I like to talk," Spade says. Gutman beams and says, "Better and better. I distrust a close-mouthed man. He generally picks the wrong time to talk and says the wrong things. Talking's something you can't do judiciously, unless you keep in practice. Now, sir, we'll talk, if you like. I'll tell you right out, I am a man who likes talking to a man who likes to talk."

From a line of dialogue that is amusing, especially when it drips from Dudley Diggs' lips, Huston creates a whole character that enables Greenstreet to practically slobber with great effect over the oncoming scene.

Or another example, when Spade is telling Ruth Wunderly she's going up the river. In 1931 the scene is extended over several longish lines, and then is extended even further when Spade visits Wunderly in the jail. Huston, in this case, shortened the scene but made it more emphatic, with Spade more obviously torn by what he was doing. And then that was that; no anticlimactic visit to the slammer.

As good a movie as the 1931 version is, there is no doubt that it is dated. Cortez, a matinee idol in the Twenties, plays Spade as a tough lady's man, calling all the women "Honey." His private office with that comfortable couch is obviously a place to do more than take a nap in. Cortez just isn't that good an actor. For a modern audience, when he smiles he looks disconcertingly like Louis Nye. Una Merkel, however, as Spade's secretary, Effie Perrine, is first rate.

The movie is part of the three-disc The Maltese Falcon release which includes the 1941 version as well as 1936's version with variations called Satan Met a Lady. There are a number of extras which I haven't looked at. The 1931 film is a little soft. On balance, though, it looks good.

For those with long memories and can find tapes or CDs of old radio mystery shows, try listening to a few episodes of Sam Spade, Private Eye with Howard Duff in the lead role and Lurene Tuttle as Effie Perrine. Bogart undoubtedly is the gold standard for Sam Spade, but Duff's voice coming from that box on the living room table comes close.

--Satan Met a Lady (1936)
If you believe that old movies don't make classic movies just because they're old, Satan Met a Lady will make your case. It's based more or less faithfully on The Maltese Falcon, the first movie of which was made in 1931. This version stars Warren William as Ted Shayne (Sam Spade), Bette Davis as Valerie Purvis (Ruth Wunderly), Alison Skipworth as Madame Barabbas (Caspar Gutman) and Arthur Treacher as Anthony Travers (Joel Cairo), with Maynard Holmes as Kenny (Wilmer Cook) and Marie Wilson as Miss Murgatroyd (Effie Perrine).

The intent must have been to take the Dashiell Hammett story and turn it into a comedy murder mystery. The music under the opening credits is so jaunty you might expect a musical. Does it work? Sadly, no, not in my opinion. Of the characters, only Arthur Treacher comes off as genuinely interesting. If Treacher is remembered now it's probably only as one of the many stuffy English butlers he played. Here, he's remarkably good, dealing with fast dialogue and, in this movie, what passes for ironic and witty lines. He's a completely different type from Peter Lorre's Joel Cairo, but he's almost as vivid. The highlight of the film, in fact, is when we first meet him ransacking Shayne's apartment, then having some dueling dialogue with Shayne when Shayne unexpectedly appears. This scene is good stuff.

For the rest, some of the actors are competent and some are mediocre. Bette Davis, surprisingly, doesn't make much of an impression; she's just too obviously intelligent and self-centered for the role. You watch her, but you're not much taken by her. Warren William probably comes off weakest, and some of this is not his fault. He had a profile as sharp as the prow of a yacht, a smooth, trained baritone, great diction and a sense of humor. Unfortunately, William is saddled with a trench coat that looks half a size to large for him; the collar gaps noticeably every time he leans over, sits down or is roughed up. He wears what appears to be a black Stetson. The combination makes him look almost silly at times. More damaging, we meet his version of Sam Spade being run out of town, then charming a large lady with jewels, then coming on very strong to Marie Wilson's ditzy, dumb blonde of a secretary, Miss Murgatroyd. The effect is less of a private eye who is a charming seducer than of a sleazy, middle-aged goat. He wears quite a bit of pomade on his hair.

Satan Met a Lady is a curiosity piece, nothing more. It's amusing to compare it to the 1931 version but it's probably nothing one would want by itself. The DVD transfer is a bit soft but otherwise looks fine.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warren William & Satan Met a Lady (1936), December 2, 2008

By 

SnowFox - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Maltese Falcon (1931) & Satan Met a Lady (1936) - Authentic Region 1 DVD from Warner Brothers starring Bette Davis, Warren William, Bebe Daniels & Ricardo Cortez. BONUS DISC INCLUDED. (DVD)

>>>I bought this set only to see the film SATAN MET A LADY (1936); therefore, this review only applies to that film and the quality of that film.

How fortunate we are to have SATAN MET A LADY on DVD, especially in the excellent condition of which this film is presented here. The film quality is wonderful and the film appears to be complete.

As for the movie itself, perhaps not revered as a class today, eh? Yes, there is no denying it lacks sophistication. The plot is relatively watered down from what we know as THE MALTESE FALCON of 1941. Basically, if you are expecting anything like the later version of the story, prepare to be disappointed.

Despite its shortcomings, SATAN MET A LADY has moments where it glitters. Arthur Treacher is particularly entertaining, although his character is never really fully developed. Warren William is a bit scary at times as the private detective Ted Shayne. I don't know what he was going for with that otherwise lovely voice of his... Was he going for a southern accent? Comes off as just plain weird. Even so, his energy and wit make an otherwise dull movie enjoyable. I would like to add that a DVD set showcasing William's pre-code films is long overdue. He was a fascinating actor who starred in many interesting films of the early 1930s; why his talent is so over looked today, I do not know.

Now to step on some toes of the Bette Davis fans... Perhaps what is really disappointing about the film is the amount of effort Warren William puts into his role only to be weighed down by Bette Davis' apparent lack of interest. She adds nothing to her role and takes energy away from a film that cries for enthusiasm to keep it afloat as a comedy.

I suppose what the film was aiming to be was a madcap screwball comedy poking fun at heavy detective mysteries. Final verdict: Although the film falls short on so many occasions, the moments where SATAN MET A LADY succeeds can be brilliant.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maltese Falcon/Satan Met A Lady, June 15, 2010

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John Q. Public (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Maltese Falcon (1931) & Satan Met a Lady (1936) - Authentic Region 1 DVD from Warner Brothers starring Bette Davis, Warren William, Bebe Daniels & Ricardo Cortez. BONUS DISC INCLUDED. (DVD)

I liked both of the movies but I liked Warren William, in Satan Met A Lady the best.
Real good picture quality on both movies.