The Maltese Falcon – Michael A. Kahn

Flipping Edmund Wilson the Bird: When Does a Work of Literature Qualify as–egads!–a Mystery?

Posted on October 1, 2022 by Michael Kahn

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the death of one of the leading literary critics of his time, Edmund Wilson. While many of his readers, especially in academia, admire him as the author of such influential works as To the Finland Station (1940) and Patriotic Gore (1962), for this humble scribe, whose books are…

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Napoleon’s Penis: The Ultimate MacGuffin?

Posted on March 15, 2020March 16, 2020 by Michael Kahn

The answer: absolutely. And yes, I know where you focused on that painting of Napoleon. But before we take a closer look at that titular appendage, we need to understand the MacGuffin and its key role in many of your favorite books and movies. So what is a MacGuffin? Coined by master filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock,…

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From Hard-Boiled Mysteries to Film Noir to the World

Posted on June 16, 2016June 20, 2016 by Michael Kahn

Earlier this month, the St Louis Jewish Film Festival asked me to introduce the screening of Fire Birds, an Israeli murder mystery set in Tel Aviv (with English subtitles). To prepare my introductory remarks, I watched the film. Somewhere toward the middle of the movie, I had my epiphany. “Thank you, Mr. Hammett,” I said….

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Fire Birds: An Israeli Murder Mystery Film (June 7, 2016)

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Michael Kahn

Murder mystery writer introduces murder mystery film to murder mystery fans at this year’s St. Louis Jewish Film Festival. The writer is me. The film is Fire Birds. And if you’re a fan of the noire mystery movie–a rich tradition that dates back to such classics as The Maltese Falcon and The Third Man while forever reinventing…

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The Perfect Ending: Hollywood v. the Novel, Part 3

Posted on January 10, 2013January 10, 2013 by Michael Kahn

And now for the third and final comparison of the closing scene in a major Hollywood movie with the closing scene in the novel on which it was based. Our focus today: The Maltese Falcon. The supposed last line of the movie version invariably makes those lists of Top Ten Greatest Closing Lines: “The stuff…

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