Matlese Falcon Opening Scene - Film Noir

Maltese Falcon is a film that was realised in 1941. This film used the traditional black and white, low key lighting to tell the audience that the film is a film noir even though colour productions become practical and popular. The plot of the film is that a detective called Sam Spade is visited at his office by a woman called Mrs Wonderly. Mrs Wonderly claims that she is looking for her missing sister who seems to be with a man called Floyd Thursby. This man is said to be dangerous. When Mrs Wonderly goes to the office, she mentions that she is planning on meeting him that night but another detective, Miles Archer, says that he will go and shadow them in order to find the missing sister. Film noirs became popular during the 1900’s. Audiences enjoy this genre because it means that they all follow the same storyline which they want to watch. This was because it allowed people to escape the depression and the war. You can tell that this film is a typical film noir because of many different factors. These will be discussed throughout the essay.

The narrative of this film is based on the spider and the fly theory. This theory is when the detective or the main male character is besotted by the femme fatal who then draws the male into a web of deceit. This
means that the women is classed as a dangerous character and also a manipulative character. In the opening scene of Maltese Falcon, this is shown through the femme fatal explaining her issue. The detective and his partner draw themselves in to the point where they are leaning towards her. This shows that the detectives are interested in what she has to say and they want to get close to her due to her attractiveness. This results in the women drawing the detectives in to a web of deceit. Also, the narration in the film is restricted. This means that the audience only knows as much as the detective. We see it from the detective’s side and we find our things as the film continues. There is a hook/enigma in the scene also. This hook is when the one detective, Miles, get shot when shadowing Thursby. This draws the audience in because they want to know who shot the detective and also how the case itself turns out. This is also an enigma because it draws the audience in since they want to know more about what happens in the film. The gender equality in the opening scene is represented. There are two different opinions of how the femme fatal is represented. In a traditional film noir, the women will die at the end or she will have a negative ending. This is a negative representation of how women are portrayed in film noirs. On the other hand, women can be portrayed as powerful women. This is because the femme fatal is able to draw the detective in which shows she can be powerful. It is up to the audience to make up their mind of whether the female actress is portrayed positively or negatively.

Within the opening scene of this film, there were a few camera angles that were used in there. One of these shots was an establishing shot. This shot was used when showing the audience San Francisco. This tells the audience that the film is set in the city. This is the typical location for a film noir would be an American city of some kind. Within this location, the scene would be set in an office. This is the location for the opening scene of Maltese Falcon. By setting the location of the film, it means that the audience knows the location and can relate to the setting of scenes. It means they are more aware of the film and the setting of it. Another shot that was used was a medium close up. This is was used when Mrs Wonderly was explain her problem to the detective. This shot was used to show the facial expressions of the women. This meant that the audience was able to know how the women felt through her facial expressions. The audience was then able to sympathise with the character since they would know how she was feeling. Another shot that was used was a three shot. Within this shot, it included the two detectives and the femme fatal. The shot allowed the audience to see the costumes that the characters were wearing. It also shown the audience how the men were leaning towards the women due to the attraction. It meant the audience could understand that the men were attracted to her which could foreshadow a tragedy later during the film. This is because a detective should be professional and not have a noticeable attraction to a client for professional purposes.

Sound was used at the beginning of the scene. This music is used when the establishing shots are being used. The soundtrack is incidental music. This is because the music fits the scene when it is played. The music sets a happy atmosphere as there are clips shown of the city. The music sets the scene of a city that seems to be extremely positive. The instruments that are used within the sound clip would be strings, trumpet and xylophone. Together, this creates an upbeat track which gives the audience the impression that the city is a happy and positive place. In the opening scene, there is also a backing track throughout this. It is a quite backing track that you can only hear when there is no dialogue. This piece of music is made up of string instruments. This creates a positive atmosphere for the audience. This means the audience will not expect what later happens when the detective’s partner gets shot. The music hide the events that happen later in the film.

Just like in any film, editing has to be done to ensure that the film is the best quality possible. At the beginning, the scene had fades when showing images of San Francisco. The fades make the editing a lot more seamlessly. They are more noticeable but they make the scenes flow a lot more smoothly. It also sets the scene for the audience. For the rest of the opening scene, there was continuity editing put into the scene. This is when the cuts between shots are fluid and barely noticeable. It means that the audience stay interested in the film because it flows well.

Within any film, mise en scene is important in order to ensure that the audience stays interested. In the opening scene of Maltese Falcon, the costumes of the characters are extremely important. In a typical film noir, the detective will wear a specific costume. This is normally a suit which is very neat and tidy. When the detective is outside, he tends to wear an over coat and a hat. In the opening scene, the detective wears this outfit. This then tells the audience that the film is a film noir by the characters customer. It also tells the audience that the detective is neat person who likes to be presentable. The femme fatal in the film also wears a specific kind of outfit when they appear in a film noir. This kind of outfit that the femme fatal would wear is a flattering dress which gives out the impression that she is dangerous. In colour productions, the dress colour would normally be dress which them symbolises the ‘Scarlett Women’. This women is known for having hardly any morals and she tends to be wild. In the opening scene, the women wore an outfit which looked expensive. This is because she wore fur which could symbolise wealth due to the fact that real fur is an expensive type of clothing do to the way it is extracted. There was also a prop that was used in the opening scene. This was a cigarette. The detective was seen rolling a cigarette. This represents danger that the detective is. This is symbol of danger which could then foreshadow an event later in the film. Another prop that was used was the Falcon at the start of the film. This shows many things. This prop also tells the audience where the location is before they even find out. The Falcon is considered to be an American bird which is connected to high authority within America. This shows that the film is set in the United States. The Falcon also foreshadows treasure. This is because at the start of the scene, the flacon is described and it is said that it is valuable. This could foreshadow Mrs Wonderly wanting to use the detective in order to find this falcon. This gives the audience a feeling of suspense and mystery. When the detective was in his apartment, there was a still shot used that only showed the background next to the detective’s bed. In the background, the curtains were blowing. The wind could represent the danger. This is because the danger could be ‘blowing’ towards the detective which could then foreshadow something that happens later during the film. As discussed earlier, a medium close up was used. This was to show the facial expressions of the femme fatal. The facial expressions of the female foreshadowed events later on in the film. The female seemed to not be able to make direct eye contact with the detective when she was explaining the story about her sister. This is a clear sign that the femme fatal was lying. If it appeared to be that she was lying then this means that this would be discovered by the detective at the end of the film.