The stuff that dreams are made of: The Maltese Falcon and the art of adapted screenwriting

Abstract

There is a close relationship between pulp fiction and film noir. The link is the adapted screenplay. While there has been extensive critical work on film noir for almost 70 years there has not been an equally intense scrutiny of the process of adaptation and its product, the adapted screenplay. This article offers a critical discussion of the complex literary-cinematic ecology of the noir adaptation/screenwriting process for The Maltese Falcon and the role of fidelity in the adaptation as a key ingredient of the film’s success. The methodology involves examining the various factors, methods and players involved in the creation of the screenplay with an emphasis on a comparative study of the literary text and its screenplay. The article concludes that fidelity in adaptation was central to the film’s appeal and that the film’s success raised the profile of the novel. The level of screenwriting talent, the nature of the relationship between the screenwriter and the director and the depth of cultural resonance found in the original literary text were vital influences on the adaptation process and the resulting film. These factors turned The Maltese Falcon screenplay into a standard for future pulp to noir adaptations.