Any one who’s a fan of classic movies and the Golden Age of Cinema should be sure to catch the great double feature lineup on Turner Classic Movies this Sunday, June 11: The Maltese Falcon at 1:00pm and Sunset Boulevard at 3:00pm.
First up is one of Film Noir’s early examples of excellence, The Maltese Falcon at 1:00pm. John Huston’s remarkable directorial debut is one of the finest detective films ever produced. This is the hard-boiled detective film with cinema legend Humphry Bogart as the iconic private eye Sam Spade up to his trench coat in greed, deception and murder as he gets caught up in the unscrupulous search for a mythical, priceless statue. Joining Bogie in the search for the “black bird” is an impeccable cast of veteran character actors Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. Try to keep up withe twists and double turns as the plot becomes thicker than the San Francisco fog in which the story takes place. Don't hurt yourself trying to out think this one.
Directly following The Maltese Falcon is Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard at 3:00pm. This quintessential Hollywood drama follows a failed screenwriter whose once glamorous world is crumbling around him when he falls into a mercenary romance with a faded silent film star. Billy Wilder directed this fascinating tale filled with characters that banter back and forth with crackerjack dialogue and fabulous black and white cinematography that gives a wonderfully seedy “noir” feel. Former silent movie queen Gloria Swanson stars as the reclusive lady, and William Holden is the young writer who suffers humiliation after huniliation as her ghostwriter and becomes her apprehensive lover. The supporting cast includes silent film era icons Erich von Stroheim, Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nilsson, H.B. Warner, and special cameos by Cecil B. DeMille and Hedda Hopper.
If you aren't already an avid watcher of TCM then this double header is certainly bound to lure you into a beautiful friendship (oops that's another film) with the classic movie cable station. With one great classic film playing after another what's not to keep you glued all weekend long!