Satan Met a Lady (1936)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Gotta' hand it to Warner Bros, they kept adapting Dasheill Hammett's twisted tale til they got it right. This version, shot some six years earlier than "The Maltese Falcon" can't decide whether it's a comedy or a mystery...and isn't very good as either. As detective Ted Shane, Warren William is so ludicrously blithe that his performance comes off as burlesque. I've been shot at. Ha ha. My, that was close. Isn't detecting fun? Bette Davis does somewhat better as the mystery woman who hires him to find a Saracen horn full of jewels, alternately vamping and double-crossing the private eye. Add Allison Skipworth and Arthur Treacher (yeah, the fish-and-chips guy) in roles that would eventually be better played by Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre and you have a movie that pleads to be re-made. Which fortunately it was.

Having seen the 1941 version of The Maltese Falcon at least ten times, it is kind of hard to swallow the story as kind of a madcap comedy.The film stars one Warren William, who I frankly never heard of, as the private eye, here renamed Ted Shane. Bette Davis plays Valerie Purvis, the Brigid character, and in the film's most hilarious part, Arthur Treacher, playing Anthony Travers (Joel Cairo in the '41 version).Davis, as widely reported, was given lackluster parts at this point in her career, and it definitely shows here. She does very little here and there is no indication of her being as dangerous as the character portrayed in the '41 version.To get back to Warren William. He was probably somewhat of a big name in the 30s but it certainly doesn't show here. His character is wildly uneven when it comes to what he is supposed to be. If his character is comedic, then he isn't that funny? If his character is supposed to be a threat, he is as much a threat as Dennis was a menace.The best parts are played by Marie Wilson as Miss Murgatroyd and the aforementioned Arthur Treacher as Anthony Travers. Wilson's "How you doing" is oddly hysterical for some reason. Don't let me explain why, and Treacher has a funny scene with William discussing the trumpet (this movie's version of the falcon).All you can say is nice try but I totally agree with the naysayers of this version. Stick with the Bogart film.

Warren William plays a scoundrel of a private eye named Shayne (no relation to the character in the series starring Lloyd Nolan). He tangles with a gang of thieves looking for the legendary Horn of Roland which is supposedly stuffed with jewels. Along the way, William battles the likes of Bette Davis and Arthur Treacher to get to the bottom of some murders and find the priceless artifact.Calling this film a remake of THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) is really a misnomer, as only the smallest bits and pieces from the exceptional Dashiell Hammett's original story remain. All the the great sarcasm, grit and intelligence was stripped away in this truly bad retooling of this prior film that had starred Ricardo Cortez (the more famous Humphrey Bogart version would not appear until 1941 and was the 3rd version of the story). While I usually like Warren William in movies, here he plays the role almost like it's a comedy, not a serious drama. Because of this, you have no idea how he possibly solves the murders!! As for the Fat Man and his cronies, having the old dame and her limp gang (with, of all people, Arthur Treacher?!) play these roles was just insulting and dumb. Why they had the very dippy Marie Wiilson in the film is anyone's guess--as it further reinforced the comedic aspects of the film--making it seem even less serious than a Saint or Falcon series film.Overall, perhaps my 4 is too generous--especially considering how little they did with such great material. Still, if you totally ignore that it's supposed to be THE MALTESE FALCON, then it's at least an agreeable enough time-passer.By the way, I watched the Ricardo Cortez version just before seeing this film and the contrast was amazing. Fortunately, you can get both films on the same DVD from Warner Brothers/Turner Entertainment.

Just happened to view this film from the 1930's which I seemed to have missed with Bette Davis and many great character actors. It is something like the "Maltese Falcon", where everyone is involved with trying to find a TRUMPET filled with valuable gems. Bette Davis,(Valerie Purvis),"Madame Sin",'72, looks very young and attractive and lives up to her role as an evil lady who stops at nothing to charm her men and use them in every way possible and of course, sexually! Warren William, (Ted Shayne),"The Wolf Man",'41, looks like John Barrymore and even Basil Rathbone,(Sherlock Holmes series of the 1940's), Ted Shayne manages to take on the case of trying to find the valuable TRUMPET and has a dippy female assistant, Marie Wilson,(Miss Murgatroyd),"Waterfront", who has a crush on her boss Ted Shayne who simply goes head over heels for Valerie, who wraps him around her pinkie. Arthur Treacher,(Anthony Travers),"Mary Poppins",'64, famous for his, "Arthur Treacher Fish & Chips Food Chain years ago. Anthony Travers gives a great supporting role and always looks like the butler he use to play in most of his films. If you love Classic films with Bette Davis, this is definitely the film for you.