Bogart pushed Patrick out of the way of the falling bird, but in so doing his own foot caught the brunt of the falcon's weight, causing him to injure two toenails. One of the Taplinger memos mentions a significant incident during filming of the finale: actress Lee Patrick (as Spade's secretary Effie, the woman who delivers the falcon to his apartment) dropped the statuette while handing it over to Bogart. The bent tail feather of our bird, however, sets it above even its twin. inventory number (WB90066) to its rear tail feathers and underside sold at auction in 1994, and is identical to the present lot except for the damaged right tail feather.

The second lead falcon with a consecutive Warner Bros. Furthermore, one of the film stills showing Greenstreet, Astor and Lorre examining the bird on the table in Spade's apartment shows that the blotter paper on the table has ripped under the weight of the bird as it is turned, suggesting that only one of the lead versions can have been used. Archive housed at USC copies are available for review), state that the falcon used on screen was made of lead or metal. Director of Publicity (today part of the Warner Bros. Additionally, at least three publicity department memos of the period written by Robert S. Archivist Leith Adams confirming that WB 90067 is seen on screen in the classic 1941 film, and that the present owner is the rightful owner of the piece.Īdditional statuettes made of other materials 1 have come to market in the past two decades, but only the lead statuettes bear the smooth breast feathers, almond eyes and rounded tail feathers that match the falcon seen on screen during the credits and in Sam Spade's apartment. Accompanying the falcon is correspondence from Warner Bros. Museum and other prominent institutions since that time (see full exhibition history below). The WB 90067 falcon was purchased privately by the present owner in the 1980s, and has been in his collection or on exhibition at the Warner Bros. Spade tangles with three nefarious characters played by Mary Astor, Sidney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre, all of whom are chasing a statuette they believe to be a gold and jewel-encrusted figure of a falcon, but which ultimately is revealed to be made of lead. Humphrey Bogart plays San Francisco detective Sam Spade in John Huston's directorial debut.

One of two known cast lead statuettes created for use in John Huston's screen version of The Maltese Falcon, the 'bent tail feather' bird, and THE ONLY STATUETTE CONFIRMED BY WARNER BROS. A copy of the DVD of the film and a reproduction still accompany this lot.ĭimensions: 12 in. Some scratches to head and chest, lower right tail feather visibly bent. prop department inventory number 'WB 90067' to rear tail feathers and underside. Cast lead with dark patina, figure of a falcon on a pedestal with smooth breast feathers, almond eyes, and rounded tail feathers.

Humphrey bogart maltese falcon