The Black Bird * (1975, George Segal, Stéphane Audran, Lionel Stander, Lee Patrick, Elisha Cook Jr) – Classic Movie Review 11,828

Writer-director David Giler’s 1975 comedy The Black Bird is a genial but lame parody of the John Huston film version of The Maltese Falcon (1941), or possibly comedy sequel to The Maltese Falcon, that would have been more welcome if it had been an awful lot funnier and more breathlessly played (like Murder by Death for example).

George Segal is amusing Sam Spade’s son Sam Spade Jr, bothered by criminals who are still after the precious Maltese Falcon statuette and there are some laughs, even if they are few and far between. Lee Patrick and Elisha Cook Jr from the cast of the 1941 film The Maltese Falcon are very welcome, reprising their roles of Effie Perrine and Wilmer Cook, and so are Lionel Stander, John Abbott, Felix Silla and Signe Hasso. Stéphane Audran seems uncomfortable as the mysterious Russian woman Anna Kemidov, daughter of the general who once owned the real Maltese Falcon.

Producer Ray Stark owned the rights to The Maltese Falcon and hired David Giler to write a new screenplay. Unable to collaborate successfully with his friend John Milius, Giler decided to turn it into a comedy and was allowed to direct. This was not a recipe for success.

It is alleged that there were frequent clashes between Stark and Segal.

The cast are George Segal as Sam Spade Jr, Stéphane Audran as Anna Kemidov, Lionel Stander as Gordon Immerman, Lee Patrick as Effie Perrine, Elisha Cook Jr as Wilmer Cook, Felix Silla as Litvak, Signe Hasso as Dr Crippen, John Abbott as DuQuai, Connie Kreski as Decoy Girl, Howard Jeffrey as Kerkorian, and Ken Swofford as Brad McCormack.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,828

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