A prop from one of Hollywood’s best-known crime films became a valuable piece of movie memorabilia. The black bird statuette featured in the 1941 film The Maltese Falcon sold at a Bonhams auction in New York in November 2013.
Bidding reached $3.5 million before the bidder in the room dropped out, leaving the statuette to a telephone bidder later identified as representing Steve Wynn, the Las Vegas hotel and casino billionaire.
With the buyer’s premium included, the final price reached about $4.1 million, making it one of the highest prices ever paid for movie memorabilia.
The 12-inch-tall figure weighed roughly 45 pounds and was made of lead. It was one of two known cast-lead statuettes created for the film, directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart as private detective Sam Spade.
According to Bonhams, it was the only one Warner Bros. archives confirmed appeared in the movie. The statuette had a bent right tail feather. According to a Warner Bros. publicity account, it was damaged when it was dropped on Bogart’s foot during filming.
Another Maltese Falcon Statuette Sold for $398,500 in 1994
In December 1994, Ronald Winston, president of jewelry company Harry Winston Inc., bought another The Maltese Falcon bird prop for $398,500 at Christie’s in New York.
The statuette came from the estate of actor, producer and director William Conrad, who received it from Warner Bros. studio head Jack Warner in the 1960s. The 11.5-inch-tall figure was made of lead with a bronze patina.
It also bore cuts near the head and shoulder resembling the damage inflicted on the bird in the film, although its actual use during production has not been conclusively established. Multiple Falcon statuettes are known to exist, but their origins and exact use during filming remain disputed.
In the film, the statuette is the object of a search involving Spade and several other characters. The detective investigates a case involving murder, deception and competing claims to the valuable bird.
Huston’s film was based on Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 novel of the same name. It became a landmark of film noir, a genre associated with crime stories, morally complex characters and shadowy cinematography.
The Maltese Falcon received positive reviews upon its release and continues to earn critical recognition. Rotten Tomatoes ranks it No. 41 on its list of the 300 best movies of all time. The film also holds a 99% critics’ score on the site.
