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Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, is one of comics' deadliest "normal" super-villains. He's got no superpowers, but he does have a vast criminal empire that enables him to make life extremely difficult for superheroes like Daredevil and Spider-Man. While Fisk has a double life as a "legitimate" businessman, the Kingpin does not wear a costume. Even so, he still has a recognizable look: bald, with a white-and-purple business suit concealing his sumo wrestler physique.

What inspired Kingpin's design? Was it Lex Luthor, the other most famous bald villain in comic books? The going industry myth, backed up by John Romita Jr. (the son of Kingpin's co-creator and a comic artist himself), is that Romita Sr. used actor Sydney Greenstreet as a model for Fisk. A British thespian, Greenstreet is most remembered nowadays for appearing in three 1940s pictures with Humphrey Bogart: "The Maltese Falcon," "Casablanca," and "Passage to Marseille." Greenstreet's...

The MacGuffin—a term popularized by Alfred Hitchcock—refers to an object, device, or goal that drives the plot forward. Often, they don't have any real significance beyond being the thing everyone wants. When done well, MacGuffins can add intrigue and momentum to a story - think the One Ring, Maltese Falcon, or the Philosopher's Stone. However, when poorly executed, they can feel hollow, contrived, or just plain ridiculous. Plus, many MacGuffings are simply lazy and generic, copying ideas that have already been done to death.

Exclusive: Walter Presents has stocked up on premium international drama and bought a trio of titles from Zdf Studios. The on-demand service is operated by Global Series Network and its lineup is curated by Walter Iuzzolino. It majors in the best of foreign-language drama from around the world and Iuzzolino has duly snapped up The Shadow, Suplex and more Sløborn.

The Shadow follows a female journalist embarking on a new life in Vienna. Once there, she meets a beggar who tells her she is going to kill a man, setting a dark prophecy in motion. The six-parter was for German streamer ZDFneo and scooped the Audience Choice Award at the German Seriencamp festival in 2023. It will be on Walter Presents services in the U.S. and the UK.

Danish series Suplex will also be on the U.S. service. The show is a whodunnit following events after a competitor is murdered at a wrestling tournament.

Monsieur Spade provides closure on the fate of Brigid O'Shaughnessy after The Maltese Falcon, revealing her release from prison, brief romantic reunion with Sam Spade, and eventual involvement in criminal activities before her death. Sam Spade, played by Clive Owen, is portrayed as an older, mellowed-out version of the iconic private detective first brought to life by Humphrey Bogart in the 1941 film, with Owen's performance honoring Bogart's portrayal through his delivery and demeanor. The series Monsieur Spade serves as a sequel to the 1941 movie adaptation of The Maltese Falcon, expanding on the story and resolving loose ends, providing a connection between the two through the character of Sam Spade and the performance of Clive Owen.

What happened after The Maltese Falcon's ending has finally been explained, thanks to Monsieur Spade. Directed by John Huston and released in 1941, The Maltese Falcon is the second big-screen adaptation of the novel of the same name,...

"Monsieur Spade" takes Sam Spade, made famous by Humphrey Bogart in "The Maltese Falcon," into 1963 southern France, referencing real-life events like JFK's presidency and the Algerian War. The Algerian War, fought between France and Algeria from 1954 to 1962, plays a central role in "Monsieur Spade" and marks a significant conflict for Algerian independence. The effects of the Algerian War and post-traumatic stress disorder (Ptsd) are depicted in "Monsieur Spade," illustrating how the war took a personal toll on characters like Jean-Pierre, leading to destructive behavior.

A war is mentioned - but not named directly - in Monsieur Spade's first two episodes. Centering on Sam Spade, the private detective famously played by Hollywood icon Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon, AMC's new show serves as a period piece blended with elements of the mystery and film noir genre. But in spite of its connection to the 1941 Hollywood classic and the...

Monsieur Spade is a new mystery series on AMC starring Clive Owen as Sam Spade, a once-successful private detective. The show takes place in 1963 France and follows Sam Spade as he gets pulled back into a murder case after leaving his detective life behind. While the show is not based on a book, the character of Sam Spade originated in the 1930 novel "The Maltese Falcon" and was famously portrayed by Humphrey Bogart in the 1941 film adaptation.

Monsieur Spade bears interesting connections to a literary work from the 1930s, as well as an iconic Hollywood movie. Starring Clive Owen as the titular character, Monsieur Spade is a new mystery series from AMC. The show follows the exploits of Sam Spade, a once-successful private detective.

Choosing 1963 France as its primary setting, Monsieur Spade season 1 tells a six-episode story that sees its main protagonist dive head-first into a murder case. In the timeframe of the story,...

Clive Owen jokes that he was tricked into playing an unusual version of Sam Spade in AMC's Monsieur Spade. The show's departure from past portrayals is actually a good thing, as it avoids being a pale imitation or parody. Owen's interpretation of Sam Spade adds to the character's lore, and allows him to reinterpret the role in his own way.

Clive Owen reveals how an 83-year-old crime movie tricked him into accepting his new role on the TV show Monsieur Spade. Literary detective Sam Spade has been depicted on-screen before, but AMC’s just-premiered series puts an entirely new spin on the iconic sleuth. Starring Owen as Spade, the show imagines the character not as a tough-talking San Francisco gumshoe, but as a retiree who has moved to the south of France, who is called back to action thanks to six brutal murders and the rumored arrival of an old adversary.

Sam Spade is back on the case.

The iconic private detective famously played by Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon is coming to AMC in Monsieur Spade (premiering this Sunday at 9/8c), with Clive Owen taking on the role. It’s a responsibility that Owen doesn’t take lightly, he tells TVLine: “I’m actually a huge fan of the genre. I’m a huge fan of Bogart, and I know The Maltese Falcon really well… In some way, Spade is the sort of quintessential Bogart character.” So when executive producers Scott Frank and Tom Fontana called Owen to see if he was interested,...

Monsieur Spade is a neo-noir show set in the '60s, following the retired private detective Sam Spade as he investigates a series of murders in a small French town. The show features an ensemble cast led by Golden Globe winner Clive Owen, who brings a magnetic performance to the iconic character of Sam Spade. Clive Owen drew inspiration from Humphrey Bogart's portrayal of Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, aiming to capture the fast-paced dialogue and stoic demeanor of the character.

Dashiell Hammett's iconic private detective is back in Monsieur Spade. The AMC show follows Sam Spade as he retires to the South of France in the '60s after a job to return the daughter of a mysterious man fails, electing for a quiet life. When the group of nuns at the school she lives in are murdered, Spade begins investigating the matter, learning of dark...

Coined by Alfred Hitchcock in the late 1930s, a MacGuffin is simply a basic plot element that filmmakers use to propel a movie's story forward. It can be a device, an event, or even a person, and while it can often lazily be employed as a crutch by a screenwriter in a time crunch, there have been a number of iconic MacGuffins in cinema over the years. You have the titular Maltese Falcon, the Ark of the Covenant from Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Death Star plans from Star Wars, and Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now. But, there is one MacGuffin that stands above the rest: the briefcase from Pulp Fiction.

Aside from its snappy dialogue and expertly crafted nonlinear storyline, Quentin Tarantino's Academy Award-winning screenplay for Pulp Fiction really works because Marcellus Wallace's briefcase pretty much ties it all together. Characterized by its mysterious golden glow,...

Renewing a frequent relationship between one of Europe’s highest-profile distributor-curators of foreign language drama series and one of their biggest suppliers, VOD service Walter Presents has swooped on a six-title drama series package from Germany’s Zdf Enterprises.

Deal plays off a just-announced exclusive strategic alliance between Walter Presents and Australia’s Stan, owned by Nine Digital, which charges Walter Presents with securing international drama for the fast-building Australian SVOD service. All the shows are scheduled to air on Stan as first-runs and are exclusive to Stan in Australia.

Made in the run-up to early March’s Berlin Film Festival, the deal takes in two titles — “Grow” and “Standing Tall” — both bound for the event’s new curated TV showcase, Berlinale Series Market Selects.

Created by Milad Avaz, one of Variety’s 2018 10 Europeans to Watch, “Grow” is described as a fast-moving thriller about two brothers — one a cop, the...

by Cláudio Alves

Few cineastes can count their last film among their greatest works. Fewer still finish a career, a life, with their best cinematic effort. As much as I admire such gems as Ophüls' carnivalesque Lola Montès, the amorous musings of Dreyer's Gertrud, the bittersweet self-reflections of Akerman's No Home Movie and Varda's Varda by Agnès, I wouldn't classify any of those pictures as their director's crown jewels. John Huston's a whole different matter.

The American filmmaker, whose career spanned six decades, finished his last picture in 1987. Faithfully adapted from a short story by James Joyce, The Dead may not be as influential as The Maltese Falcon, as exciting as The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, nor as tragic as The Misfits, but, as far as I'm concerned, it's Huston's most ravishing creation…...