The Black Bird

In 1975 San Francisco, Sam Spade Jr. has taken over his father's private investigation business, but he does not like the work, or his father's obnoxious secretary. One of the father's big cases comes back to haunt the young Spade. A man offers a lot of money for a statue which may or may not be the Maltese Falcon. In fact, there are several large offers for the bird, and it might be worth millions if it is the genuine article. A European woman who has some trouble with English claims to want the bird to help a children's hospital. And Spade gets unwanted help from a crazy character (one of the movie's funniest) who he calls 'Andrew Jackson' after the man offers a $20 bill for Spade's time. Whatever the significance of the bird, someone must want it badly because people start dying.

The movie started out really funny and showed promise, but later it lost something. The second half proved much funnier than the first. The jokes were not always obvious, and sometimes you had to pay close attention to realize why something was funny. Sometimes the jokes came at a rapid-fire pace, but other times I felt unsatisfied. One running gag was a rental car with a mind of its own. The last gag involving the car was hilarious. Overall, the movie proved to be worthwhile, but not quite in a league with similar style comedies such as 'Airplane!'

People offended by political incorrectness should probably stay away, but to me politically incorrect humor was the best part. Such as the time Spade was in a room with black men and when his name was called, all the black men got up. The funniest character was a midget (Spade's word) in a Nazi uniform with a group of large Hawaiian guards protecting him, and the hilarious jokes about or from him were anything but sensitive. Spade also referred several time to the children in the hospital as 'cripples' or an even worse variation of the word.

Certainly this flick is not a classic! However,it is guilty fun,quirky-and even affectionate towards the original-if only in its weird way...indeed there is no resemblance to the Bogart noir.Yet it works for me independently as a 70's aberration and a hoot to boot!Flaws?-you bet...so what!Stander is terrific and the two original characters(Cook & Patrick) from the early 40's are a pure delight and a connection from a past glory(also I would bestow honorable mention to Signe Hasso as a museum curator who plays her delightful role w\aplomb and the right kind of satirical dash).Don't know much if I especially like the midget or some of the over the top stuff,but-hey,its OK within the context of a silly little yarn. Moreover,George Segal,I think,is just right for a world weary sleuth in the shadow of a famed father detective.I like the opening credits w\ its promise of something more-but the absurd ending is less than satisfying...despite these things,I have watched the film numerous times and find it overall a "kick;"for you cannot take this one tale that seriously anyway:so go w\ the FLOW....

I love this movie. It's filled with little gems that can only be appreciated with repeated viewings.

"I'll see the first person with a 10 dollar bill in his hand--and that's cash, we're not taking' food stamps anymore."

"What is this?" "What do you mean 'What is this?'--this is the Maltese Falcon!" "I'll give you $14.95 for it." "Why is it always $14.95? Why can't it be $15, at least a round figure?" "Would you like a round figure?" "Yes, I would." "Fourteen dollars." "Come on, its gotta be worth more than that." "It is. It's worth $14.95."

"It's open and shut: the girl wandered into the building by accident and he threw her down the shaft. Now, it could have happened that way!"

"Dsemboweled?" "They take a large knife and--" "I know what that is!"

"There's no use spilling milk on a dead horse."

"It is mine because I deserve it. Mine because I have killed for it and will kill again for it. Mine because I have spent thirty years in pursuit of it. It is mine because I have the means, the determination, and most of all the power to have it. It is mine because I want it!" "Look, if it's yours what do you need with me?"

"Litvak will kill her (Effie)!" "It's bad luck to talk about these things before they happen."

"Litvak, you get a lot of bad press, but I gotta tell you you're aces with me. This is the best day I've had in a year!"

"Nonsense, no one is always wrong." "I am."

"Gordon Immerman, but you can still call me Andrew Jackson if you want to."

The Black Bird is not really a parody, as it does not poke fun at "The Maltese Falcon".

It is just a very subtle comedy with very little plot, about another group of people searching for the bird.

It is not a great film, or a hilarious film, but worth watching mainly to see the performances of Lee Patrick and Lionel Stander.

The "8" that I gave it is for them, otherwise I would have given it a "5" or "6".

If they had given Elisha Cook Jr. a larger part it would have helped.

The running gag with the car was cute but nothing to write home about.

The addition of a little person playing a Nazi with Hawaiian thugs was just dumb.

The ending was about the same as the ending of most of this type of movie, a letdown to the tune of "Bye Bye Blackbird".

"The Black Bird" (1975) is neither an all-out private-eye spoof in the style of Inspector Clouseau (there are very few laughs), nor an engaging "straight" private-eye yarn (the plot - if you can call it a plot, it's mostly just people going around in circles - is tiresome, the McGuffin ineffectual). It is a half-hearted, strained comedy, though at least it is well-shot (in San Francisco). Stephane Audran looks great in two brief lingerie (one black, one white) scenes, but otherwise this is a big comedown from her work with Claude Chabrol. For a better George Segal film in a somewhat similar vein, try "Who Is Killing The Great Chefs Of Europe?". ** out of 4.