John Huston

 John Huston




The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Key Largo (1948)

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)


RANKED:

4. Key Largo (1948)


After the instant classics that "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Treasures of the Sierra Madre" became, John Huston became a high valued director in the studio system. With his 1948 film "Key Largo," he teamed up once again with his lead collaborating actor Humphrey Bogart. The film starred Bogart and his famous wife Lauren Bacall and would be the last film the couple would ever appear in together. 



3. The Asphalt Jungle (1950)


By 1950, John Huston had made such a splash in Hollywood that he was a trusted director and screenwriter. Being influenced by the Italian neo-realist films of the past 5 years, he wanted to use that same style and infuse it with the American film noir movement that had become so prominent in his home country. The result was 1950's "The Asphalt Jungle," a hard-boiled crime thriller centering on a group of small-time Midwestern crooks who attempt a jewel heist. The film is a prominent example of the evolving crime genre in classic Hollywood and it also happens to be one of the earliest notable inclusions of Marilyn Monroe. Despite her limited screen presence, her career would skyrocket after the success of "The Asphalt Jungle" and her collaboration with Huston on it would not be her last.




2. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)


Often considered one of the greatest American films of the 20th century, John Huston's "The Treasures of the Sierra Madre" is an adventure tale full of greed, paranoia, and the moral decay of its three main characters, particularly the Humphrey Bogart character. Centering on three poor and desperate men seeking an escape from their economic destitution, the film follows them as they travel up the Sierra Madre mountains in Mexico in search of gold. They do end up finding this gold, but at the cost of their morality and in some cases, sanity. The film is an examination of the economic dependency of material wealth in our Western world and the great lengths we go to attain this wealth. "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" is one of those films that inspired many films to come in the 20th century and will continue to inspire many films and filmmakers in this century. 



1. The Maltese Falcon (1941)


Although much of the visual aesthetics wouldn't come until later with 1944's "Double Indemnity," many of the film noir genre's plot structures would come from John Huston's 1941 directorial debut, "The Maltese Falcon." Starring Humphrey Bogart as a detective in over his head, the film demonstrates the levels of amorality we're willing to reach to attain wealth and power. The human soul is on full display in "The Maltese Falcon" and let's just say that it's not pretty. With the cynicism the film soaks it, the experience of watching the film was far different than what most audiences were used to in 1941. However, with the U.S.'s involvement in World War II imminent, the sardonic nature of the film tapped into a deep-rooted nerve felt by much of the population. For years to come, this anxiety would be even more explored with the film noir genre. "The Maltese Falcon" was merely the ignition point.

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