This Week In Cigar History September 29 - October 3

The classic noir film of intrigue, deception and murderous adventures, "The Maltese Falcon" -- based on the hard-boiled detective thriller -- packed movie houses from the get-go of its release date on October 3, 1941.

Starring Corona puffers Humphrey Bogart as paid snoop Sam Spade and the portly Sidney Greenstreet as the statue obsessed Caspar Gutman -- the black and white picture epitomized the dark side of humanity when pursuing "...the stuff that dreams are made of."

Interestingly enough, the numerous suspense scenes enveloped by dimly lit clouds of cigar smoke -- were deliberate. In defiance of studio head Jack L. Warner's declaration that smoking should be kept to a minimum in productions, Bogart and character actor Peter Lorre (the sinister Joel Cairo) encouraged the entire cast to fire up stogies as often as possible. Reportedly, first-time director John Huston ran interference between the prankster cast and the annoyed studio big cheeses, rightfully pointing out that the atmospheric tension created by the gray hazes, enhanced the story's edgy cinematography.

This Week in Cigar History

9/29/08

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