Which 1941 film is considered the first major film noir?

The 1941 film The Maltese Falcon is widely considered the first major film noir. Directed by John Huston in his feature-film debut, it stars Humphrey Bogart as private detective Sam Spade, who becomes entangled in a dangerous search for a jewel-encrusted statuette. The story was adapted from Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 hard-boiled detective novel.

The film helped establish noir’s recognizable combination of moral uncertainty, cynical dialogue, urban crime, betrayal, and characters whose motives are difficult to trust. Mary Astor plays Brigid O’Shaughnessy, a client whose shifting story pulls Spade into a web of deception, while Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet play memorable members of the statuette’s rival seekers.

Calling it the first major noir is a historical shorthand rather than an absolute claim. Earlier films contained noir-like shadows, themes, and criminal protagonists, and the term film noir was applied retrospectively by French critics after World War II. Even so, The Maltese Falcon is a foundational landmark and helped make Bogart a major star.