Bogie Nights: the Ultimate Cool

Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, John Wayne. All cool. But the coolest of Hollywood’s most heroic era may have been Humphrey Bogart.

You can see just how cool he could be in “The Maltese Falcon,” the great Bogart / John Huston collaboration that starts Chapman University’s Film Noir Series tonight. And it’s free.

If the role of Sam Spade isn’t Bogart’s best--you’ll get an argument from “Casablanca” and “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” fans, among others--it’s clearly near the top. The 1941 movie shows his skills as the tough guy who does the right thing while snuggling up to lots of wrong ones, including a murderous babe. Bogart was always in control, whether slogging through the gutter or stepping lightly over it.

Despite some well-publicized fights with his wives, he was actually less rough-and-ready than he appeared on screen. Bogart was raised in a well-to-do family and was considered something of a dandy, even by his closest friends. A longtime pal once said that the only time the impeccable Humphrey became the knockabout Bogie was after a few drinks.

Bogart worked well with the best directors and found a pretty good one in Huston. “The Maltese Falcon” was Huston’s first feature, and he also wrote the screenplay, based on Dashiel Hammett’s popular novel. Huston made other top films (“The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” “The African Queen” and “The Man Who Would Be King,” to name a few), but this was hard to surpass. Not a bad first shot over Hollywood’s bow.

By now, the plot is familiar to most of us. Private eye Spade is hired by the fluttery Brigid O’Shaughnessy (Mary Astor) to find a supposedly priceless statuette called the Maltese Falcon. His search pits him against the deadly Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet) and Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre), who are also in on the hunt.

From there, Huston casts memorable performances against a dark, almost claustrophobic framework to create what many consider the first film noir. If it isn’t, it’s at least one of the prime inspirations for the genre to come.

Most scenes are shot at night or inside, usually in crowded, dim rooms. Spade’s office, where much of the tense action takes place, is more like a cell than a welcoming place to conduct business. Bogart’s Spade and Astor’s conniving Brigid form a pact based on attraction and deceit from inside this bleak room.

The movie is refreshingly cynical as Spade gets deeper into the deviousness and danger of the situation. Of course, he’s noble in the end, but the climax is more fatalistic than hopeful.

The stuff film noir is made of.

* Argyros Forum, Room 208, Chapman University, 333 N. Glassell St., Orange. Tonight at 7. Free. (714) 997-6765.

1930s Sci-Fi

From the too real to the surreal. Chapman continues its science fiction series with “Things to Come” Monday.

The 1936 picture directed by William Cameron Menzies was written by H.G. Wells, based on his novel “The Shape of Things to Come.” It’s a political and often bombastic look at the future from a wide-eyed ‘30s perspective that touches on themes from fascism to the glories of unbridled technology.

“Things to Come” opens in 1940 in Everytown. It’s Christmas, and a huge war is underway. After more than 25 years of fighting, a Nazi-like government emerges.

That starts the second part, with a tyrant called “The Boss” (Ralph Richardson) trying to rule over a totalitarian state primed for collapse. A rival faction, the utopian Brotherhood of Efficiency, battles him for supremacy.

The third segment jumps to 2036, in which a society dedicated to science and forward-thinking has developed. The images of enlightened, tunic-clad citizens and their sparkling machines (helicopters, rocket ships and Disneyland-style monorails are scene-grabbers) are amusing, but they reportedly thrilled 1930s audiences with their visionary sweep.

* Argyros Forum, Room 208, Chapman University, 333 N. Glassell St., Orange. Monday at 7 p.m. Free. (714) 997-6625.

Little Stars Under Stars

“The Borrowers” and “First Kid” will be shown this weekend at the Newport Dunes Resort as part of its outdoor Family Flicks series. “The Borrowers” (1998), which pits John Goodman against a Lilliputian-sized family, screens at dusk Friday. “First Kid” (1996), with Brock Pierce playing a neglected 13-year-old living in the White House, will be shown at the same time Saturday.

* Newport Dunes Resort, 1131 Backbay Drive, Newport Beach. Movies are free, $6 to park. (949) 729-3863.