The Maltese Falcon (1931) ****

It's actually an excellent adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's famous novel. But it was inevitably eclipsed by an even better adaptation 10 years later by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart. To put in a proper perspective, this "The Maltese Falcon" was among the best Hollywood movies of 1931, but "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) is still among the best Hollywood movies of all time.