Satan Met A Lady (1936)

A private detective (Warren William) is hired by a pretty blonde (Bette Davis) to find the man that jilted her. But when his partner (Porter Hall) is killed while following her, it becomes apparent that there's more to this case than meets the eye. Perfectly awful! This was the second of the three films made from Dashiell Hammett's THE MALTESE FALCON and it's been altered considerably. Rather than the hardboiled detective novel, it's been turned into a semi-screwball comedy, almost as if it were a parody skit of the original source material. At this stage in her career, Davis already had her breakthrough role with OF HUMAN BONDAGE and won an Academy Award for DANGEROUS yet clueless Warners was still casting her in drivel like this. No wonder she bolted the studio and fled to England. Directed by William Dieterle (1939's HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME)), who doesn't even seem to be trying. With Marie Wilson, Alison Skipworth (in a gender reversal, she plays the Kasper Gutman role), Arthur Treacher and Wini Shaw.