Hammett""s murder mystery novel had previously been filmed twice:The Maltese Falcon (1931), a low-budget, pre-Code film (directed by Roy Del Ruth)-renamed for TV asDangerous Female- with Ricardo Cortez as the gumshoe opposite femme fatale Bebe Daniels; it was faithful to Hammett""s novel, although its pre-censorship status allowed for steamier scenes (a nude bathtub shot, a portrayal of Spade as a womanizing Latin lover, and a clearly homosexual relationship between Casper "Fat Man" Gutman (Dudley Digges) and ""fall guy"" Wilmer (Dwight Frye))Satan Met a Lady (1936), a remake directed by William Dieterle) with Warren William and rising star Bette Davis as the femme fatale, but without the ""black bird"" (a ram""s horn was substituted)Huston was convinced that he could remake the film with a more precise screenplay and better acting than the other two adaptations." As he was leaving, Murtaugh found a group of nine Chinese immigrants hidden under a tarp in the lifeboat.A Train Trip Eastward from Texas to Purchase a Spirited Animal in Maryland:The WarnerColor (Technicolored) film opened in the mid-1920s - wealthy Stetson-hatted Texas rancher Jordan "Bick" Benedict II (Rock Hudson) rode by steam locomotive through Maryland.Feisal: And I must do it because the Turks have European guns.But I fear to do it.Upon my soul I do.The English have a great hunger for desolate places.I fear they hunger for Arabia.Lawrence: Then you must deny it to them.Feisal: You are an Englishman.Are you not loyal to England?Lawrence: To England, and to other things.Feisal: To England and Arabia both? And is that possible? (He walks right up close and looks into Lawrence""s eyes.