Anyone else *prefer* this version to the 1941 film?

Sure, I'll be the first to admit that the 1941 film had a great deal more money behind it.

However, I personally prefer this version simply because William Warren seems like he's having so much fun. :) And I found Miss Murgatroyd much more endearing than Effie, especially the way she reached into William Warren's inside breast pocket for a pen so she could take notes. Very cute gesture....and, somehow, very sexy, too!

I can understand why the 1941 version gets all the attention: it does, after all, star Humphrey Bogart. But after seeing this 1936 version of the film, Bogart's character in the 1941 version goes about things so damn grimly that it just takes away from the fun of the film (for me, at least).

Admittedly, the 1936 version was more in the screwball comedy vein than in the hardboiled detective vein (that Hammett wrote in). Even so, and despite having seen the 1941 film first, I liked this 1936 version a great deal better than it's more famous counterpart. Perhaps I just have a weakness for screwball comedies?

Anyway, this version is definitely worth a look. William Warren is in top form, and Bette Davis is great, too, even if this wasn't one of her favorite roles. I'm glad to hear this formerly fairly obscure film is now being included as one of the extras on the MF boxed set. Even if the 1941 version remains your favorite, you should see this at least once to appreciate how different writers and directors can deal differently with the same basic story.