Adaptation shifts focus this year on to the art of the adaptation with our first writer/director: John Huston.

Huston became an Irish citizen, lived in Galway and made many films in the country; including the Ray Bradbury scripted Moby Dick.  Ray died a few short months ago and thankfully we have an excuse to celebrate a novelist and screenwriter who could be the focus of his very own Adaptation festival.

Our main guest is John's eldest son and oft time collaborator: Tony Huston. Other members of the family have work commitments but might make virtual appearances nonetheless... Tony will be interviewed by Michael West, fresh from his successful run with Dubliners at the Dublin Theatre Festival.

Professor Douglas McFarland will open the festival with a presentation on John Huston. Douglas is editor of the forthcoming book John Huston's Adaptations.  “John Huston is one of the most prominent directors in American cinema. Although many of his best-known films are adaptations from literature, from 19th-century classics such as Moby-Dick and The Red Badge of Courage to works like The Maltese Falcon and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, there has not been a comprehensive collection of essays which address this central aspect of his work until now"

Director John Irvin came to Adaptation 2011 to present the original Tinker Tailor TV series. John loved Dromahair so much he is coming back again. Luckily for us he is as full of knowledge and passion for John Huston as he is for Le Carre. We promise stories about John Huston including a film he directed from horseback.

How Can You Not Love The Maltese Falcon?
By Kristin Battestella

Generally, one should always begin any form of article or essay with an introduction. Unfortunately, this may be my shortest introduction ever-for there’s film noir and then there’s Humphrey Bogart and The Maltese Falcon. Detective Sam Spade (Bogart) finds himself in plenty of hot water after the death of his investigative partner Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan, Blondie, Miracle on 34th Street). Mrs. Archer (Gladys George) was hoping to leave her husband for Spade anyway, but the lovely and misunderstood Brigid O'Shaughnessy (Mary Astor) traps spade in a search for the legendary Maltese Falcon. Unfortunately, Kaspar Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet) and Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) are also after the treasured bird. Each offers to buy the statue from Spade, but Lieutenant Dundy (Barton MacLane) and Detective Tom Polhaus (Ward Bond) are sniffing around, too. Will Spade find the Falcon, ditch the coppers, and save the dame?

First time director but longtime screenwriter John Huston (Sergeant York, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Asphalt Jungle, The African Queen) helms his own 1941 adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s novel with mystery, suspense, and all the staples of film noir. At face value, The Maltese Falcon should be stereotypical and obvious- not only does it have one of our most famous detectives, but also the silver screen’s original MacGuffin. However, fine performances and complex mystery twists keep this film above the imitators. The script is witty and tight-we don’t know who to trust yet we like-or love to hate- each of the players involved. The Maltese Falcon is global-with talk of the Orient and historical treasures-yet it’s a relatively talkative piece with not a lot of action. Huston keeps us tugging at our collar with claustrophobic double crossings and high priced, deadly debates. Though confusing to some and a little tough to follow thanks to some old school fast talking, The Maltese Falcon is an intelligent ride that takes every ounce of cat and mouse to tell its tale.

Of his many exceptional films, Humphrey Bogart (The Petrified Forest, Casablanca, The Desperate Hours, The African Queen) some swear by The Maltese Falcon above others. No matter how many times you’ve seen it, Bogart’s infamous Sam Spade walks the walk and talks the talk. He is fast, slick, and just as coy as all the folks meddling in his business. This is not a film to be viewed casually, thanks to Bogart’s complex dialogue, double duty deals, and sheer visual presence. We think we know Spade and what he’s going to do, but Bogart keeps us guessing right up to the end.

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The Man Who Would Be King
Roger Ebert

John Huston's "The Man Who Would Be King" is swashbuckling adventure, pure and simple, and in the hands of a master. It's been a long time since there's been an escapist entertainment quite this unabashed and thrilling and fun. The movie invites comparison with the great action films like "Gunga Din" and "Mutiny on the Bounty," and with Huston's own classic "Treasure of the Sierra Madre": We get strong characterizations, we get excitement and, best of all, we get to laugh every once in a while. The action epics of the last 20 years seem to have lost their sense of humor; it's as if once the budget goes over $5,000,000, directors think they have to be deadly serious. "Lawrence of Arabia" was a great movie, but introspective and solemn, and efforts such as "Dr. Zhivago" and "War and Peace" never dared to smile. Huston's movie isn't like that. It reflects his personality and his own best films; it's open, sweeping and lusty - and we walk out feeling exhilarated. Huston's been waiting a long time to make this film, and its history is a Hollywood legend. He originally cast Bogart and Gable, but then Bogart died. In the early 1960s, he planned to make it with Gable and Michael Caine - but then Gable died, and the project was shelved until last year. Maybe it's just as well. We need movies like this more now than we did years ago, when Hollywood wasn't shy about straightforward action films. And Huston's eventual casting of Michael Caine and Sean Connery is exactly right. They work together so well, they interact so easily and with such camaraderie, that watching them is a pleasure. They never allow themselves to be used merely as larger-than-life heroes, photographed against vast landscapes. Kipling's story, and Huston's interpretation of it, requires a lot more than that; it requires acting of a subtle and difficult sort, even if the sheer energy of the movie makes it look easy. The two of them play former British soldiers who vow to march off into Afghanistan or somewhere and find a kingdom not yet touched by civilization. With their guns and training, they think they'll be able to take over pretty easily, manipulate the local high priests and set themselves up as rulers. They tell their plan to an obscure colonial editor named Kipling (played very nicely by Christopher Plummer) and then they set off into the mountains. After the obligatory close calls, including an avalanche that somehow saves their lives, they find their lost land and it's just as they expected it would be. The natives aren't too excited by their new rulers at first, but a lucky Masonic key chain saves the day - never mind how - and Connery finds himself worshipped as a deity. He even gets to like it, and condescends to Caine, who remains a Cockney and unimpressed. The movie proceeds with impossible coincidences, untold riches, romances and betrayals and heroic last words and - best of all - some genuinely witty scenes between Connery and Caine, and when it's over we haven't learned a single thing worth knowing and there's not even a moral, to speak of, but we've had fun. It's great that someone still has the gift of making movies like this; even Huston, after 20 years, must have wondered whether he still knew how.

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