There are in fact three separate adaptations of The Maltese Falcon novel, but only the 1941 version is considered a film noir classic. The first came in 1931 and the poorly received second came in 1936 and was titled Satan Met A Lady. Director John Huston had to deal with the inconvenient circumstances of working under censorship enforced by the Hayes Code, while the original pre-code 1931 version did not. However, Huston was still able to work around this uphill battle and deliver the superior adaptation, thanks to the talented work behind the camera as well as famous performances by Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, and Peter Lorre. Why It Outshines The Original: The 1931 version is an early talkie so there is plenty of distracting technical flaws such as the dialogue pacing, so Hustons remake is obviously the better film overall. This version is polished and stylistic, but most importantly it's an innovative masterpiece.
