The Black Bird

This sequel to (and send-up of) The Maltese Falcon has Sam Spade Jr (George Segal) discovering the priceless statuette among his dad's old files. A nice idea, thoroughly botched: it simply isn't funny, tense or even nostalgic, despite appearances from the original's Lee Patrick and Elisha Cook Jr. There is, however, one clever in-joke. Anxious to raise some money for the falcon, Segal takes it to a pawnbroker named Kerkorian, who offers him a paltry $15. This is a reference to Kirk Kerkorian, who owned MGM at the time and sold off its most famous props. There is also a silly Jaws rip-off at the end which was shot by another director.