shakspryn Excellent in every way: Conway is smooth, charming, engaging as the Falcon; big cast of many pretty young ladies at a private girls' school; moody exteriors of cliffs and the pounding surf, always a plus in this kind of movie; a real mystery plot, the solution of which makes sense--how rare is that!--good work from all supporting players; fine exteriors of the girls' school, the cliff and beach, well alternated with process shots; reasonably good print on the dvd; literate and enjoyable script; and very well paced by the director. RKO spent money on this production, and it shows. We have one of the bigger casts of extras for this kind of 1940's series mystery movie. The sets and locations are good. Mystery and humor are very well combined. This film can hold its own against the best of the other good series of this time: the Universal Sherlock Holmes movies, and the last Fox Charlie Chan films. It really is that good!

jacobs-greenwood This was the second of four Falcon features produced by Maurice Geraghty in which his brother Gerald was a contributing writer; he assisted Ardel Wray with adapting her story based on the Michael Arlen character. In this B crime mystery drama, directed by William Clemens, Tom Conway plays Tom Lawrence, aka The Falcon, and actress Isabel Jewell (among others) joins series regulars Jean Brooks, Rita Corday, and Amelita Ward whereas George Givot joins Cliff Clark and Edward Gargan, among the other actors. Ian Wolfe also appears uncredited as an undertaker; Leonard Maltin's guide also credits Dorothy Malone among the uncredited co-eds.Jane Harris (Ward) calls the police to ask Detective Bates (Gargan) for the Falcon's phone number because she wants him to investigate the murder of a professor at her all girls Bluecliff college. Bates responds but is then asked by Inspector Timothy Donovan (Clark) what department he's in, to which the detective responds "homicide". But as usual, the Falcon will lead the investigation and the police will fade into the background (in this one, more so than in others in the series).Once on campus, the Falcon goes by Tom Lawrence, insurance investigator, to keep the as-yet-unknown suspects from knowing that he's looking into the professor's death as if it weren't accidental, as the death certificate had been signed by the college's psychology professor Dr. Graelich (Givot). The doctor tells Lawrence that the cause of death was actually suicide and that he was trying to cover it up to prevent a scandal at the request of the school's headmaster Miss Keyes (Barbara Brown). But Bates too is soon found dead by fencing sword, a death foreseen by a mysterious and psychic student named Marguerita Serena (Corday), which adds school play producer Vicky Gaines (Brooks) to the list of suspects. Another curious ever- present person is the music teacher, Mary Phoebus (Jewell).Comic relief is provided by the three Ughs, Miss Bates's precocious nieces who must stay on campus, played by Nita Hunter aka Juanita Alvarez, Ruth Álvarez, and Nancy McCollum.

tedg I've seen two of these this week, both from the same era and both assuming that some evil person can have hypnotic control over an innocent. Most of these are not worthy of comment, but in this case, the innocent is someone special.She is the daughter of a famous pianist, someone with passion so intense, it leaves the body and creates an empty husk unable to cope with the world. I know who the pattern for this is. This is a pianist that settles my soul with his abandon. I actually had the opportunity to spend time with his daughter, and she is nothing like the lovely fiction here portrayed.She is cursed with the soul of her father without his talent. A passion not allowed to disperse, someone who cooks. This is the woman that many of us may fall in love with. Because of this gift, she is suspected of being psychic, strange, vacantly alluring and (because of the era) hypnotically suggestible. There is a play within this that is the cause of a murder and which involves this girl. It is clumsily done, but the idea is so sweet that if you are susceptible, you could believe it.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Terrasa Ulm (tulm) This was the first of the Falcon mystery series for me, and I found it very refreshing and entertaining. I've always appreciated the wonderful humor and wit of so many of the films of the forties, particularly the detective movies. And while this b-movie may not offer the seriousness or artistic styling that the film noir mystery genre of the era may have, it proves itself a wonderful way to spend an evening. The twists and turns of the plot are clever, but it is the acting and characters that really stand out. Conway brings a brilliant assuredness to the character of the Falcon which instantly reminded me of all my favorite British detectives -- a bit suave and yet self-effacing, calm, cool, and collected and yet not infallible. Furthermore, Bluecliff offered a enchanting and endearing look at a variety of memorable female characters, each playing off one another well and making a lovely counterpoint to the more reserved nature of the adults. The 3 Ughs are one of the great highlights of this film! All in all, a very fun film and one that has inspired me to watch even more of the Falcon series.