utgard14
The new Falcon tries to help a woman find her brother and winds up investigating murder and theft of war bonds. Tom Conway eases into the lead role in this series effortlessly. His style is very similar to his brother George, which helps. The character of Goldie Locke returns but with Cliff Edwards playing the role. Edwards is amusing at times but no Allen Jenkins. Richard Loo replaces Keye Luke as Jerry the houseboy, a role that has little reason for existing. Cliff Clark and Edward Gargan return as Inspector Donovan and his sidekick Bates. Jane Randolph makes her second and final appearance in the series as the Falcon's lady reporter love interest. In addition to Randolph, the lovelies this time are Harriet Hilliard and Rita Corday. Edgar Kennedy steals the show as puppeteer Smiley Dugan, handling both comedy and drama in the same film. He also has a big role in the film's terrific climax, which was impressive enough for me to bump the score up a notch.
TheLittleSongbird
The Falcon films with George Sanders were mostly very enjoyable, with only 'The Falcon's Brother' being lacking. Tom Conway's first solo outing in the title role is one of the better films in the Falcon series, and Conway is every bit as good as his brother.Faults are few. It is agreed that the murderer's alibi is a bit on the feeble side and arouses suspicion somewhat at that point. There are two exceptions to an otherwise great cast. One is Harriet Hilliard (or Harriet Nelson), who comes over as a stiff and one-note actress in a pretty limited role. The other is Cliff Clark, who mugs in a buffoonish manner, makes one miss James Gleason who would have been a much better choice.Conway however is perfectly cast, bringing the very same qualities to the character that Sanders did and is very clearly enjoying himself. Cliff Edwards is amusingly solid as Goldie (the character making a welcome return after being sorely missed in 'The Falcon's Brother'), a worthy replacement for the admittedly still superior Allen Jenkins. Jane Randolph and Rita Corday are very charming support, and Edgar Kennedy proves in his splendidly malevolent performance that he is much more than a slapstick stooge. Edward Gargan's material is much stronger here, and he's fun.Advantaging them all the way are the playful, crackling script, an absorbing story that balances humorous comedy with suspenseful mystery (if occasionally rushed, which is the fault of the short running time) and superior direction from Edward Dmytryk. Production values-wise, 'The Falcon Strikes Back' is slick and atmospheric, and the music lively.On the whole, very entertaining film and one of the best of the series. Conway's first solo outing couldn't have been a better one. 8/10 Bethany Cox
dougdoepke
That Harriet Nelson (aka Hilliard) could even be suspected of murder seems sacrilegious. What would Ozzie Nelson say or David and Rickey. After all, her sweet tempered, sensible mother was one of the iconic moms of the 1950's (1). Oh well, she does show an edgier side here as the hotel manager. All in all, results look like she was a fine actress whose all-around talent was seldom tapped. The movie itself is a fairly routine Falcon. Seems a war bond scam is going on at the hotel, but who's behind it and how does it tie in with a series of murders. Leave it to the Falcon to sort out, along with his humorously dim-witted sidekick, Goldie (Edwards). There's plenty of eye candy for the guys. And since this is in the middle of the big war (1943), I expect the girl- heavy cast was for the guys in uniform. In fact, Erford Gage (Rickey) was killed in action near war's end. Note too that the director is Ed Dmytryck who went on to direct such noir classics as Murder, My Sweet (1944) and Crossfire (1947). Catch some of that style in the shadowy lighting and odd camera angle.Anyway, the plot's pretty convoluted, but that's not the main draw, for me at least. Instead, it's the suave Conway, snappy throwaway lines, and, of course, the comely girls, which makes this latter a special treat.(1) The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, (1952-1966)
Captain_Woodrow_Call
After doing some internet searching it appears that the Falcon series has not been put on DVDs. Does anyone know if there is a reasonable chance that that will happen? My son and I recently recorded three of The Falcon movies off of a satellite channel and enjoyed all three. I'd sure buy a DVD set of the series if it were available.The three films we saw were The Falcon's Brother, The Falcon and the Co-Eds and The Falcon Strikes Back. That is probably the order in which we would rank the three films, but for us they are pretty close. I read a comment that the earlier George Sanders films had a more film noir atmosphere, in which case we'd definitely like to see those.Thanks,
AD
