The Falcon in Mexico (1944) User Reviews

The Falcon flies south ...

[Spondonman · 7/10 · 4 April 2007]

after 16 minutes anyway. Not that it detracts from a nice little comedy-mystery, but this was an even cheaper affair than usual from RKO as they used up a lot of stock rustic Mexican background film to lilting music here while the main characters glided or drove about in front. Tom Conway as the Falcon looked as handsome and debonair as ever (no. 9/13 – I don't count those last 3 non-RKO efforts with John Calvert), and had to do without the comedy double act of Clark and Gargan from now on.

Investigation of a painting painted by a dead man (with an art gallery eerily similar to the one in Woman In The Window) leads to murder and theft; the Falcon is chased by the cops while he's chasing the baddies all the way into deepest Mexico. The dead painter's daughter was played chockful of feminine intuition by Martha Vickers, next step for her was the cute Big Sleep. She also uttered my favourite line from all of the Falcon films – "My father lived at this inn while he was alive" – wonderful stuff! Nestor Paiva played a helpful ambiguous peasant and Joseph Vitale a rather unhelpful serious dancer, some of their best stuff was to come later with Paramount. The only downer was the climax could've been handled with a little more sensitivity, but in these pics time was money!

Another excellent and engrossing Falcon outing for the cognoscenti, serious people shouldn't waste their valuable time.

The Falcon in Mexico

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 25 November 2009]

"The Falcon in Mexico" is a 1944 entry into "The Falcon" series, by now starring Tom Conway. In this story, Tom Lawrence (The Falcon) is in Mexico investigating the possibility that a dead artist might not be so dead after all, after he sees the model for one of the artist's portraits. The artist has been dead 15 years, but if that's the case, this woman has discovered the secret of eternal youth - until she winds up dead. Did I mention the portrait looks like a paint by numbers? Martha Vickers plays the artist's daughter, who keeps "seeing" her father. Mona Maris is her remarried stepmother who dances in a Mexican club with her new husband.

The movie is okay, with an abrupt ending, which isn't unusual in these films, and the movie seems like an ad for visiting Mexico. Supposedly some of the footage is from the Orson Welles' debacle "It's All True." If so, I'm glad RKO found good use for it.

Jet lag before the Jet Age

[gerdeen-1 · 5/10 · 4 December 2012]

Something happened to the Falcon on his flight down to Mexico. He was never the same after he landed.

For the first 15 minutes or so of this movie -- set in a large U.S. city -- everything is terrific. The Falcon meets two beautiful women, commits two minor crimes, finds a corpse, gets wrongly accused of murder, escapes from custody and learns that something mysterious is going on south of the border. It doesn't all happen in exactly that order, but there's plenty of fast-paced fun.

But once the Falcon and one of the women fly to Mexico, the excitement levels off. The plot slows to a crawl. Events, including murders, seem almost random, and even the characters appear bored at time. At one point, the Falcon warns a Mexican gentleman that somebody may try to kill his daughter. The man shrugs off the tip and assures our hero that Mexico is a very safe place. He's not even curious about where the threat comes from!

The problem with the main part of this movie is that there's so much Mexico, there's no room left for mystery. There's travelogue-style footage of lakes and mountains, and some of it is very good. There are songs in Spanish, performances of masked Mexican dancers and shots of Mexican fishermen at work. There are even stereotypical "comic" Mexicans who talk like Speedy Gonzales. But there's no suspense, and the ending is very weak.

Considering when it was made, "The Falcon in Mexico" probably had a public relations component. During World War II, the U.S. government encouraged Hollywood to portray Latin America in a favorable light. But in a mystery movie, an exotic setting goes only so far. After a crackerjack start, this little whodunit is ultimately unsatisfying. It's at its weakest where it should have been strongest.

A good one

[robert-temple-1 · 7/10 · 23 October 2007]

This is the ninth Falcon film, and a particularly good one. It contains some very good second unit material shot in Mexico, so there must have been a large budget for that, as it must have taken at least two or three weeks on location. It took a lot of editing to intercut all that with the actors back home in the studio. Tom Conway is in fine form, and there is some crackling dialogue as usual: 'Are you following me around?' 'I've been doing nothing else since we first met.' No prizes for figuring out who said that. There are excellent performances from two Hispanic actors, Fernando Alvarado is a charming little Mexican boy, and Nestor Paiva is excellent in a major supporting role. Martha Vickers is suitably alluring and ambiguous as a typical Falcon heroine. One would like to have some time alone with her in her dressing room (just for research purposes, of course). The plot is solid, a truly puzzling mystery this time, with so many possible villains that the fingers on both hands seem hardly sufficient. This is an excellent unpretentious B picture, just the sort of thing one wants in the Falcon series.

It's not about the murders

[Igenlode Wordsmith · 7/10 · 16 September 2012]

This "Falcon" entry relocates to Mexico and features all the stock characters and situations that one would expect from Hollywood in that setting - some of which (the repeated footage of songs in the cantina, for instance) is obviously used simply as filler. But what raises the resulting film somewhat above average is the unexpected twist it manages to place on much of its material. Barbara's exotic young stepmother turns out to be genuinely attached to her, for instance, while the grinning, thick-witted Mexican who seems to be playing a part in a bad film turns out to be a very cool bird indeed.

There is some artful photography and some smart dialogue, and while there does seem to be a certain amount of tourist advertising blatantly inserted -- literally, as in photographs of travel brochures -- this film is more interesting than I thought it was going to be. Oddly enough, while it features a number of murders they are all left more or less in the background to the main mystery, which is the question of who faked the stolen portrait... or indeed, if it was faked at all...

A Lesser Falcon

[dougdoepke · 26 June 2013]

So is artist Wade alive or not. His daughter seems to think so even though he's supposedly ensconced in a crypt in Mexico. Fear not, however, the Falcon (Conway) is on the case. Actually the ingredients of a good mystery are present but the script mixes them up in a sloppy fashion. Much of the problem, as other reviewers note, is the big travelogue part, which only gets out of Hollywood proper thanks to some artistic Orson Welles stock footage. Otherwise it's process shots and RKO's backlot, along with that all-purpose ethnic Nestor Paiva (Manuel) furnishing a dollop of comic relief. Then too, the musical interludes tend to interrupt at inconvenient times. (Still, I really like the enchanting two little girl singers Hunter & Alvarez.)

What's worth watching for the guys, at least, are the gals, especially Vickers who's downright beautiful, at least in my book. I could have used a couple dozen more close-ups. Too bad the director treats her so casually. Anyway, the smooth-as-silk Conway is on hand to lend this slapdash programmer some class. But he really was better off with the great Val Lewton and his classic horror fests than he is here.

While not among the best Falcon films, this one is pretty good and worth a look

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 22 November 2007]

For my time, I would much rather watch an earlier Falcon film. That's because the George Sanders films were usually better written and more exciting--as well as starred the wonderful Sanders. With THE FALCON'S BROTHER, Sanders' real-life brother, Tom Conway, took over the leading role since Sanders wanted out of the series in order to pursue other acting opportunities. Now this was a very logical choice, as Conway looked a lot like Sanders and also had a similar lovely melodious voice. But despite this, I still found myself missing Sanders, as to me he was THE Falcon and the earlier films were just were written better and seemed so much fresher.

By 1944, Conway's Falcon had fallen into a rather predictable pattern that must have worked well at the time because they made so many of these films during a three year stretch--a HUGE output of 9 films! The public loved them and the series was more popular than contemporaries Boston Blackie, The Lone Wolf and Crime Doctor. So, despite my complaints, the series did work. Of course, I would contend that averaging three films a year was exactly why the films seemed not quite as good as the earlier ones--they were rushed into production and didn't seem as smooth or engaging as earlier ones.

Now THE FALCON IN Mexico is a bit better than most films of this period thanks to a relatively simple but engaging mystery. A low-point in the series was THE FALCON OUT WEST and I think most of the problem with that film was that there were too many twists and turns and surprises. Plus putting Conway out West just didn't fit his style and personality, though Mexico seemed a much better change of venues.

The plot involves the possibility that a famous dead painter MIGHT actually be alive. Either that, or the damsel in distress is losing her mind, as she keeps thinking she's seen her dead father. The Falcon, naturally, comes to her aid and by the end the mystery's all naturally been revealed.

Mexico or Bust!

[hogwrassler · 7/10 · 10 July 2021]

The Falcon series is being shown on TCM each Saturday morning and The Falcon in Mexico is on right now. This entry sends the hero to Mexico after he is accused of murder. It seems The Falcon was helping a young Mexican woman try to find a painting when they stumbled across a dead body. When the night watchman finds the body and Tom Lawrence, the girl has mysteriously disappeared. The clues all lead to Mexico where a supposedly dead artist may be found still alive. There is some good stock footage and a fine guitar duet by two young ladies. Young Martha Vickers (as Martha MacVicar) plays the artists's daughter who is trying to find if he is still alive. Martha shined two years years later with Bogart and Bacall in "The Big Sleep." But she never found true stardom. Mona Maris plays the Latin femme Fatale who stirs up the whole mess. Fresno, California born Nestor Paiva is superb as the Mexican driver and handyman who seems to always be around when The Falcon needs help. Reliable character actor Emory Parnell is the millionaire art collector who may be more involved than he lets on. Just sit back for 70 minutes and enjoy the little slice of Mexico shown in the stock footage, which is often used as a backdrop to the characters in the foreground of the shot.

Too much Mexico, not enough Falcon mystery

[TheLittleSongbird · 5/10 · 24 November 2016]

The Falcon films, both with George Sanders and Tom Conway in the lead role, are on the most part very enjoyable. There are some very good ones like the first two Sanders Falcon films and 'The Falcon Strikes Back', though also a few disappointments like 'The Falcon in Danger'.

While it's watchable enough, 'The Falcon in Mexico' is one of the series' weaker films. It has good things certainly, but too much is lacking too. The photography is slick and atmospheric, and Mexico looks stunningly exotic here. There is some playfulness in the script, while the mystery does start off quite well.

Salvaging it the most is the cast. Conway continues to thrive and enjoys himself evidently, everything that Sanders brought to the role Conway also brings and just as effectively. A charming Martha Vickers and a very funny and full of life Nestor Paiva are the supporting cast's standouts, Fernando Alvarado is also appealing.

However, the story does suffer from a lack of suspense, erratic pacing (tries to be bright and breezy, which it is sporadically, but is too hectic more like), a very vague and weird motive for the criminal, not being focused on enough with Mexico being favoured over it and a very abrupt ending. The stock Mexican music sounds cheap, not like the Falcon series at all, and the musical interludes were unnecessary and irrelevant to the story, also placed at inappropriate times.

The travelogue stuff is striking but doesn't add a lot and slows down the film. William Berke's direction is undistinguished, and too much of the script is awkward and confused.

On the whole, an uninspired entry in a mostly enjoyable series that suffers from too much Mexico and not enough Falcon mystery. 5/10 Bethany Cox

South Of The Back Screen

[boblipton · 7/10 · 10 July 2021]

Tom Conway has just promised his lady love to not take any more cases, when Mona Maris asks him to help recover a painting of her. It turns out that the painter has been dead for fifteen years, and it's of a lady who died a couple of years ago, which eventually sends Conway down to Mexico with the painter's daughter, Martha Vickers. There the case grows a bit more tangled amidst all the cantina entertainment that RKO can provide on a B budget, plus more of the worst backscreen work I've ever seen, of Conway and a lady walking past a central square somewhere in Mexico.

Shoddy technicals aside, this is another Falcon movie with a nice little mystery story, and Frank Redman's usual fine camerawork -- except for that darned backscreen. Director William Berke doesn't add much oomph to the movie, and there is a shortage of pretty, underdressed girls, but you can't have everything.

South Of The Border Down Mexico Way

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 22 June 2013]

When Tom Conway met that black cat determined to cross his path he should have gone blocks out of the way. He didn't though and wound up helping Cecilia Callejo break into an art gallery to retrieve a painting for which she modeled. But the gallery owner is dead Callejo flees through a window and Conway has to run from the San Francisco police.

The daughter of the dead artist who painted it played by Martha Vickers might provide answers. So might Vickers's stepmother Mona Maris and her new husband Joseph Vitale. So might millionaire Emory Parnell who bought several of the dead artist's paintings. They all wind up meeting in old Mexico providing The Falcon with a host of subjects. Along with ever helpful driver Nestor Paiva and his young son Fernando Alvarado.

A middle run Falcon film, the exotic location helps, but it's not anything but a studio created Mexico.

First class

[[e-mail] · 10/10 · 12 January 2012]

Really, all of the FALCON films are quite delightful, and THE FALCON IN Mexico is fresh, witty and consistently entertaining. Despite some of the rather silly reviews of it seen here this writer can very highly recommend it.

Typically with this series the dialog is quite sharp and delivered with panache by a solid stock company of reliable actors and actresses. The mystery element is quite well handled as well. I must say that one thing that particularly pleased me was its charming music score which relied heavily on south-of-the-border melodies as well as some classic RKO library music by Roy Webb which was always good.

Conway is as suave and pleasing to watch as ever and there is a fine supporting performance by the underrated Nestor Paiva. The ladies are beautiful, charming and a little mysterious and really nothing can be faulted here unless one enjoys indulging in nit-picking.

All in all a thoroughly satisfying movie and one of the very best of the FALCON series. Recommended for all viewers, not just FALCON fans.

next chapter for the Falcon

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 5 September 2020]

Tom Conway is the Falcon in this one... the role he shared with his brother George. An art gallery owner is knocked off, and of course, the falcon is on the hook for it. And suddenly we're off to mexico, following the clues. And headed to Patzcuaro, southeast of Jalisco. Some really pretty songs sung by Ruth Álvarez, Nita Hunter, and Mona Maris. Co-stars Martha Vickers and Emory Parnell. An artist may or may not be dead, and when the falcon figures out why, he will know who dunnit. Or who didn't dunnit. And who exactly is Manuel? He keeps showing up at the best (and worst) times. He has such a great command of English that he keeps turning clever turns of phrase that even most Americans couldn't think up. Fun script. Good stuff. Not too challenging, but a fun adventure in mexico. Really interesting to see the butterfly fishing boats at the island of janitzio. Directed by Bill Berke. Died young of a heart attack, according to some websites.

Too many distracting process shots with actors in front of filmed backgrounds...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 19 November 2007]

RKO must have had a very small budget to work with when they made "The Falcon in Mexico", using stock footage of actual location photography but process photography for all of the studio shots with actors in front of the screened location backgrounds. It becomes such a distraction that there's a tendency not to follow the plot after awhile but just to watch how often the actors are in Hollywood rather than Mexico.

Whatever, the story is not intriguing enough and nobody seems to be trying very hard to bring it to life. Even the usually vivacious MARTHA VICKERS (who played the nymphomaniac in THE BIG SLEEP) has a hard time conveying any genuine emotion while she pines for her long lost father, while others in the cast are competent enough but not really inspired. NESTOR PAIVA has the best supporting role as an overly enthusiastic but helpful taxi driver called Manuel.

Nevertheless, Conway does a decent job as the debonair detective who has the same interest as the police in solving a crime, but seems to be avoiding them at every turn.

Some of the background photography is well filmed, but using process shots for scenes involving the actors is too obvious for comfort.

Summing up: All in all, a passable B-film entertainment.

A fairly uninspiring entry in the series that continues the gimmick of the location from Out West

[bob the moo · 8 January 2007]

Never far from women or trouble, Tom Lawrence meets both when he meets Dolores Ybarra trying to get into a door and recover a painting she did. Helping her, Lawrence realises he was duped and that the painting is of her, not by her. These trifling issues are put to one side when they discover a body in the building. The girl flees and, suspected of the murder (as usual), Lawrence does too. The problem with the painting is that the painter actually died 15 years earlier, but yet the portrait must have been done recently. Lawrence seeks out the artist's daughter Barbara, who reveals a mystery around her father's death and the two head to Mexico to investigate further.

After being Out West, the film series continues its attempts to freshen things up by "being places" rather than doing things. In this case we have a lazy travelogue that takes us to Mexico with lots of backdrops and footage (with supposedly a famous source!). The mystery starts out well enough and does offer intrigue to a point but it is pretty much lost in the delivery, which seems more interesting in providing a lot of footage of Mexico instead. This bothered me a bit because I was interested by the set up but this waned as I realised that the film itself wasn't that fussed. Berke's direction is fine I'm sure but he is continually overshadowed by the stock footage (supposedly shot by Orson Welles) which regularly takes centre stage. The film also features a couple of songs (a common filler in b-movie world), they aren't much cop here but do add a sanitised flavour of Mexico.

Conway is not as smooth as he was in some other of the Falcon films. He is still recognisable as the same character but it does feel like he is going through the motions somewhat with this one. He lacks much in the way of support here as well as his regular comic companions of the police and Goldie/Lefty are absent. Instead we have a bit of life from Paiva in a good sidekick character. Maris, Vickers, Currier, Callejo and others all do so-so jobs but nobody has much conviction about anything – probably not helped by the material.

Overall then a fairly uninspiring entry in the series that continues the gimmick of the location from Out West. The stock footage is all well and good but the mystery becomes slack and uninteresting all too quickly.

9th of 16

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 23 December 2022]

Once again, The Falcon promises to stop solving mysteries to his girl, but he quickly breaks that promise. He comes to the aid of a damsel in distress and gets pulled into another murder mystery. There's a dead body, a painting, and an investigation in Mexico.

This starts with the standard Falcon move and a pretty interesting mystery. It then turns somewhat into a travel show. There is some fun. The local guide and his kid are good additions. There are plenty twists and turns. The mystery is fine. I continue to wonder if The Falcon needs a sidekick. All in all, it's a good episode in the series.

The Falcon in Mexico

[guswhovian · 7/10 · 27 July 2020]

The Falcon is sought by the New York police for the murder of an art dealer, and goes to Mexico and discovers that a painter long-thought dead may still be alive.

This was among the strongest entries in the series. All the stock footage of Mexico does get tedious after a while though. Some of the stock footage was reportedly lifted from Orson Welles' 1942 debacle It's All True.

Martha Vickers (the sister in the Big Sleep) is wasted, but Nestor Paiva is great in a comedic role. The plot is, as usual, complicated, and the resolution feels rushed.

Good fun.

The Falcon in Mexico

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 25 February 2023]

Aiding a young lady, Tom Lawrence - known to the world as the 'Falcon' - discovers a brand-new painting by an artist believed dead for 15 years. But someone is going to murderous lengths to cover up the possibility he might still be alive, somewhere in picturesque Mexico.

Tom Conway plays the Falcon once again and in a short time, after promising his girlfriend he won't get involved in crime busting, he comes to a woman's aide , breaks into an art gallery, learns that the woman had lied about the painting belonging to her and stolen from her, she manages to escape and he is left alone with a stiff -a body - in the gallery - he ends up on the run and heads to Mexico where he gets embroiled in more intrigue - the plot is quite busy, never meandering and it's to the point with mystery and has plenty of twists. A good mystery.

Mystery of sorts superimposed on travelog

[Jim Tritten · 3/10 · 2 June 2004]

Two or even three movies for the price of one! The first is a travelog that was shot somewhere south of the US border. There are some excellent scenes of local fishermen and the culture of ordinary folks. Rumor has it that these are from Orsen Wells circa 1942. The second movie is unabashed marketing for tourism in Mexico - the last shot is of a tourist poster that melts into a plane flying to or from our neighbor to the south. The third movie is a lackluster mystery of sorts with Tom Lawrence at his worst. It is not that all of his Falcon movies are terrible, some are decent. The Falcon in Mexico is not one of his stellar performances and not really worth your time viewing. Half an hour after the movie, you won't rember who did it or care. Costume design by Renié.

RKO stretching this serial out to the breaking point...

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 22 November 2009]

Michael Arlen's radio-serial detective returns for another movie mystery (actually, it's the Falcon's brother this time, with George Sanders having since exited from the role and real-life sibling Tom Conway assuming his duties). For reasons unknown, the Falcon is down Mexico way, being conned by a Señorita who needs his help in retrieving one of her paintings from an art gallery. They break in after-hours (despite a sign near the door--in English--warning that police are on constant watch), only to find a dead man on the premises. Globe-trotting yarn wants us to believe that New York City and Mexico are just a stone's throw from each other, or that this Falcon is really just a nice guy, quite used to helping out desperate females. Neither washes, while the solving of the crime is rote and unexciting. ** from ****

Better than average and more free of ethnic stereotypes than most of early Hollywood

[anasazi-145-682127 · 8/10 · 20 February 2023]

I am not as familiar with the Falcon series as many. Having said that, this is a quite delightful entry. As noted by others, this relies a bit too much on process shots (as the film was not actually shot in Mexico I would bet) but, on thr other hand, it is remarkably free of ethnic stereotypes typical of the day, as many of the process shots also include many shots of Mexico's beauty. None of the characters display the broken English that Americans mock Mexicans for except one who turns out to be... well you have to see it for yourself. All in all, the Falcon in Mexico is a very well-spent barely an hour time at the movies.

Mexico travelogue featuring the Falcon

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 17 June 2017]

The Falcon (Tom Conway) heads to Mexico to investigate a murder and hang out with a cab driver (Nestor Paiva). Despite an exciting first twenty minutes or so, this turns out to be one of the weaker entries in the series. It seems more concerned with promoting tourism to Mexico than telling a fun mystery story. Don't get me wrong, the scenery and local color stuff is all great. It's just not what I watch a Falcon movie for. Anyway, Tom Conway is good as usual. Nestor Paiva is kind of an annoying sidekick. The lovely ladies this time include Martha Vickers and Mona Maris. Ruth and Juanita Alvarez (who appeared previously in the series as teenagers) have bit parts here. The series is missing the regulars it had earlier on, such as the Falcon's sidekick Goldie or the bumbling cops Donovan and Bates. Now it's all on Conway to quickly develop good chemistry with the guest stars. Sometimes he does and sometimes it just feels off. Worth a look for fans but prepare yourself that this isn't one of the Falcon's better movies.

Fair

[Michael_Elliott · 28 February 2008]

Falcon in Mexico, The (1944)

** (out of 4)

The Falcon (Tom Conway) travels to Mexico where he gets involved with murder and a mysterious painting. This entry gets a minor leg up from the Mexican locations, which are probably just backlot shots but the actual mystery itself is rather bland. The screenplay is all over the place and even when the killer was revealed it still didn't make too much sense. Conway is really hit and miss in this series and I'd have to call him a major miss here. The supporting cast isn't any better and many of the members from previous films, including Cliff Clark, are missing here, which doesn't help matters.

Mexican Murder-Travelogue

[profh-1 · 5/10 · 15 July 2023]

Moments after promising his latest girlfriend he's giving up crime and other girls, Tom Lawrence becomes involved in the break-in at an art gallery, the murder of its owner, the theft of an expensive painting by a man believed long dead, the millionaire who owns most of the late artist's work, and a trip to Mexico, with the artist's daughter, who believes her father may still be alive, that seems to double as an extended commercial travelogue for vacation-goers. What fun!

The 10 FALCON movies starring Tom Conway break down almost neatly into 2 periods. The first had him involved with Inspector Timothy Donovan (Cliff Clark) and his sidekick Detective Bates (Edward Gargan). Most of these took place in the New York City area, except for the 5th, ...OUT WEST, where the two cops followed Lawrence's long-distance investigation. Unlike THE LONE WOLF series, which carried such nonsense to insane limits, starting with his 6th film, you had 5 in a row, each featuring a different pair of cops in a different part of the country.

Emory Parnell is "Winthrop Lucky Diamond Hughes", who owns most of the dead man's work, and insists he knows his style better than anyone. He's also arrogant, obnoxious, and never stops complaining. Among his long resume are ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES, THE HOUSE OF FEAR (1939), THE SECRET OF DR. KILDARE, FOREIGN CORRESEPONDENT, THE MALTESE FALCON, ZOMBIES ON BROADWAY, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, and 3 FALCON movies (he comes back in the next one as the cop-of-the-film).

Pedro De Cordoba is "Don Carlos Ybarra", the local rich guy whose daughter posed for the stolen painting. I've also seen him in CITY IN DARKNESS, THE GHOST BREAKERS, THE MARK OF ZORRO (1940), TARZAN TRIUMPHS, THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (1945), and SAMSON AND DELILAH (1949).

Mona Maris is "Raquel", half of a professional dance team, and the 2nd wife of the late artist, who worries that should her first husband turn out to still be alive, she will be married to two men at once. Often playing femme fatales, I've seen her in THE DEATH KISS, WHITE HEAT, and A DATE WITH THE FALCON (opposite George Sanders).

Martha Vickers is "Barbara Wade", the dead man's daughter, who's long suspected that her father may still be alive, and almost seems to have a psychic connection with the hotel he lived in. She had bit parts in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN and THE MUMMY'S GHOST, but will forever be remembered as "Carmen Sternwood" in the 1946 version of THE BIG SLEEP.

Nestor Paiva is "Manuel Romero", a cab driver of many, many talents who, along with his young son "Pancho", attaches himself to Lawrence the moment he arrives in Mexico and won't let go. He absolutely STEALS the movie, and to me is the main reason to watch-- and re-watch, when you find out what he's really hiding from his temporary employer. I've seen him in THE SPIDER'S WEB (1938), THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1939), PHANTOM RAIDERS, THE GREEN HORNET STRIKES AGAIN!, MEET BOSTON BLACKIE, DRESSED TO KILL (1941), TARZAN'S DESERT MYSTERY, THE LONE WOLF IN MEXICO (where he plays one of the more intelligent cops in that series), THE PALEFACE, MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, MY FAVORITE SPY (1951), I THE JURY (1953, as a bartender friend of Biff Elliot's "Mike Hammer"), CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, REVENGE OF THE CREATURE, TARANTULA, 2 episodes of RICHARD DIAMOND, PRIVATE DETECTIVE, 14 episodes of ZORRO with Guy Williams, ATLANTIS: THE LOST CONTINENT, and, he did voices in 3 episodes of JONNY QUEST (1964). What a guy!

This particular film has always struck me as possibly being a direct influence on not one but two much-later episodes of McCLOUD with Dennis Weaver. While the now-departed Cliff Clark's brusk personality often reminded me of that show's "Chief Clifford" (J. D. Cannon), the search in Mexico for an artist believed dead turned up in "Somebody's Out To Get Jennie" (from season 2), while the prolonged scenes of driving in Mexico turned up in "Lady On The Run" (season 5). I've been seeing so much in the various "NBC Mystery Movies" series from the 1970s that were inspired in one form or another by film series of the 1930s and 40s, can this really be a coincidence, or later writers simply borrowing and updating obvious tropes to use in shows watched by audiences too young to even be aware of what they're borrowing from?

Just as this was the first FALCON film without some kind of regular supporting cast, it's also the first to end without a bogus lead-in to the next film. ("Oh, Mr. Lawrence! You HAVE to help me!")

The ninth film in the Falcon series

[jacobs-greenwood · 19 December 2016]

A little different than earlier films in the series, this one is the first film since A Date with the Falcon without Edward Gargan as Detective Bates and first one without Cliff Clark as the Police Inspector since The Falcon's Brother, when Clark took over the role from noted character actor James Gleason. Also, a single character Manuel (Nester Paiva), who "adopts" the Falcon (Tom Conway) when he arrives in Mexico, provides much of the comic relief, service and other roles normally played by a sidekick, houseboy etc..

The film begins with the Falcon kissing his girlfriend goodnight, promising her he'll not get involved in another crime solving case. After avoiding walking under a ladder and a black cat crossing his path, he sees a beautiful woman (Dolores, played by Cecilia Cellejo) attempting to break into an art gallery. He cannot help himself. She tells him she is trying to retrieve a painting of hers inside and he helps her only to find, once inside, that the painting is a portrait of her, and that the art dealer has been murdered. About this time, some "rent a cops" show up, the girl disappears, and the Falcon is suspected of the murder.

He learns that the painting was done by deceased artist Humphrey Wade, making it valuable, and that it was recently purchased by a collector of Wade's paintings, "Diamond" Hughes (Emory Parnell). Of course, the Falcon escapes with the painting before the police arrive and heads to Hughes' house. Hughes doesn't know the identity of the girl in the painting, didn't even know of this painting's existence until recently, but suggests that perhaps the artist's daughter (who lives nearby) knows more.

When the Falcon meets Wade's daughter (Martha Vickers), she reveals that she believes her father may still be alive. They agree to go together to Mexico, where her father did his painting, but she "ditches" him shortly after they arrive. A taxi driver, Manuel, and his son help the Falcon follow the daughter to the hotel that was the artist's residence. Manuel becomes as ever present as the Falcon, appearing in most scenes and/or at critical times throughout the movie, delivering broken English lines reminiscent of Yogi Berra.

The proprietor of the hotel (Mary Currier), who acts suspiciously, and the song & dance couple (Mona Maris and Joseph Vitale) working there, are all found to have a connection with the former artist. The woman in the musical team is the stepmother of Wade's daughter, who also turns up at the hotel. Dolores, the woman in the painting (which is stolen from the Falcon's room, and later found in proprietor's room), makes a brief appearance before she disappears again, we meet her father (Pedro de Cordoba), and she is found dead by fisherman. Once "Diamond" Hughes arrives, everyone with any kind of connection to Humphrey Wade and/or a motive for wanting him (to stay?) dead is checked in to the hotel. We also learn more about Manuel.

There is song and dance entertainment throughout this film. There are also some beautiful lake scenes including butterfly fishing boats, as well as a "Carnival" celebration on the island across the lake. Of course, the Falcon solves the mystery and catches the murderer (by putting himself at risk). However, this film does not include a (fairly typical) lead in to the next film in the series.