The Falcon's Alibi (1946)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Ray McCarey

Writers:

Michael Arlen (characters)
Dane Lussier (story)

Release Date:

22 April 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery

Plot:

A wealthy woman's secretary, fearing that she will be blamed if her employer's jewelry is stolen, hires the Falcon as guardian...

Plot Keywords:

The Falcon | Murder | Jewelry | Twelfth Part | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Tom Conway	...	Tom Lawrence, the Falcon
Rita Corday	...	Joan Meredith
Vince Barnett	...	Goldie Locke
Jane Greer	...	Lola Carpenter
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Nick, KGR disc jockey
Emory Parnell	...	Metcalf
Al Bridge	...	Police Inspector Blake
Esther Howard	...	Gloria Peabody
Jean Brooks	...	Baroness Lena
Paul Brooks	...	Alex Olmsted, bandleader
Jason Robards Sr.	...	Harvey Beaumont (as Jason Robards)
Morgan Wallace	...	Bender, nightclub operator
Lucien Prival	...	Baron
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bonnie Blair	...	Telephone operator (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

61 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #11122) | Sweden:15

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Movie Connections:

Followed by Appointment with Murder (1948)

Soundtrack:

How Do You Fall In Love

The Poyirls Of Death

The 12th and penultimate RKO Falcon film was a hardboiled affair, with the two wildly different main strands converging to a rather sudden conclusion. Some nice noirish moments, atmospheric photography and natural acting by all go to make it an enjoyable ride.

Tom Conway playing Tom Lawrence aka the Falcon and Goldie (played for the only time by Vince Barnett) get called upon to protect a "lady's" pearl necklace, alas to no avail – it's already gone. An insurance scam is uncovered with Emory Parnell in his 3rd Falcon as a slapstick insurance detective. The other thread has manic Barbary Towers hotel dj Elisha Cook Jr. (the one man Radio KGR) with his own problems, not the least keeping hold of his wife, gorgeous Jane Greer. His was the watertight alibi of the picture, not a new idea then and borrowed shortly afterwards to greater effect by Claude Rains in The Unsuspected. It was Rita Corday's 6th and final Falcon film, this time pretty low-key - all those name changes surely didn't help her future career? Favourite bits: listening to Greer's pleasant singing voice; the "smudge" fire routine in the hotel bedroom ably performed by Goldie; Cook's record library - you could get all those tons of shellac onto a single mp3 player now! Needless to relate, Tom solves everything, albeit a couple of murders too late, but woe betide you if you miss that last minute – they closed this one down fast!

Nothing here for the serious, nice entertainment for us fans.