Appointment with Murder (1948)

The Falcon is hired by an insurance company to recover two stolen paintings, a job that takes him across the country and then across the Atlantic to Italy. Before he knows it, his ... See full summary »

Director:

Jack Bernhard

Writers:

Joel Malone (story), Harold Swanton (story),

Stars:

John Calvert, Catherine Craig, Jack Reitzen

Cast

Cast overview:
John Calvert	...	Michael Watling, the Falcon
Catherine Craig	...	Lorraine W. Brinckley
Jack Reitzen	...	Norton Benedict
Lyle Talbot	...	Fred Muller
Peter Brocco	...	Giuseppe Donatti
Ben Welden	...	Martin Minecci
Robert Conte	...	Count Dano
Jay Griffith	...	Detective
Michael Mark	...	2nd Baggage Clerk
Carlo Schipa	...	Mario Farello (as Carlos Schipa)
Anna Demetrio	...	Senora Rosa - Italian Woman (as Ann Demetrio)
Carole Donne	...	Miss Connors
Barbara Freking	...	Barbara O'Brien - The Model

Storyline

The Falcon is hired by an insurance company to recover two stolen paintings, a job that takes him across the country and then across the Atlantic to Italy. Before he knows it, his investigation leads him into a world of double-crosses and big-time art fraud.

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Plot Keywords:

italy | insurance | painting | the falcon | milan italy | 

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Taglines:

Based on the Character "THE FALCON" by MICHAEL ARLEN (original poster ...and film)

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 November 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Encontro com a Morte

Company Credits

Production Co:

Falcon Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

67 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The fifteenth of sixteen movies for the suave detective nicknamed "The Falcon" starring John Calvert.

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Connections

Follows The Falcon in Hollywood (1944)

User Reviews

The dog who tries to smile

This is the 15th of the 16 Falcon films, and the second starring John Calvert as the Falcon. There are no witty lines in this film at all, which is entirely without humour, and it is all played absolutely straight. There is no pet dog, as the rather inadequate dog of the previous film has been dropped without explanation, and Calvert does not try to be 'cute' this time. (In the previous film he did a few magic tricks with things appearing and disappearing in his hands, which were not very good either, and they have been ditched too.) The story is about two stolen paintings by the renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506), the intrigues, two murders, and other attempted murders, connected with them. Are they fakes? Are they real? Some of the characters believe one thing and some believe the other. No less than two corpses are left lying while the characters go off and do other things. In one case, the Falcon flies to America leaving a dead man lying in a room in Milan. And in the other case, a hotel desk clerk's corpse is left lying behind his desk, entirely forgotten by both the Falcon and the police as they leave the hotel. Evidently, the script writer did not remember that murder victims cannot be disposed of simply by turning a page in the script, but require people to collect and bury their bodies. This is another extremely low budget effort, and an undistinguished one. Calvert has the annoying habit of grinning most of the time, for no particular reason. Either he was sternly lectured as a child to 'smile, Jonnny, smile', or some acting coach told him he must lighten up, so that he thought contorting his face in inappropriate grins was the way to do it. You know how some dogs attempt to imitate the smiles of their owners, well Calvert is like a dog who does that. As for this film, undemanding fans of old mystery films will find it interesting for the complexities of the story.