The Gay Falcon (1941)

The Falcon investigates jewel thieves who are working with hard up socialites to defraud insurance companies. First of the Falcon series.

Director:

Irving Reis

Writers:

Lynn Root (screenplay), Frank Fenton (screenplay)

Stars:

George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Allen Jenkins

Cast

Complete credited cast:
George Sanders	...	Gay Laurence / The Falcon
Wendy Barrie	...	Helen Reed
Allen Jenkins	...	Jonathan G. 'Goldie' Locke
Nina Vale	...	Elinor Benford (as Anne Hunter)
Gladys Cooper	...	Maxine Wood
Edward Brophy	...	Detective Bates
Arthur Shields	...	Inspector Mike Waldeck
Damian O'Flynn	...	Noel Weber
Turhan Bey	...	Manuel Retana
Eddie Dunn	...	Detective Grimes
Lucile Gleason	...	Vera Gardner
Willie Fung	...	Jerry

Storyline

Society grand dame Maxine Wood who hosts charity parties in her home is mixed up in a jewel theft racket which defrauds insurance companies. When another socialite, Vera Gardner, is murdered, Gay Laurence (a.k.a. The Falcon) and assistant 'Goldie' Locke are on the case with help from beautiful Helen Reed, who becomes a rival to Gay's fiancée Elinor for the sleuth's affections.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to doctor john watson | character name as title | the falcon character | three word title | gay laurence character | 

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Taglines:

CRIMINALS BEWARE! Here comes fiction's man of mystery! (original print ad)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

In order to ease the transition from "The Saint' to 'The Falcon' RKO cast Wendy Barrie in the series. Barrie had played the female leads in three of the George Sanders' entries in 'The Saint' series, albeit in different roles each time.

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Goofs

Evidently not considered worth a re-shoot, a fly lands on the Falcon's hat and climbs down it when he arranges to meet Helen at Tony's cafe.

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Quotes

Gay Lawrence: Mike, Miss Benford's okay and I love her. But, would you do me a favor and lock her up until we get back?

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Connections

Referenced in Wonder Boys (2000)

User Reviews

Pleasant entry in the Falcon series...

This is a pleasant B-film from The Falcon series with (by today's standards) a misleading title.

GEORGE SANDERS is the woman-chasing sleuth who always manages to get involved in a crime the police cannot solve without his help. WENDY BARRIE is the flirtatious woman who goes along with him on a series of adventures that have them on the hunt for the murder of a woman wearing a very expensive diamond. ALLEN JENKINS is Sander's side-kick, amusing as usual in a supporting role.

The cast is full of surprises--never expected to see GLADYS COOPER as a rich society dame with a key role in the mystery, TURHAN BEY (a rising young star at the time), and EDWARD BROPHY and ARTHUR SHIELDS as baffled police officers.

Sanders says every line in that dryly sarcastic manner he would use as Addison deWitt in ALL ABOUT EVE years later, but he seems to be enjoying his role. There's nothing very ingenious about the plot, but it does come up with a surprise toward the end because Sanders has information withheld from the viewer.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 October 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Gay Falcon

Filming Locations:

RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

67 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1