Irving Reis' film - the first in the Falcon series based on a character created by Michael Arlen - possesses most of the virtues characteristic of a good "B" movie: a taut plot-structure; a brisk, no-nonsense style of filming combining stock footage with studio sequences comprised largely of shot/reverse shots; and a clutch of memorable performances from characters given full opportunity to show off their abilities. Allen Jenkins' "Goldie" Locke, all arms and legs and quizzical looks as he vainly tries to escape arrest by the police, has one delicious moment where he is asked to describe a criminal for the benefit of a police artist, and ends up describing the police inspector Mike Waldeck (Arthur Shields) instead. Nina Vale's Elinor Benford, a star-struck fan of The Falcon (George Sanders) thoroughly enjoys herself as she ends up in scrape after scrape, if only for the fact that she can sit next to the Falcon in a car and repeatedly ask him: "So what do we do next?" Gladys Cooper plays an affluent socialite, apparently vulnerable but concealing a devious nature; while Turhan Bey enjoys himself as a dubious Mexican lounge-lizard. At the center of the film, both physically as well as structurally, is Sanders' Falcon; I did not realize just how well-built he actually was, as he dominates the frame, dressed in a variety of costumes from evening dress to a hobo's outfit. Regrettably THE GAY FALCON perpetuates racist stereotypes characteristic of that time: Willie Fung's performance as the comic Chinese servant Jerry is particularly jarring. Nonetheless the film passes the time quite agreeably.
Review of The Gay Falcon
The Gay Falcon
(1941)
Brisk Comedy-Murder Mystery Notable for its Supporting Performances
2 August 2014