A Date with the Falcon (1942)

The Falcon film series is generally a lot of fun to watch, with many of the films very enjoyable and all worth watching at least once. The second outing 'A Date with the Falcon' is one of the better ones.Not perfect by all means. 'A Date with the Falcon' did feel a little too short, if it was 10 minutes longer it would have given the mystery aspects a little more explanation instead of a few parts being hastier and not as easy to follow as others. Wendy Barrie was very likable and entertaining in 'The Gay Falcon' (the first and very enjoyable outing in the series), but here she is in a more brashly written role and the performance feels overdone and annoying.When it comes to the production values, while not among the most visually stunning films ever made (then again 'A Date with the Falcon' is not that kind of film), 'A Date with the Falcon' is very meticulously filmed and lit with sets that are elegant and atmospheric. The music is lively and haunting, while the direction solid, the script is witty and smart (even more so, and more electrifying than that of 'The Gay Falcon') and the story a vast majority of the time very engrossing and never incoherent or a test for endurance. The characters are also a lot of fun with the only exception being Barrie's.As said with 'The Gay Falcon', George Sanders is a truly great lead, he was never less than watchable and magnificent when at his best, and he looks so relaxed and at ease here and plays with his usual suave and imposing manner while also with an elegance, cutting aplomb and charm. James Gleason is also excellent.Hans Conried steals scenes gleefully, and while he doesn't have as much to do Allen Jenkins is still enormous fun and also a scene stealer. Mona Maris is an alluring femme fatale.In conclusion, one of the best outings in a series of films that are most enjoyable. 8/10 Bethany Cox

It would be hard to praise too highly these "Falcon" (and "Saint") films of the 30s and 40s, for in them was contained all the enjoyable trademarks of that fine era of movie making.These films all had good writing, good directing, good acting, good photography, crisp editing and fast action. What more would you want? They also had plenty of charm and plenty of style.A DATE WITH THE FALCON is one of the best of the bunch with a neat plot and some delightful set pieces. George Sanders and Wendy Barrie are fun to watch, and to listen to, but the supporting performances of folks like the great Allen Jenkins, James Gleason and Ed Gargan are just as entertaining. RKO had always made the best "B" pictures in town and for their production values alone it would hard to fault them. And a special "hats off" must go to director Irving Reis for some extremely amusing sequences very professionally staged.Don't be put off by the one or two supercilious remarks by some of the above reviewers. Just go watch these films and have yourself a very good time doing so. You will quickly notice a brand of film-making vastly superior to what is being done today.

This is the second of the Falcon films starring George Sanders. The dialogue crackles with even more electricity than in the first. This film has more substance and plot than its predecessor, but is even funnier, with both sight gags and witty remarks throughout which are often hilarious. Who can ever forget George Sanders standing and smoking a cigarette nonchalantly on a window ledge of a New York hotel, while the crowd below gasps and take bets on whether he will jump. When a policeman forces him inside the window at gunpoint, the street crowd sighs in disappointment, and one man says: 'I figured him for a phoney.' When Sanders goes into a florist shop to buy roses for his (new) fiancée, the woman running it is an old girl friend. She is surprised and disappointed that he is getting married: 'You're much too undependable to be taken out of circulation. It's a crime.' He drolly replies: 'Yes, and I can't solve it. It's a perfect crime.' Hans Conreid, who stole scenes in the previous Falcon film as a police artist, really runs away with his scenes in this one as a hotel clerk. Wendy Barrie scintillates as much as ever, sometimes ferocious, at other times gentle, but always on fire. What a cracker! They don't make 'em like this any more. And all that on a low budget, with a couple of cars and a few cheap sets. Today's directors with their hundred million dollar budgets ought to take a look at some of these old cheapies and learn how to make real movies. Then we would not all be so bored by their silly special effects and exploding cars which they substitute for acting and witty dialogue, and we could enjoy a film again like people could in 1941.

Samson is a hard working scientist who has developed a technique for developing synthetic diamond for the purposes of tooling and industrial use.However the synthetic diamonds are so realistic that even experts cannot tell them apart – making Samson a target for criminals. When Samson goes missing, Inspector O'Hara turns to Gay Lawrence for help. Despite having woman troubles with his fiancé, Helen, the Falcon finds himself in the middle of the investigation and pursued by the gang, who are understandably keen to get such a keen mind off the case before he makes progress.With a pretty standard (and unlikely) set up, it is not long before the Falcon is drafted onto the case. The plot is not great though and isn't as focused on the actual investigation as I would have liked. Instead it mixes it with the side kick of Falcon's fiancé and, while I can see what they were trying to do with it, it doesn't really work awfully well at all. Indeed it would have made a nice play with Helen being the sidekick that the Falcon has in other films but here this aspect and the actual plot mix about as well as oil and water and, sadly, the investigation into Samson's disappearance occasionally plays second fiddle to Lawrence having woman troubles.However most viewers of this series will have gotten used to the fact that the crime plots are never the strongest here but often this is covered by some good humour. While there are quite a few nice touches to this material, the film is not nearly as amusing as it should be. The Falcon himself has a certain swagger to him but too much of the film is him looking flustered and frustrated by trying to balance his couple of women. The script does throw out some good material for minor roles and has some funny set ups (playing drunk to escape the baddies is a good moment) but generally it isn't funny enough to cover the fact that the plot can't even manage to stretch to an hour. As a result the cast don't do as well as they could have. Sanders is very good in some scenes but then in others he is very poor and not anything like the cool, crisp mind that I expect him to be. Jenkins is poorly used considering how funny he can be when used sparingly in support – but here he is far too sparingly used and has nothing to do until late in the day. Gleason's inspector is good but Barrie is annoying and Maris is nowhere near the femme fatale she was clearly trying to be.It is still an OK little film but not one of the better in the series even if fans still enjoy it for what it is. The film gets better as it goes but too much in the first half is poorly judged and the actual case/plot mostly plays as second billing behind some flat comedy involving a couple of 'dames' and several misunderstandings.