The Falcon Strikes Back (1943)

Tom Conway is excellent--wry and witty. Jane Randolph makes her second and final appearance as a feisty reporter with a yen for the Falcon. She is very lovely, I wish she had appeared in more of the films! Rita Corday, also very attractive, makes the first of her five appearances in a Falcon film. And Harriet Nelson, of Ozzie and Harriet fame, has some sizzle as a suspicious hotel manager. Harriet, who knew? She's quite sexy here! In common with all the 1930's and 1940's series movies of this type, the police are portrayed very broadly for comedy. The two police officers here ham it up to a degree that will perhaps surprise any viewer who has not seen many of these old films. But they are no broader than Inspector Lestrade in the Universal Sherlock Holmes films. Or, though he is not a policeman, Birmingham Brown in the Monogram Chan films. The period costumes are good, especially on the ladies, and there are a couple of great old cars shown--the Falcon drives a stunning white convertible! Conway carries the movie smoothly and well. He's pleasure to watch--both shrewd and fun. The hotel desk clerk is a very familiar face from old films and old TV shows. The print on the dvd is quite good. Not as crystal clear as on the Fox Chan films, or the Universal Holmes ones, but still pretty good. There are some good exterior sets, especially at the country hotel. Recommended.

Director: EDWARD DMYTRYK. Screenplay: Edward Dein, Gerald Geraghty. Story: Stuart Palmer. Based on characters created by Michael Arlen. Photography: Jack McKenzie. Film editor: George Crone. Art directors: Albert S. D'Agostino, Walter E. Keller. Set decorators: Darrell Silvera, William Stevens. Costumes: Renie. Assistant director: James Casey. Music director: Constantin Bakaleinikoff. Music composed by Roy Webb. Sound recording: Jean L. Speak. RCA Sound System. Producer: Maurice Geraghty (brother of the screenwriter). Copyright 7 May 1943 by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Palace: 1 April 1943. U.S. release: 7 May 1943. Australian release: 14 October 1943. 6,008. 66 minutes.NOTES: Number 5 of the 16 "Falcon" pictures, and the only one to be directed by Edward Dmytryk. COMMENT: The cast is four times more appealing and the direction about twice as inventive as the plot, — a lot of meaningless waffle about stolen war bonds. A surfeit of dialogue further burdens the story-line, though it does provide opportunities for a grand array of character players to sloop through their paces. Dmytryk's direction is likewise smooth, though it only really rouses the rafters in the action spots, e.g. the long tracking shot of Rita Corday swimming the length of the pool; the camera in the driver's seat of a speeding station wagon; the business with the Velma Dawson Puppets, including a "Goofy" puppet, courtesy of Walt Disney. Production values are high by "B" standards, with excellent camera- work and sets.

The new Falcon tries to help a woman find her brother and winds up investigating murder and theft of war bonds. Tom Conway eases into the lead role in this series effortlessly. His style is very similar to his brother George, which helps. The character of Goldie Locke returns but with Cliff Edwards playing the role. Edwards is amusing at times but no Allen Jenkins. Richard Loo replaces Keye Luke as Jerry the houseboy, a role that has little reason for existing. Cliff Clark and Edward Gargan return as Inspector Donovan and his sidekick Bates. Jane Randolph makes her second and final appearance in the series as the Falcon's lady reporter love interest. In addition to Randolph, the lovelies this time are Harriet Hilliard and Rita Corday. Edgar Kennedy steals the show as puppeteer Smiley Dugan, handling both comedy and drama in the same film. He also has a big role in the film's terrific climax, which was impressive enough for me to bump the score up a notch.

Tom Lawrence gets off to a good start on his own as he wakes up with a hangover but with a sexy Latino lady standing over his bed. Mia Bruger is her name and she tells the Falcon of her concern for her missing brother. He meets her later to discuss the matter but someone knocks him out. He wakes up later on a country road in the backseat of his car with little knowledge of where he is. When he is arrested for a bank robbery and a murder, Lawrence works put that he has been set up and goes on the lamb to solve the crime and why he was set up.In his first film on his own, Tom Conway opens with a typically suave turn in bed, hungover from his night on the town and waking with a beautiful woman in his room. From here the plot moves well to set up the mystery. It isn't a gripping thriller but it holds the interest by having enough going on and sufficient plot twists occur to help keep the pace up throughout. Much more enjoyable than the previous entry (Falcon's Brother) in this regard, the film is well written and well delivered.After a so-so start in the last film, Conway seems like he was made for the role and within a few seconds of the first scene he is into it and great fun. His detecting skills are on show and he mixes them well with a debonair delivery and screen presence – the memory of Sanders slipped from my mind. Hilliard works well alongside him but, unusually for the series, there are quite a few strong female performances from Randolph, Gibson and Corday. After Lefty in the last film we get Goldie returning but this time played by Edwards. It is a basic turn and not as funny as I would have liked. Better comic support value comes from the pairing of Clark and Gargan (straight man and stupid man respectively); the simple comic scenes involving them are not imaginative but they do provide a few laughs.Overall then a good entry in the series that is much more assured than The Falcon's Brother had been the year before. Consistent and with a good pace the film benefits from solid characters and good performances to produce a typically enjoyable film in this famous b-movie series.