The Gay Falcon **** (1941, George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Allen Jenkins, Anne Hunter, Gladys Cooper, Edward Brophy, Turhan Bey, Arthur Shields) – Classic Movie Review 2956

Michael Arlen’s suave, debonair detective The Falcon featured in 16 above-average B-movies in the 1940s. George Sanders played the character in four movies until his brother Tom Conway took over. John Calvert starred in the final three mysteries.

In this first one, The Gay Falcon (1941), Sanders’s character has to clear his chauffeur who is accused of killing a woman for her jewels. It turns out that jewel thieves are working with hard-up socialites to defraud insurance companies.

George Sanders played The Falcon in four movies.

The Falcon and assistant ‘Goldie’ Locke (Allen Jenkins) investigate when socialite Vera Gardner (Lucile Gleason) is murdered. While helping The Falcon out, beautiful Helen Reed (Wendy Barrie) becomes a rival to Gay’s fiancée Elinor (Anne Hunter, aka Nina Vale). Gladys Cooper plays Maxine Wood, one of the socialites hosting charity parties in her home, who is mixed up in the jewel theft racket.

Gladys Cooper plays Maxine Wood.

Director Irving Reis’s commendable 1941 black and white crime mystery thriller is stylish, fast and funny. Sanders gives his usual smooth and polished performance, a masterclass in seeming effortless.

It is surprisingly satisfying and successful in its short running time of 67 minutes, with a good script by Lynn Root and Frank Fenton, and a good cast, also including Edward Brophy as Detective Bates, Eddie Dunn as Detective Grimes, Arthur Shields as Inspector Mike Waldeck, Damian O’Flynn as Noel Weber, Turhan Bey as Manuel Retana, Willie Fung as Jerry, Jimmy Conlin and Lew Kelly.

Just so you know, Gay is the hero’s first name! He’s Gay Laurence, or Gay Lawrence. Michael Arlen’s story was called The Gay Falcon, though the RKO Radio Pictures studio considered calling the film Meet the Falcon. Michael Arlen’s character is named Gay Falcon, but the film name first appears here as Gay Laurence, and then as Gay Lawrence in later films. Arlen’s story was first published in 1940 in Town & Country.

RKO planned the Falcon series as a replacement for their series The Saint after deciding that renewing the film rights to that character was too expensive. George Sanders played The Saint in the RKO series and here he is teamed again with Wendy Barrie who had been with him in three Saint films. The film went well and made a profit of $108,000, prompting RKO to announce the Falcon would be a series, and Sanders, Barrie and Allen Jenkins would be back for the second film, A Date with the Falcon (1942).

Leslie Charteris, the creator of the Saint, disapproved of how RKO had adapted his stories and how Sanders played the character, and sued RKO, alleging the Falcon was the Saint in disguise.

The George Sanders Falcon movies are: The Gay Falcon (1941), A Date with the Falcon (1942), The Falcon Takes Over (1942) and The Falcon’s Brother (1942).

The Gay Falcon is directed by Irving Reis, runs 67 minutes, is made and released by RKO Radio Pictures, is written by Lynn Root and Frank Fenton, based on Michael Arlen’s story The Gay Falcon, is shot in black and white by Nicholas Musuraca, is produced by Howard Benedict and is scored by Paul Sawtell.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2956

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