La Relève du Faucon

This is the fourth of the Falcon films, in which both George Sanders and his real life brother Tom Conway appear. It was the occasion for the handover of the role. Sanders and Conway have many scenes together, and vie to out-do each other in suaveness and urbanity, and it is a tie. Then Sanders is knocked unconscious and spends much of the film in bed, which he doubtless found restful. At the end, Sanders sacrifices his life in the struggle against Nazism (it is after all 1942 and the plot deals with German agents) and presto, Tom Conway is and for the remaining series of films will be the Falcon. This film has a higher budget than the preceding ones (there is even a ship), the plot is complicated, it is all more solid and convincing. In fact, it is a very entertaining tale. Keye Luke has now become the falcon's butler, adding his own charm and wit to the team, and doing amusing impersonations of pidgin English (he was Chinese) when he wants to put off 'dames' who phone too often. The falcon's sidekick is now played by Don Barclay, which like the addition of Keye Luke is a great improvement. This film was edited by Mark Robson, later to be a famous director, and the improved editing shows. However, because the screenwriters have changed, all the great gags and one-liners have disappeared, there is no more crackling dialogue, and the Falcon series is no longer a laugh a minute.

The Falcon, Gay Lawrence (George Sanders), is headed dockside to meet his brother, Tom Lawrence (Tom Conway), who is arriving from South America. What he doesn't know is that before the ship docks, his brother has been declared dead. The cause of death - suicide. Knowing that something's up, The Falcon follows the woman who found his brother's body to an upscale dress shop. But before he can question the woman, she's also killed. After Gay is put out of commission by a hit-and-run, Tom steps out of the shadows to take over the case.

The transition from Gay to Tom is handled as smoothly and deftly as any transition I can think of. It helps that George Sanders and Tom Lawrence were real life brothers. Because of their familial similarities, it's easy to believe that Gay and Tom are also brothers. While I think I prefer George in the role, Tom more than holds his own and is about as enjoyable in this film and the Falcon films to follow.

The plot in The Falcon's Brother is about as good as any you'll find in a "B" from RKO. The mystery is a fun one with plenty of suspicious characters and interesting clues. In fact, the magazine clues were as solid as any I've seen in any film of this type. It's quite enjoyable to watch Tom and Company go through their paces and put the pieces together. I also got a kick out of the dress designer talking about how the gowns were made in compliance with government regulations concerning the amount of material that could be used given the war time era the film was made. It's just a small thing, but it was an interesting insight into 1942. My biggest complaint is the way the finale feels rushed. It seems that a lot of these comedy/mystery films did a good job of leading you right up to the end and then blew it.

Sanders and Conway are joined by an especially strong cast given the film's limited budget. Jane Randolph is a standout. I'm glad to see she comes back in the next film. And I thought Keye Luke was very funny as The Falcon's butler, Jerry. The bits where he purposefully plays up the Asian stereotypes of the era to his advantage are quite good.

6/10

This is the most Famous Falcon Film, the one where one brother gets fed up with the title role so the other brother steps in and continues the series for another 4 years. George Sanders was nearly always good in these kind of roles but personally I always preferred Tom Conway, maybe he just looked more comfortable in B pictures. I also preferred as sidekick Allen Jenkins as Goldie to Don Barclay as Lefty. The film quality isn't very good at this distance, sometimes it's so jumpy and grainy the continuity and the acting resemble Monogram more than RKO - are all extant copies from '50's TV dupes?

Basically Gay Lawrence is after the people who murdered someone supposed to be his brother Tom, for a while both are on the case before Gay becomes hors de combat. Tom has to do the detective work himself for most of the film.

The patter between the Inspector played by Cliff Clark and flatfoot Ed Gargan is repetitive but entertaining - "I'm boss. You don't mind do you?", James Gleason was also good in the role previously. Jane Randolph as the nosey reporter who doesn't seem to do much reporting is decorative but apparently unappealing to the Falcon: the solving of the crimes are everything. Not so vice versa - the Falcon would continue as a lady-killer of seismic proportions!

All in all a most enjoyable 1940's murder mystery B film, but nothing really extraordinary in a most enjoyable series of 13 up to 1946.

George Sanders plays The Falcon for the last time in "The Falcon's Brother," a 1942 programmer starring Sanders, Tom Conway, and Jane Lawrence. The intricate plot focuses on a fashion house and a fashion magazine, poisoning with cigars, mistaken identity, and lots of other things in a mere 1 hour and 10 minutes or so. It's 1942, so you can also expect Nazis to be involved. "Something changed after Pearl Harbor," a character tells Gay (Sanders). "Most things," he agrees.

This film was the transition so that Sanders' real-life brother, Tom Conway, could take over the series. Sanders was somewhat smoother than his brother, more suave and handsome, but Conway was a serviceable actor, and their speaking voices were somewhat close. There was just something about Sanders that made him so good as the Falcon and the Saint - panache maybe. Both Gay and Tom go after the women like crazy in this one. Always fun and light entertainment.

Except for the switcheroo, it's a routine Falcon entry. The series was never big on mystery or atmosphere, staples of better whodunits like the Chan series. Instead, the entries lean heavily on sprightly charm supplied first by Sanders and now by Conway, and a steady stream of statuesque, well-upholstered girls, which this entry supplies in spades. Looks like RKO may have used the series to photograph some of their younger talent.

It turns out here after a couple false starts that the brothers are on the trail of Nazi spies, not surprising for 1942. However, I am surprised that the two actors generally deliver such engaged performances over the course of the entire series. After all, the Falcon role is basically one-dimensional, requiring only that the actor be suavely charming and not much else. I expect Sanders had become bored and quit before losing interest; at the same time, Conway picks up nicely on what has become a family trust.

The best scenes are with Conway and the sprightly reporter Randolph, whose well-scripted chemistry works. It's also a good chance to ogle high fashion, circa 1942. On the other hand, is the witless comedy relief from Clark, Gargan, and Barclay, blowing little lame holes through the proceedings. Anyway, the movie may be unique in film series annals for the way it creates the switcheroo, which really does amount to a startling departure. Otherwise, it's strictly a routine affair.