The Falcon's Adventure

The 13th and last RKO Falcon film starts with the mutual injunction by Tom Conway as Tom Lawrence alias the Falcon and Ed Brophy as Goldie of "No dames!" whilst they prepare to go on vacation. While you're still wondering what they're going on vacation from as they hadn't had a job since the beginning of the 1st film in 1941 (with Sanders as Gay though and Jenkins as Goldie) they bump into a woman and get dragged into a seedy industrial espionage caper.

They promise to help her when her uncle is murdered, by taking an envelope containing the details of a formula to make substitute industrial diamonds to his business colleague in Miami. Suspect everyone here except the cops here who are after Lawrence – and Goldie for the murder. To console himself Goldie keeps paraphrasing travel brochures: "On the coldest day you can always enjoy the warmth of a nice cosy electric chair" for one. Some nice languid atmospheric nightclub scenes rub shoulders with some especially bad behaviour from the baddies. Favourite bit: the dignified game of hide and seek/hunt the thimble the imperturbable and suave Lawrence has with the baddies on the sleeper train. Least favourite bit: the most embarrassing scene in the entire series in the alligator wrestling hut – definitely thrown in for the kids!

All in all not the best in the series but yet another entertaining outing, with an overall satisfying plot and many episodes even in this that make me wish they could have gone on for just a few more years as Columbia did with Boston Blackie, although RKO were churning these out faster. Absolutely no sex, not much violence (in fact none at all by today's high standards), and positively no message all make this type of film anathema to serious people who can only regard movies as an art form that must depend on these three pillars.

Three Diet Falcon's were made later with John Calvert in the title role, I don't mind them but could never bring myself to count them into the main series, which Tom Conway had made his own by this time. Sad also that it was all downhill after this for Conway, who moved into TV, voice overs and even played Norman Conquest in Park Plaza 605 rather well in 1953. He also developed serious eye and alcohol problems – I don't know if they were linked – wound up poverty stricken and after a spell in hospital in 1967 was found dead in his girlfriend's bed. For us folk that want to at least we still have his 10 entertaining Falcon's plus a number of other worthy, even classic RKO movies from 1942 to 1946 with which to remember him by.

This film is a fun little private eye detective story like they aren't made any more. It's all there: Tom Conway is the suave detective called The Falcon, Goldie Locke (what's in a name) is his wisecracking bumbling sidekick, Louisa Braganza is the damsel in distress, and of course there are the damsels maid, the professor with the secret formula, the bad guy that wants the formula, and the police inspector who's after The Falcon. There is a murder, and The Falcon gets implicated. The scenery is night clubs, expensive hotel rooms, a luxury train, the suburbs, and beautiful cars. Go watch this little gem when you see it pass by on afternoon TV!

Both the Falcon series and the Boston Blackie series are guilty of re-using a plot more than once - I wouldn't be surprised if that were true of many series.

In this one, the MacGuffin is the formula for industrial diamonds which I am pretty sure was used before. The Falcon (Tom Conway) saves a kidnapped woman and winds up being framed for the murder of her uncle, who owns the formula and is trying to get it to someone in Miami that has arranged for backers.

Some clever moments, one regarding a blonde the Falcon saves from someone harassing her on the train.

Tom Conway does a good job - it was his last foray as the Falcon. He's charming, but this wasn't very exciting.

Of interest, pretty Madge Meredith's career was derailed a bit when she was sentenced to five years in prison on an assault charge - it turned out that in fact she had been framed and was released. She worked into the '60s.

BBC2 have been showing several Falcon movies recently in the afternoons and I have taped most of them. They are worth having as they are not available on VHS or DVD anywhere. The Falcon's Adventure was the 13th and final Falcon movie.

In this one, The Falcon rescues a woman from kidnappers who want her father's secret formula for making diamonds but he gets blamed for his murder. The pair of them then flee to Florida where he gets blamed for another murder! He is cleared at the end though.

Tom Conway plays the Falcon well and is joined in this one by Madge Meredith, Edward Brophy and Ian Wolfe.

Though not brilliant, This and all of the Falcon movies are worth watching and are not too long either.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

I am watching this one right now on TCM. The Falcon's Adventure finds our hero helping Brazilian beauty Louisa Braganza (Madge Meredith) deliver her father's formula for making industrial diamonds. And she really needs the help after her father gets pistol whipped by a bad guy trying to steal the valuable piece of paper. The adventure takes Tom and Goldie to Miami where Professor Dennison is supposed to take possession of the formula. In addition to Madge Meredith, hard looking but gorgeous Myrna Dell has good role here after just having a bit part in the previous Falcon film, The Falcon in San Francisco. Carol Forman plays Helen Ray, Louisa's maid. Carol is best remembered for her villainous leading role in the 1947 serial, The Black Widow. Phil Warren and Steve Brodie are the hoods. Joseph Crehan and Harry Harvey play the bumbling cops. RKO churned out three more Falcon movies after this one with a different actor as The Falcon. Tom Conway didn't get away from a crime fighter, though. He played Bulldog Drummond in two 1948 movies. The Falcon's Adventure is fast paced with good dialogue and a story that's easy to follow. Watching it is a good way to spend 61 minutes on a summer Saturday morning.