The Falcon's Adventure

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.

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.

Tom Lawrence and Goldie head off on holiday with a strict agreement that they won't get tied up with "no dames". However when Lawrence spots a woman in trouble and intercedes to find that he has rescued Louisa Braganza –niece of a scientist. He learns that Louisa may have been kidnapped to get a formula for manufacturing industrial diamonds from her father. When her uncle is murdered, the Falcon is the #1 suspect and he makes a break for it to find the people who set him up. With the formula entrusted to him by Louisa, Lawrence has bought himself some time but with the police and the killers on his trail he still must move quickly.

In the final of the thirteen Falcon movies, Tom Lawrence gets mixed up in a murderous plot to get hold of a formula for manufacturing diamonds. Putting the Falcon on the other side of the law and pursued by them adds an element of tension to the film and injects a bit of pace into the mixed plot. With the film series coming to an end I had worried that it would just collapse – hence them making no more films, but in reality this film is of the generally reasonable standard of the rest of the films. The plot is a bit contrived at the start but once you get into it, it is pretty engaging and quite fun with mystery and some nice action (albeit rather old fashioned stiff punches etc). The conclusion is rather unsatisfying though and I didn't think it did the plot justice by seeming to end rather abruptly and without really being a meaty end to the story. Of course it is an even more annoying end to the film series, featuring as it does as rather wet joke from Goldie and a chuckle from the cast – not the way an enjoyable series should have bowed out.

The cast are mixed but Conway is very good and by this stage my memory of his brother had pretty much gone to the point that I now think of Conway when I think of the Falcon character. Brophy's returns in the revolving role of comedy sidekick – despite the fact that he had already been in the series as a detective in The Gay Falcon. He is OK but you do feel that all the actors in that role are just doing an impersonation – none of them, particularly Brophy, ever really made the role their own or did anything new with it. Meredith is OK and is better than the simmering love interest that have been used during parts of the series. The bad guys don't make enough of an impression – partly causing a weak ending to the story. Jason Robards Sr makes an appearance as the police detective and is good with straight support.

Overall this is mostly a good film and the main body of it is quite engaging and fun. However the start feels a bit forced (convenient) and the ending is a rather weak end to both the film and the series. The cast are mixed but Lawrence is strong and the film is worth seeing and will please fans of the series even if you can't help wishing that it had gone out on more of a high than a plateau.

The Falcon RKO film series is mostly very enjoyable, with both George Sanders and his brother Tom Conway who took over from him being great in the title role.

Reiterating somewhat what has already been said in my previous Falcon film reviews (due to that a fair few have similar strengths and flaws), admittedly, some are better than others. For examples there are some particularly fun entries such as 'The Gay Falcon', 'A Date with the Falcon', 'The Falcon Strikes Back', 'The Falcon and the Co-eds', 'The Falcon in Hollywood' and 'The Falcon in San Francisco', while others while still very much watchable disappoint a little such 'The Falcon's Brother', 'The Falcon in Danger', 'The Falcon Out West' and 'The Falcon in Mexico'.

On the most part, while not fitting among either extreme of whether among the best or weakest Falcon films, 'The Falcon's Adventure' is solid fun and works well. It is agreed that 'The Falcon's Adventure' does start off a little contrived and routine, that the ending is rushed and abrupt (not an uncommon problem in this series, due to the films being very short) and that the villains are not that memorable or interesting with little menace.

Much can be recommended however. The music is lively and haunting, and on the most part the production values are slick and atmospheric with particularly nicely done photography and eye catching fashions and cars. The script is humorous, there is a good deal of atmosphere and intrigue and the story is absorbing once it gets going with bright and breezy pacing and enough twists, turns and suspense to keep the mystery diverting. Direction is competent.

Conway, in his swansong performance in the title role, is dapper, suave and charismatic, uttering cutting lines with aplomb. Edward Brophy is amusing, and gives a performance not out of control or too low-key, while Madge Meredith allures in her charming if standard role. The cast generally are solid enough.

In summary, Conway's swansong in the Falcon series is a good, solid one. 7/10 Bethany Cox

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.