La Relève du Faucon

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.

When I was a kid I used to enjoy these Falcon movies, but today they seem so corny and the images are so confined to the B-movie genre that they're barely watchable today. This one only interests me because it's the last in the series for GEORGE SANDERS, who insisted on bowing out of the Falcon series by having himself killed by an assassin's bullet in the final reel. This gave TOM CONWAY, who shares the screen with his half-brother in this one, the chance to assume the Falcon role for the next nine films.

This one involves Nazi spies, Latin America, poisoned cigars, an assassination attempt on a Latin American diplomat and lots of red herrings to hide the fact that The Saint is not the only one assigned to the case. It's a modest entry in the series and never rises above the routine material to be anything more than a forgettable programmer.

JANE RANDOLPH proves that she had a certain style as the feminine lead and her scenes with Conway and Sanders are the most enjoyable aspects of the film.

George Sanders makes his last appearance as Gay Lawrence, aka the Falcon, in this fun if fairly standard B mystery. There's a corpse in an ocean liner stateroom; the victim is apparently Tom Lawrence, the Falcon's brother; Gay Lawrence goes aboard and quietly identifies the body. Not surprisingly, it's not as simple as all that.

A clever shot introduces Tom Conway as the Falcon's brother: First we watch the Falcon, just off of the ship, race off in a taxi following another taxi as the cops hop into their car to follow him. Then, over in a shadow, we see a dark figure strike a match and light a cigarette, his face lit up just for a moment before the match goes out and he is in darkness again. It's the Falcon's brother—not so dead—watching it all from the shadows.

Eventually we learn that the plot involves Nazi espionage, some South American spies, and a fashion magazine. The cast of characters includes the usual grumpy police inspector (Cliff Clark, this time, as an Inspector Donovan) and dumb assistant detective (Edward Gargan back as Detective Bates, always saying "Sorry, Chief").

Jane Randolph is lively and funny as the usual spunky girl reporter who sticks her nose in and helps out: "Well, I'm only a fashion reporter," she admits early on, "but I'll get a police beat someday!"

Conway is good as the new Falcon, stepping into the role quite confidently. Sanders, on his way out of the series, is perhaps a little less interested…but fun to watch nevertheless, especially in the couple of scenes he shares with brother Conway.

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.

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