The Falcon's Alibi

1946 ""Death for the Falcon" - says the law!"
6.4| 1h1m| NR| en
Details

A society sleuth sets out on the trail of a society matron's lost jewels.

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Reviews

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.
ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.
Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.
TheLittleSongbird 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.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 Alibi' is solid fun and works well. The culprit is pretty obvious early on, almost from when they are first introduced, and the ending is a little hasty and abrupt (not an uncommon problem in this series). While most of the supporting cast are great, there are a few that don't quite make an impression.Jean Brooks is wasted due to being given so little to do, and while Al Bridge and Edmund Cobb do alright, they are in types of roles filled more effectively in the Falcon series by Cliff Clark and Edward Gargan as well as James Gleason. Vince Barnett was only serviceable as Goldie, personally thought that Edward Brophy had more enthusiasm and that Allen Jenkins was more of a scene-stealer, Barnett was an admirable stooge but his material is a little bland in places and he occasionally overdid it (by all means not a bad performance).However, a lot also does work. The music is lively and haunting, the songs are particularly great and the use of them ingenious, and on the most part the production values are slick and atmospheric with particularly nicely done photography. The film is directed with liveliness and tautness, while the script is playful and much of the story is absorbing and goes at a bright and breezy pace with the odd bit of dark suspense.Conway is dapper, suave, charismatic and amusingly cutting here, he always thrived in the title role and 'The Falcon's Alibi' sees him give one of his most confident performances in the role. Rita Corday is low-key and charming, while Emory Parnell is amusing (though his screen time is short) and Esther Howard and Jason Robards Snr are solid. The two best supporting performances are a sizzling Jane Greer and a sinister Elisha Cook Jnr.All in all, solid fun if not among the best or weakest of a mostly enjoyable series of films. 7/10 Bethany Cox
dougdoepke The Falcon and Goldie get mixed up with stolen jewelry and a series of mysterious murders surrounding the disappearance.The movie's a brisk, better than average entry in the Falcon series, with a good little mystery, understated humor, and a drop-dead sexy Jane Greer. In fact, where else can you see creepy little noir icon Elisha Cook actually smooching with a gorgeous noir vamp like Greer. Then too, Cook gets an unusually assertive role here that he plays to the hilt. I really like the way his character uses his all-night radio program as a cover. It's a good little glimpse of old time radio. Also, watch for the slatternly Esther Howard (Mrs. Peabody) playing an uptown lady for once, that is, until her final scene. Of course, Conway, Corday, and Barnett are their usual reliable selves in this solid Falcon entry.
howardeisman While in jail, The Falcon tells Goldie that, when in a jam, insouciance is required. Suave insouciance is Tom Conway's forte, but there is too much of that here. Conway is heading toward apathy. After all those previous Falcon movies, Conway seems like he is walking through his part. His performance lacks energy. The same could be said for Rita Corday. Jean Brooks, who always played a most intriguing romantic part in previous Falcon films, has so little to do here, she is practically an extra.I suspect that this film was made as a showcase for Jane Greer. Her part with Elisha Cook, Jr, unstable as usual, is almost a separate story. Greer has many closeups and sings sultry songs. She gets a lot of attention in an other rushed movie.The mystery is not really developed but it is okay. It is always nice to see the Falcon. He was a proto-James Bond
Spondonman The 12th and penultimate RKO Falcon film was a hardboiled affair, with the two wildly different main strands converging to a rather sudden conclusion. Some nice noirish moments, atmospheric photography and natural acting by all go to make it an enjoyable ride.Tom Conway playing Tom Lawrence aka the Falcon and Goldie (played for the only time by Vince Barnett) get called upon to protect a "lady's" pearl necklace, alas to no avail – it's already gone. An insurance scam is uncovered with Emory Parnell in his 3rd Falcon as a slapstick insurance detective. The other thread has manic Barbary Towers hotel dj Elisha Cook Jr. (the one man Radio KGR) with his own problems, not the least keeping hold of his wife, gorgeous Jane Greer. His was the watertight alibi of the picture, not a new idea then and borrowed shortly afterwards to greater effect by Claude Rains in The Unsuspected. It was Rita Corday's 6th and final Falcon film, this time pretty low-key - all those name changes surely didn't help her future career? Favourite bits: listening to Greer's pleasant singing voice; the "smudge" fire routine in the hotel bedroom ably performed by Goldie; Cook's record library - you could get all those tons of shellac onto a single mp3 player now! Needless to relate, Tom solves everything, albeit a couple of murders too late, but woe betide you if you miss that last minute – they closed this one down fast!Nothing here for the serious, nice entertainment for us fans.