BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Thehibikiew Not even bad in a good way

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

TheLittleSongbird The Falcon film series is generally a lot of fun to watch, and all worth watching at least once. The first of the series 'The Gay Falcon' is also one of the better ones from personal opinion.It maybe could have benefited from being about 10 minutes longer or something, to give the mystery aspects a little more explanation instead of a few parts being hastier and not as easy to follow as others. This said, that is very much a minor complaint compared to how good the rest of 'The Gay Falcon' is.When it comes to the production values, while not among the most visually stunning films ever made (then again 'The Gay Falcon' is not that kind of film), 'The Gay Falcon' is very meticulously filmed and lit with sets that are elegant and atmospheric. The music is lively and haunting, while the direction solid, the script is witty and smart and the story a vast majority of the time very engrossing and never incoherent or a test for endurance. The characters are also a lot of fun, apart from a few of the time racial stereotypes, but they are not in the film anywhere near long enough to mar it.George Sanders is a truly great lead, he was never less than watchable and magnificent when at his best, and he looks so relaxed and at ease here and plays with his usual suave and imposing manner while also with an elegance, cutting aplomb and charm. Nina Vale is alluring and Wendy Barrie has a ball.Edward Brophy, Arthur Shields, Turhan Bey and Gladys Cooper also give fine support. Coming very close to stealing the film is Allen Jenkins, who is very funny and often even more so and makes the most and much of a rather standard comedy sidekick role in hindsight.All in all, great start to a series with much entertainment value on the most part. 8/10 Bethany Cox

classicsoncall If you had any doubts about how slick The Falcon could be, just watch as Gay Laurence (George Sanders) handles the Monsoon Diamond by sliding it on, and later removing it from Detective Bates' (Edward Brophy) cigar. Great sleight of hand there even if it didn't look like it.Actually, I don't think it was established, in this the first of The Falcon series, what exactly was the basis of that name. Come to think of it, the 'Gay' part of it only comes into play because that was Laurence's first name, but today, seventy five years after the film came out, the colloquial use of the word sends an entirely different message about the character. Easy enough to overlook though.This was a nice breezy heist and murder mystery solved by The Falcon in relatively short order, all the while narrowly averting the flirtations of various contenders to his fiancé's affections. I have to admit, I was pretty sure Laurence was going to trade Helen Reed (Wendy Barrie) for Elinor Benford (Nina Vale) any moment; I kind of wish he had. Not that Elinor didn't have reason to be a pill around all those other women, but she could have lightened up a bit.Anyway, a nice kick off the The Falcon series. I've only seen a couple of the others starring Tom Conway, so I'll have to be on the lookout for more from George Sanders, an actor who'll grow on you the more you see him.

csteidler Adventurer Gay Laurence—also known as the Falcon—has vowed to give up crime solving and women. At his fiancée's request, he sets up shop as a broker, with every intention of going respectable. Needless to say, the brokerage and the resolutions quickly go by the wayside when he is drawn into a murder mystery.George Sanders looks completely at home as the Falcon: suave, quick-witted and frequently droll, he seems to enjoy attracting trouble and he handles it deftly.Allen Jenkins is perfect as the Falcon's right hand man and comic relief. His name as printed on the broker's office door identifies him as Jonathon Locke, Associate; it seems he is more commonly known simply as Goldie Locke.Wendy Barrie also looks like she's having a ball as Helen Reed, a young woman seeking the Falcon's help. She is thrilled to meet a real live notorious figure like the Falcon. She's even excited to meet his assistant, Goldie, whom she refers to as "your Dr. Watson, your faithful and loyal colleague!" (Goldie beams) before going on to note that "All characters like you have a kind of stooge, don't they?" (Goldie frowns).Sanders, Jenkins and Barrie are part detective team, part comedy trio. No one looks terribly serious but they certainly are easy to watch—the banter flies, the clues add up, and it all moves very fast.The plot is relatively unimportant but competently put together; it concerns a jewel theft ring and insurance racket that turns to murder.Among the enthusiastic cast of character actors are Ed Brophy and Eddie Dunn as a couple of dim detectives. Anne Hunter (more commonly known as Nina Vale) is quite funny, too, as Gay's much-suffering fiancée…. "I thought you'd stand by me," Gay complains half-heartedly when she expresses frustration at his refusal to avoid crime solving and other women. "I'm tired of standing by," she snaps. "The line is too long." There's a little suspense, a moderately intriguing mystery…but the humorous interplay among the characters is what really makes this picture a lot of fun.Irrelevant question on the name: Elsewhere the Falcon's surname seems to be spelled "Lawrence"...but on his broker's office door in this picture it's printed as "Gay Laurence." Any particular reason for the variation? I guess I like to think that the painter just misspelled it....

MartinHafer I really enjoy B-movie detective movies such as Charlie Chan, Sherlock Holmes and The Falcon. However, I also must admit that so often these films all tend to look a lot alike. Plots, characters and pacing is often so similar that they don't seem to stand out. In the case of The Falcon, this is made even worse since the earlier RKO series, The Saint, is virtually indistinguishable from The Falcon--and both starred George Sanders for much of their run! So, it was with great pleasure that I watched this film because it WAS different. The plot itself was very good, but what really stood out in this first Falcon movie was the amazingly witty dialog! Again and again and again, the film abounded with sharp comments and great humor. And, for once, the lady assistant was wonderful and didn't make the usual stupid decisions sidekicks make AND had some great lines herself. All in all, I can't think of another B-detective film that's made me laugh as much.