The Gay Falcon (1941)

The first film in the Falcon series!

George Sanders is Gay Laurence aka The Falcon whose hobbies are women and solving crimes. Unfortunately his high society fiancée Elinor Benford (Anne Hunter aka Nina Vale) is tired of these antics so she’s given him three months to make it in his new more respectable chosen profession as a broker. Allen Jenkins plays the Falcon’s wisecracking sidekick Jonathan G. ‘Goldie’ Locke. However a beautiful girl named Helen Reed (Wendy Barrie) who’s also a big fan of the Falcon’s (she’s read about his exploits) comes to Gay with a new case. Helen is a personal secretary for Maxine Wood (Gladys Cooper) who hosts society parties attended by wealthy persons but some of the ladies have been robbed of their jewelry. Since Gay had been asked by Elinor to attend the next such party he goes with her but Helen quickly descends upon them and his fiancée learns that he is still looking at other women and working on mysteries. Elinor decides to dance with Manuel Retana (Turhan Bey). Meanwhile Helen introduces Gay to Mrs. Vera Gardner (Lucile Gleason) who slips him her diamond ring while they’re dancing. He doesn’t fully understand why she’s done this until later.

Goldie couldn’t afford the $100 ticket to attend the party so he decides to crash it by climbing the fire escape. A shot rings out and Goldie witnesses a man later identified as Noel Weber (Damian O’Flynn) leaving the apartment where a dead Mrs. Gardner is discovered. Two police detectives at the party Bates (Edward Brophy who would later play the Falcon’s sidekick) and Grimes (Eddie Dunn) arrest Goldie for her murder. Gay goes to the police station to convince Inspector Mike Waldeck (Arthur Shields) to release Goldie if for no other reason than to force the criminals to try to eliminate him as a witness. The Inspector who’s evidently gotten a lot of free help from Gay in the past claims the idea as his own and allows Goldie to leave with a couple of men to follow him as soon as he gives a description of the man he’d seen to a sketch artist (Hans Conried uncredited). Goldie then perfectly describes Inspector Waldeck! Of course Helen (now unofficially part of "the team") is able to quickly lose the police tail by driving fast and turning down an alleyway to hide. But later while Helen introduces Gay to Maxine Goldie is "snatched" by Noel who wants the diamond but is then shot through his apartment’s window by an unknown person. Goldie is again arrested by the police for being in the same room as a dead body.

The police suspect Gay might be involved he does still have the diamond so they go to his flat to arrest him too but Helen arrives enabling him to escape. The Falcon suspects Manuel; later with Helen at Manuel’s apartment Gay discovers a picture of Manuel with Noel and the secret location of a gun which he then takes. He uses Helen in a convoluted way to find out whether the gun is the murder weapon. It is so Manuel is the prime suspect. Since he’s been spending time with Elinor she assumes Gay’s attempt to warn her about the man are motivated by his jealousy. So Manuel is able to escape a restaurant while she’s arrested and held by Waldeck at Gay’s request. Helen helps Gay again this time by saving his life when she interrupts Manuel who’d gone to the Falcon’s apartment to retrieve the diamond. Even though Manuel escapes Gay has a pretty good idea about what’s been going on. The trail leads to Maxine’s apartment where Gay brings the Inspector. Ostensibly there to protect her the two overhear a conversation between her and Manuel who’s come to kill Maxine. However she manages to kill him with a hypodermic needle full of poison revealing in the process that she is really Maxine Weber. She and Manuel had been running a party-jewelry stealing scam before her husband Noel got out of prison. When he returned the couple conspired to cut Manuel out of the deal. Hence Manuel decided to kill them both but now the Inspector has only her to arrest for the crime(s).

Gay promises again to give up his hobbies and urges Elinor to marry him right away but he’s interrupted by a woman (Virginia Vale uncredited) who hears his name – the Falcon – and asks if he’d help her solve another case … and so the series begins!

This crime mystery drama was directed by Irving Reis with a screenplay from Lynn Root and Frank Fenton based on a story by Michael Arlen. Willie Fung plays Gay’s Servant Jerry. Jimmy Conlin appears uncredited as an incredulous bartender asked to make spinach juice.

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