The Falcon Out West (1944)

This eighth film in the Falcon series

By utilizing other talents from within RKO Studios the Falcon series was given a Western locale similar to those found in so many B Westerns from the same time period with a screenplay from Morton Grant (and Billy Jones) and cinematography by Harry Wild (Army Girl (1938)). Based on the character created by Michael Arlen and directed by William Clemens it features Tom Conway as Tom Lawrence aka The Falcon an amateur sleuth that helps the police solve crimes whether they like it or not; Cliff Clark repeats as Inspector Timothy Donovan Edward Gargan is Detective Bates. Three ladies are on hand for the Falcon’s pleasure (and ours) including a Lana Turner lookalike Carole Gallagher as Vanessa Drake Barbara Hale (years before she assisted TV’s Perry Mason) as Marion Colby and series regular Joan Barclay as Mrs. Irwin. Lyle Talbot plays Tex Irwin whose murder begins this B movie crime mystery comedy; Minor Watson plays his business partner-Marion’s dad rancher Dave Colby and Don Douglas plays Tex’s attorney Steven Hayden. Lee Trent plays Tex’s ranch hand Dusty; Perc Launders is Colby’s hand Red.

After Tex dies in a New York nightclub of a rattlesnake bite the Falcon follows the rancher’s fiancée Vanessa to Texas where Inspector Donovan Detective Bates and Tex’s attorney Steven Hayden catch up with them. But without extradition papers the police’s only choice is to accept Vanessa’s hospitality at the ranch that Tex had signed over to her as a wedding present. After a runaway stagecoach incident the gang meets Marion Colby and later her father Dave neighbors of the Irwins. A few more curious events cast suspicions upon the Colbys as suspects in Tex’s murder though most of them occurred after Mrs. Irwin’s arrival and the return of the ranch’s Indian servants. Attorney Hayden is no longer a suspect when he too is killed with rattlesnake venom and the fact that Colby has a 16th century Spanish ring to deliver the poison doesn’t bode well for the rancher especially when the Falcon also discovers the Irwin ranch deed in his possession. But Colby says that Tex had second thoughts about giving Vanessa the ranch when he’d discovered that she was having an affair with someone else. Apparently only the Falcon was paying attention to how protective Dusty was being of Vanessa because while the police were taking Colby off to jail he was accusing her of double homicide. When Inspector Donovan finally gets a clue a shootout ensues between he and Dusty until the Falcon steps in and saves the day. The movie ends in the typical way a beautiful woman pleading for the Falcon’s help.

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