''The Gay Falcon'' is a 1941 B film, the first in a series of 16 films about a suave detective nicknamed The Falcon. Intended to replace the earlier The Saint detective series, the first film took its title from the lead character, Gay Laurence. George Sanders was cast in the title role; he had played The Saint in the prior RKO series. He was teamed again with

Wendy Barrie Wendy Barrie (born Marguerite Wendy Jenkins; 18 April 1912 – 2 February 1978) was a British-American film and television actress. Early life Barrie was born in London to English parents. Her father, Francis Charles John Graigoe Jenkin KC ...

who had been with him in three previous ''Saint'' films. The first four films starred Sanders as Gay Lawrence and the rest featured

Tom Conway Tom Conway (born Thomas Charles Sanders, 15 September 1904 – 22 April 1967) was a British film, television, and radio actor remembered for playing private detectives (including The Falcon, Sherlock Holmes, Bulldog Drummond, and The Saint) ...

, Sanders' real-life brother, as Tom Lawrence, brother of Gay.

Plot

Ladies' man and amateur crime solver Gay Laurence ( George Sanders), the "Gay Falcon", reluctantly agrees to give up both habits to mollify his fiancée, Elinor Benford ( Nina Vale). He and his uncouth sidekick, Jonathan "Goldie" Locke (

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. Life and career Jenkins was born on Staten Island, New York, on April 9, 1900. ...

), become unenthusiastic stockbrokers. When Elinor asks him to attend a party given by Maxine Wood (

Gladys Cooper Dame Gladys Constance Cooper, (18 December 1888 – 17 November 1971) was an English actress, theatrical manager and producer, whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television. Beginning as a teenager in Edwardian mus ...

) to mingle with potential clients, he refuses. However, when Wood asks for his help via pretty assistant Helen Reed (

), he cannot resist. It seems that Wood's soirées have been plagued by jewel thefts, and she is particularly worried about the diamond of her guest, Vera Gardner (

Lucile Gleason Lucile Gleason ( Webster; February 6, 1888 – May 18, 1947) was an American stage and screen actress. Gleason was also a civic worker who was active in film colony projects. Early life Lucile Webster was born on February 6, 1888, in Pasade ...

). At the party, Elinor becomes annoyed when she realises why Gay changed his mind about attending and retaliates by dancing with Manuel Retana (

Turhan Bey Turhan Bey (born Turhan Gilbert Selahattin Şahultavi, 30 March 192230 September 2012). was an Austrian-born actor of Turkish and Czech-Jewish origins. Active in Hollywood from 1941 to 1953, he was dubbed "The Turkish Delight" by his fans.. Aft ...

). In frustration, she grabs the flower from Retana's lapel and flings it at Gay. He calmly picks it up and attaches it to his lapel. Vera Gardner then insists on dancing with Gay; she hands him her diamond secretly, much to his puzzlement, then leaves the room. Moments later, a shot rings out, and she is dead. The killer is seen by Goldie as he makes his getaway. Police Detectives Bates (

Edward Brophy Edward Santree Brophy (February 27, 1895 – May 27, 1960) was an American character actor and comedian, as well as an assistant director and second unit director during the 1920s. Small of build, balding, and raucous-voiced, he frequently ...

) and Grimes (Eddie Dunn) take Goldie to the police station on suspicion of murder. Gay persuades Inspector Mike Waldeck (

Arthur Shields Arthur Shields (15 February 1896 – 27 April 1970) was an Irish actor on television, stage and film. Early years Born into an Irish Protestant family in Portobello, Dublin, Shields started acting in the Abbey Theatre when he was 17 years old ...

) to release Goldie so he can flush out the real murderer. Then he and Helen go to see Maxine, leaving Goldie in the car. While they are gone, Goldie is abducted by Noel Weber (Damien O'Flynn), Gardner's killer. Weber orders Goldie to call Gay to offer to trade Goldie's life for the diamond. However, Weber is shot, and once again, Goldie is found by the police near a dead body. By this point, Gay suspects Gardner arranged to have her diamond "stolen" so she could collect on the insurance. The flower was a signal, indicating to whom Gardner was to give the jewel. It should have been Retana. Gay and Helen break into his apartment, but have to hide when the owner enters. He realizes someone has been there and opens a secret compartment to check if it has been found. Relieved, he leaves the room. Gay sneaks in and takes a gun he finds in the compartment, fairly certain it was used to shoot Weber. The police confirm it is the murder weapon. Meanwhile, Gay calls Elinor to warn her to stay away from the killer, but she believes he is lying out of jealousy and tells Retana so. Forewarned, Retana goes to Gay's apartment, ties up his servant Jerry (

Willie Fung Willie Fung (3 March 1896 – 16 April 1945) was a Chinese-American film actor who played supporting roles in 125 American films between 1922 and 1944. Like many Chinese actors working in Hollywood during the era, he often played Japanese charac ...

) and demands the diamond at gunpoint when Gay returns. He is frightened off when he mistakes Helen at the door for the police. Now certain about his theory, Gay goes to see Maxine, taking Inspector Waldeck along. She tells them she has been receiving threats, so they stand guard in the living room while she sleeps. Retana enters through her bedroom window, but when he lunges at her, Gay and Waldeck charge in. They are puzzled when Retana collapses and dies. Then Gay finds a hypodermic needle on the floor. Gay stops Maxine from stepping on it and destroying the incriminating fingerprints. He reveals that she, her husband Weber and Retana were responsible for the thefts. The Webers decided to betray Retana, but he found out. Gay realized she must be involved when Goldie was kidnapped; nobody else knew where Goldie was at the time.

Cast

* George Sanders as Gay Laurence, The Falcon *

as Helen Reed *

as Jonathan "Goldie" Locke * Nina Vale as Elinor Benford *

as Maxine Wood *

as Detective Bates *

as Inspector Mike Waldeck * Damian O'Flynn as Noel Weber *

as Manuel Retana * Eddie Dunn as Detective Grimes *

as Vera Gardner *

as Jerry

Production

''The Gay Falcon'' was intended by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

to introduce a replacement for The Saint series, after RKO decided to sever ties with

Leslie Charteris Leslie Charteris (born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, 12 May 1907 – 15 April 1993), was a British-Chinese author of adventure fiction, as well as a screenwriter."Notes: 'The Gay Falcon'."
''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: September 4, 2016. Filming started May 1941. At one stage RKO considered calling the film ''Meet the Falcon'' before reverting to ''The Gay Falcon''. In June 1941 RKO announced the Falcon would be a series. In July, Sanders, Barrie and Allen Jenkins were announced for the second film. In September 1941 RKO officially dropped the Saint series. In November 20 Century Fox gave RKO the right to make three more Falcon films with Sanders.

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 1 review. In his review of ''Falcon'' series,

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

wrote, in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', that, "There must be a "Falcon" series; RKO seems determined on that."Crowther, Bosley
"Movie review: The Screen."
''The New York Times'', October 3, 1942.''The Gay Falcon'' made a profit of $108,000.Jewell and Harbin 1982, p. 164.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Jewell, Richard and Vernon Harbin. ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. .

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gay Falcon, The 1941 films American black-and-white films American detective films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Irving Reis RKO Pictures films 1940s mystery thriller films American crime thriller films American mystery thriller films 1940s crime thriller films Films scored by Paul Sawtell The Falcon (film character) films 1940s American films