''The Falcon Strikes Back'' ( ''The Falcon Comes Back'') is a 1943 American

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

directed by

Edward Dmytryk Edward Dmytryk (September 4, 1908 – July 1, 1999) was a Canadian-born American film director and editor. He was known for his 1940s films noir, noir films and received an Academy Award for Best Director, Oscar nomination for Best Director for ...

and stars

Tom Conway Tom Conway (born Thomas Charles Sanders; 15 September 1904 – 22 April 1967) was a British film, television, and radio actor. He is remembered for playing suave adventurer The Falcon in a series of 1940s films; and his appearances in three h ...

as the title character, the amateur sleuth, the Falcon. Supporting roles are filled by Harriet Hilliard,

Jane Randolph Jane Randolph (née Roemer; October 30, 1914 – May 4, 2009), was an American film actress. She is best known for her portrayals of Alice Moore in the 1942 horror film ''Cat People (1942 film), Cat People'', and its sequel, ''The Curse of the ...

Edgar Kennedy Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to por ...

, with

Cliff Edwards Clifton Avon "Cliff" Edwards (June 14, 1895 – July 17, 1971), nicknamed "Ukulele Ike", was an American pop singer, musician and actor. He enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop sta ...

filling in for

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor, voice actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. He may be best known to some audiences as the voice of Officer Charl ...

as the Falcon's sidekick, "Goldie" Locke."Overview: 'The Falcon Strikes Back'."
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Retrieved: September 5, 2016. It is the fifth film in the Falcon series and the second for Conway, reprising the role that his brother,

George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous charac ...

had initiated.

Plot

Amateur sleuth Tom Lawrence (

) known as "The Falcon," is approached by Mia Bruger ( Rita Corday) to help in finding her brother, who had gone missing. When Tom goes to a cocktail bar, he is attacked and knocked unconscious. When he revives, he finds himself in his car on a country road. A motorcycle police officer stops him and arrests him, because Police Inspector Timothy Donovan (Cliff Clark) has put out an "all-points" bulletin for his arrest in the case of a murdered bank official and the theft of $250,000 in

war bond War bonds (sometimes referred to as victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are Security (finance)#Debt, debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an un ...

s. Although the Falcon has an alibi with his fiancée, reporter Marcia Brooks (

) and assistant, "Goldie" Locke (

) supporting him, Donovan is skeptical and attempts to incarcerate Tom, who makes his escape. Returning to the bar, it is now the headquarters of a woman's knitting society, run by Geraldine Lipton ( Wynne Gibson). When the trio of sleuths head off to Lipton's resort hotel, they find a number of suspicious individuals, hotel manager Gwynne Gregory ( Harriet Hilliard), former criminal Rickey Davis (Erford Gage), a nurse to invalid Bruno Steffen (

André Charlot Eugène André Maurice Charlot (26 July 1882 – 20 May 1956) was a French-born impresario known primarily for the musical revues he staged in London between 1912 and 1937. He later worked as a character actor in numerous American films. Born in ...

) and Mia. When Tom approaches Mia, she pretends that she doesn't know him and dives into the pool but as she hits the water, she is killed by a gunshot. Looking for the killer, Tom runs into puppeteer Smiley Dugan (

), who alerts Donovan that the Falcon is at the hotel. Picking up a cigarette case that might be a clue to the murderer, Tom has to work quickly before Donovan arrives. Marcia reports that the fingerprints on the cigarette case belong to a notorious thief known as "the Duchess". Tom phones his houseboy, Jerry (

Richard Loo Richard Loo (October 1, 1903 – November 20, 1983) was an American film actor who was one of the most familiar Asian character actors in American films of the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1931 and 1982. Early lif ...

), telling him to pose as the Chinese Trade Commissioner wanting to buy war bonds. After Steffen confides to Jerry that he plans to buy war bonds from Gwynne, Tom exposes Mrs. Lipton as the Duchess, and accuses her of stealing the bonds, but Donovan, with a warrant for murder, arrests Tom, Marcia, Goldie and Jerry instead. Finding a way to escape once again, Tom returns to the hotel, and confronts Mrs. Lipton, who was being blackmailed by Rickey into selling the war bonds. When Rickey is killed, a terrified Gwynne confesses that she was involved because Rickey was her husband. When he is trapped in an elevator with Gwynne, Tom realizes that the killer is still in the hotel. Finding a way out, Tom rushes to Mrs. Lipton's room to find the puppeteer threatening the hotel owner. When Tom tries to apprehend him, Dugan falls to his death. Donovan, now convinced in Tom's innocence, arrives to arrest Mrs. Lipton for the theft of the war bonds.

Cast

as Tom Lawrence * Harriet Hilliard as Gwynne Gregory *

as Marcia Brooks *

as Smiley Dugan *

as Goldie Locke * Rita Corday as Mia Bruger *

Erford Gage Erford Holmes Gage (April 5, 1912 – March 17, 1945) was an American actor. After several years as a stage actor, he was active in RKO Pictures films between 1942 and 1944. In his movies, he often played shady characters or outright villains, m ...

as Rickey Davis * Wynne Gibson as Geraldine H. Lipton *

as Bruno Steffen (credited as Andre Charlot) *

as Jerry *

Cliff Clark Cliff Clark (June 10, 1889 – February 8, 1953) was an American actor. He entered the film business in 1937 after a substantial stage career and appeared in over 200 Hollywood films. In the last years of his life, he also played in a numb ...

as Police Inspector Timothy Donovan *

Edward Gargan Edward Gargan (July 17, 1902 – February 19, 1964) was an American film and television actor. Career Gargan was born of Irish parents in Brooklyn, New York. He was the elder brother of actor William Gargan. As soon as Gargan had left colle ...

as Detective Bates (credited as Ed Gargan) *

Byron Foulger Byron Kay Foulger (August 27, 1898 – April 4, 1970) was an American character actor who over a 50-year career performed in hundreds of stage, film, and television productions. Early years Born in Ogden, Utah, Byron was the second of four ...

as Hotel clerk * Patti Brill as Girl bellhop * Margaret Landry as Girl bellhop * Margie Stewart as Girl bellhop * Jean Brooks as Spanish girl *

Olin Howland Olin Ross Howland (February 10, 1886 – September 20, 1959) was an American film and theatre actor. Life and career Howland was born in Denver, Colorado, to Joby A. Howland, one of the youngest enlisted participants in the Civil War, an ...

as Sheriff (credited as Olin Howlin) * Perc Launders as Bartender * Eddie Dunn as Grimes * Charles Russell as Bank messenger *

Frank O'Connor Frank O'Connor (born Michael Francis O'Donovan; 17 September 1903 – 10 March 1966) was an Irish author and translator. He wrote poetry (original and translations from Irish), dramatic works, memoirs, journalistic columns and features on as ...

as Bank guard *

Ralph Dunn Ralph Dunn (May 23, 1900 – February 19, 1968) was an American film, television, and stage actor. Early years Dunn was born in Titusville, Pennsylvania, on May 23, 1900. His father was a veterinarian for the U.S. Army during World War I, a ...

as Motorcycle policeman *

Frank Faylen Frank Faylen (born Charles Francis Ruf; December 8, 1905 – August 2, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Largely a bit player and character actor, he occasionally played more fleshed-out supporting roles during his forty-two ...

as Hobo *

Jack Norton Jack Norton (born Mortimer John Naughton; September 2, 1882 – October 15, 1958) was an American stage and film character actor who appeared in more than 180 films between 1934 and 1948, often playing drunks, although in real life he was a ...

as Hobo * George Lloyd as Brannigan * Mary Stuart as Usherette * Lorna Dunn as Taxi driver

Production

With the working title of "The Falcon Comes Back", principal photography took place from January 19 till early-February 1943."Original print information: 'The Falcon Strikes Back'."
''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: September 5, 2016.

Reception

In his review of ''The Falcon Strikes Back'',

Theodore Strauss Theodore Strauss (December 27, 1912 – October 30, 2009) was an American writer and filmmaker. Biography Strauss was born in Oklahoma on December 27, 1912."In memoriam". ''Writers Guild of America West Journal''. Vol. 14, Iss. 1. p. 56. He w ...

wrote, in ''

'', "There is something highly irregular about "The Falcon Strikes Back," now at the Palace, and we don't mean murder. Item: The role of the Falcon is no longer played by

, but by his brother, Tom Conway, who looks like Sanders, sounds like Sanders, but is less of an actor—the result is a sort of double exposure, slightly out of focus. Item:

after all these years of two-reel comedy madness, turns out to be a dangerous maniac after all, which is like discovering that

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shirt and cap with ...

really belongs in the ward for violent cases. Aside from these two troublesome matters, "The Falcon Strikes Back" is hardly worth bothering about. The Falcon rounds up a gang of bond thieves amid the standard quota of murder and mayhem, but the lack of suspense is terrific."Strauss, Theodore (T.S.)
"Movie review: At the Palace."
''The New York Times'', April 2, 1943.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Jewell, Richard B. ''Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures''. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 2016. . * Jewell, Richard and Vernon Harbin. ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. .

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Falcon Strikes Back 1943 films 1943 crime films American crime films American black-and-white films American detective films American sequel films Films scored by Roy Webb Films directed by Edward Dmytryk RKO Pictures films The Falcon (film character) films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language crime films