Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

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.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

bkoganbing George Sanders leaves the series and his brother in real life as well as the series, Tom Conway takes over the series as the international man of mystery known as the Falcon.At first it doesn't look like anyone's taking over anything as Sanders identifies a body that he says is his brother Tom. But that's just to give him investigating room to find out what his brother Tom has himself involved in.We meet Conway soon enough and he's hot on the trail of some Nazi agents who are operating out of a fashion magazine. Like Communists later on, those Nazis get involved everywhere. They've even got spies in the police department, heaven forfend. What these Nazis got cooked up is an assassination plot for a Latin American minister. Remember all Latin American countries with the exception of Argentina had declared war on the Axis powers. Hitler boasted he could take South America with a telephone call. This movie shows that he was doing a bit more than chatting on Ma Bell's lines.As is well known to fans of the series Sanders dies foiling the plot and Conway takes over the series with the same elegant touch that Sanders brought to the role. Other than that The Falcon's Brother is an average entry in the series.

robert-temple-1 This is the fourth of the Falcon films, in which both George Sanders and his real life brother Tom Conway appear. It was the occasion for the handover of the role. Sanders and Conway have many scenes together, and vie to out-do each other in suaveness and urbanity, and it is a tie. Then Sanders is knocked unconscious and spends much of the film in bed, which he doubtless found restful. At the end, Sanders sacrifices his life in the struggle against Nazism (it is after all 1942 and the plot deals with German agents) and presto, Tom Conway is and for the remaining series of films will be the Falcon. This film has a higher budget than the preceding ones (there is even a ship), the plot is complicated, it is all more solid and convincing. In fact, it is a very entertaining tale. Keye Luke has now become the falcon's butler, adding his own charm and wit to the team, and doing amusing impersonations of pidgin English (he was Chinese) when he wants to put off 'dames' who phone too often. The falcon's sidekick is now played by Don Barclay, which like the addition of Keye Luke is a great improvement. This film was edited by Mark Robson, later to be a famous director, and the improved editing shows. However, because the screenwriters have changed, all the great gags and one-liners have disappeared, there is no more crackling dialogue, and the Falcon series is no longer a laugh a minute.

Jim Tritten Fast-moving espionage mystery, last for George Sanders, in the Falcon series. Plot include a fairly neat transition to real-life and character brother to take over and continue the fight against Nazi Germany. George is suave with the ladies (because he knew it was his last film in the series?). Lots of twists and turns as we weave our way through poisoned cigars (La Prima Donna), break ins, impersonating an officer, clues that disappear, house of fashion and a fashion magazine. In the end, the Falcon takes the shot meant for a Latin American diplomat and brother Tom Lawrence accepts the challenge from a foreign voice on the phone who warns him that he will get what his brother did if he doesn't leave well enough alone. Well, it was 1942 and no self-respecting producer wasn't going to have his hero support the war effort. Not a great movie, but enjoyable and about as good as these ever got. Recommended.

tico-4 Of all the Falcon movies, this is probably the most tongue-in-cheek, or just plain "corn", but engaging nevertheless, and you had better pay attention to every bit of it or you'll be lost. The main reason for the film is that George Sanders wanted out of the role (this was the fourth in the series), and stipulated that he be killed in the plot, therefore avoiding any returns in the future. His real-life brother Tom Conway, fell heir to the series and went on to make nine appearances as the Falcon. In this offering, a dead body appears almost immediately, first thought to be that of the Falcon's brother. Not so! The ship that he was supposedly on also carried an assortment of spies and shady types, who weave in and out of the plot, giving both Falcons plenty of opportunities for sleuthing and woman-chasing. After sifting through all the South Americans, Mexicans, native New Yorkers and high-society women, the original Falcon (Sanders) gives his life shielding a foreign diplomat from an assassin's bullet. Just as it seems that it's all over for Falcon lovers, and brother Tom is about to head for home, he receives a telephone threat, so he decides to stay and become the Falcon himself! Nine more movies evolved in the series, now starring Tom Conway.