Artivels Undescribable Perfection

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

wes-139 This witty whodunnit outclasses most of its pot-boiler sequels. The jewel-theft and dead body set-up is conventional but the way it works out is stylishly paced and full of entertaining sidelights. The Falcon's volatile fiancée is hilarious, and unfazed when he approaches her for the price of a meal dressed as a tramp. I like his byline in a newspaper story: "FALCON EVADES POLICE - Playboy Criminologist Sought in Mystery Slaying". Wendy Barrie as his stand-in Doctor Watson (while "Goldie" Locke is unavoidably detained by crooks) is more sceptical about his personal qualities than starry-eyed: she knows she's the other woman. It adds up to a sophisticated and playful take on a routine B-film formula, which has some of the élan and sparkle you get in early 1930s genre films.

csteidler Adventurer Gay Laurence—also known as the Falcon—has vowed to give up crime solving and women. At his fiancée's request, he sets up shop as a broker, with every intention of going respectable. Needless to say, the brokerage and the resolutions quickly go by the wayside when he is drawn into a murder mystery.George Sanders looks completely at home as the Falcon: suave, quick-witted and frequently droll, he seems to enjoy attracting trouble and he handles it deftly.Allen Jenkins is perfect as the Falcon's right hand man and comic relief. His name as printed on the broker's office door identifies him as Jonathon Locke, Associate; it seems he is more commonly known simply as Goldie Locke.Wendy Barrie also looks like she's having a ball as Helen Reed, a young woman seeking the Falcon's help. She is thrilled to meet a real live notorious figure like the Falcon. She's even excited to meet his assistant, Goldie, whom she refers to as "your Dr. Watson, your faithful and loyal colleague!" (Goldie beams) before going on to note that "All characters like you have a kind of stooge, don't they?" (Goldie frowns).Sanders, Jenkins and Barrie are part detective team, part comedy trio. No one looks terribly serious but they certainly are easy to watch—the banter flies, the clues add up, and it all moves very fast.The plot is relatively unimportant but competently put together; it concerns a jewel theft ring and insurance racket that turns to murder.Among the enthusiastic cast of character actors are Ed Brophy and Eddie Dunn as a couple of dim detectives. Anne Hunter (more commonly known as Nina Vale) is quite funny, too, as Gay's much-suffering fiancée…. "I thought you'd stand by me," Gay complains half-heartedly when she expresses frustration at his refusal to avoid crime solving and other women. "I'm tired of standing by," she snaps. "The line is too long." There's a little suspense, a moderately intriguing mystery…but the humorous interplay among the characters is what really makes this picture a lot of fun.Irrelevant question on the name: Elsewhere the Falcon's surname seems to be spelled "Lawrence"...but on his broker's office door in this picture it's printed as "Gay Laurence." Any particular reason for the variation? I guess I like to think that the painter just misspelled it....

blanche-2 George Sanders is "The Gay Falcon," a 1941 film, the first entry into the Falcon series. The title has a double meaning, as the Falcon's first name is Gay. Though it's a programmer, "The Gay Falcon" has quite an uptown cast, including Gladys Cooper, Allen Jenkins, Turhan Bey, and Wendy Barrie. The Falcon and his sidekick Goldie (Jenkins) are insurance brokers in this, and Gay is, as usual, engaged. After turning down an invitation to a fancy party, Helen, secretary to a Perle Mesta type named Maxine who is giving the party, begs him to attend in order to prevent a jewel robbery. Maxine's events have been the scene of a string of jewel robberies. So Gay attends. A woman who insisted on wearing a huge diamond is murdered. Gay is on the case.George Sanders makes a very appealing Falcon - he's tall, elegant, and smooth, with a great voice and off-the-cuff delivery. He gives the role a light, breezy quality. The rest of the cast is very good. Turhan plays a swarthy, suspicious type - this was pre-Maria Montez and Sabu. It's always great to see the Turhan Bey, one of the actors who benefited from the man shortage in Hollywood during World War II. Though he eventually returned to his native Vienna to work as a photographer, he did quite a few television appearances in the '90s.Alas, there is a bit of casting that sort of gave the denouement away for this viewer, but the mystery is not really the point of The Falcon series. The point is to have fun, which you will.

bob the moo At the request of his girlfriend, Gay Laurence has stepped out of the detective business to become a stockbroker. Bored out of his brilliant mind, Gay jumps at the chance when a young lady tells him of the socialite Maxine Wood, who throws parties every few weeks but has had problems with robberies each time. With the police unable to catch the thief, Gay goes to the party to help out but, on this occasion, the crime turns to murder – putting Gay and Goldie right in the middle of it.I have never watched a Falcon film before and I took the opportunity to watch this film when BBC2 ran a mini-series of the films in the early morning during the summer. The title is innocent enough and it is only time (and the change in language) that has made it seem rather inappropriate – certainly such a film (or a character) would not be include the word gay if these films were made today! Aside from that obvious remark, this is a pretty enjoyable film if you are prepared for what it is trying to be – a very light, amusing little mystery that entertains. The semi-tongue in cheek tone to the film takes away from the actual mystery plot but it is still just about interesting enough to engage.What the film does better is to inject a nice comic tone into everything. The action involves a touch of comedy at all times and plenty of the lines and side-issues (the girlfriend). The acting mostly follows this pattern with Sanders surprising me with a very light touch – he really seemed to be enjoying himself! I have only seen Sanders in more serious roles and I did enjoy seeing him in relaxed mode. Support is great from Jenkins; his is hardly a well-written character (he is only a standard comic sidekick) but he plays well and is actually quite funny in his couple of scenes. Barrie is quite fun and makes for an attractive love interest while Vale is good enough to make her subplot part of the movie rather than it seeming tacked on. Shields, Dunn and Brophy are all amusing as the usual inept cops of the genre!Overall this is not a great film but, if you know what to expect, it does manage to be entertaining. The actual plot is not that good but just about does enough to keep you watching but it is the comic tone and well-pitched acting that makes it fun to watch. At just over an hour running time, I found it to be the film equivalent of a nice little snack – certainly not filling but enjoyable for the short time it takes to finish it!