Moments after promising his latest girlfriend he's giving up crime and other girls, Tom Lawrence becomes involved in the break-in at an art gallery, the murder of its owner, the theft of an expensive painting by a man believed long dead, the millionaire who owns most of the late artist's work, and a trip to Mexico, with the artist's daughter, who believes her father may still be alive, that seems to double as an extended commercial travelogue for vacation-goers. What fun!
The 10 FALCON movies starring Tom Conway break down almost neatly into 2 periods. The first had him involved with Inspector Timothy Donovan (Cliff Clark) and his sidekick Detective Bates (Edward Gargan). Most of these took place in the New York City area, except for the 5th, ...OUT WEST, where the two cops followed Lawrence's long-distance investigation. Unlike THE LONE WOLF series, which carried such nonsense to insane limits, starting with his 6th film, you had 5 in a row, each featuring a different pair of cops in a different part of the country.
Emory Parnell is "Winthrop Lucky Diamond Hughes", who owns most of the dead man's work, and insists he knows his style better than anyone. He's also arrogant, obnoxious, and never stops complaining. Among his long resume are ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES, THE HOUSE OF FEAR (1939), THE SECRET OF DR. KILDARE, FOREIGN CORRESEPONDENT, THE MALTESE FALCON, ZOMBIES ON BROADWAY, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, and 3 FALCON movies (he comes back in the next one as the cop-of-the-film).
Pedro De Cordoba is "Don Carlos Ybarra", the local rich guy whose daughter posed for the stolen painting. I've also seen him in CITY IN DARKNESS, THE GHOST BREAKERS, THE MARK OF ZORRO (1940), TARZAN TRIUMPHS, THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (1945), and SAMSON AND DELILAH (1949).
Mona Maris is "Raquel", half of a professional dance team, and the 2nd wife of the late artist, who worries that should her first husband turn out to still be alive, she will be married to two men at once. Often playing femme fatales, I've seen her in THE DEATH KISS, WHITE HEAT, and A DATE WITH THE FALCON (opposite George Sanders).
Martha Vickers is "Barbara Wade", the dead man's daughter, who's long suspected that her father may still be alive, and almost seems to have a psychic connection with the hotel he lived in. She had bit parts in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN and THE MUMMY'S GHOST, but will forever be remembered as "Carmen Sternwood" in the 1946 version of THE BIG SLEEP.
Nestor Paiva is "Manuel Romero", a cab driver of many, many talents who, along with his young son "Pancho", attaches himself to Lawrence the moment he arrives in Mexico and won't let go. He absolutely STEALS the movie, and to me is the main reason to watch-- and re-watch, when you find out what he's really hiding from his temporary employer. I've seen him in THE SPIDER'S WEB (1938), THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1939), PHANTOM RAIDERS, THE GREEN HORNET STRIKES AGAIN!, MEET BOSTON BLACKIE, DRESSED TO KILL (1941), TARZAN'S DESERT MYSTERY, THE LONE WOLF IN MEXICO (where he plays one of the more intelligent cops in that series), THE PALEFACE, MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, MY FAVORITE SPY (1951), I THE JURY (1953, as a bartender friend of Biff Elliot's "Mike Hammer"), CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, REVENGE OF THE CREATURE, TARANTULA, 2 episodes of RICHARD DIAMOND, PRIVATE DETECTIVE, 14 episodes of ZORRO with Guy Williams, ATLANTIS: THE LOST CONTINENT, and, he did voices in 3 episodes of JONNY QUEST (1964). What a guy!
This particular film has always struck me as possibly being a direct influence on not one but two much-later episodes of McCLOUD with Dennis Weaver. While the now-departed Cliff Clark's brusk personality often reminded me of that show's "Chief Clifford" (J. D. Cannon), the search in Mexico for an artist believed dead turned up in "Somebody's Out To Get Jennie" (from season 2), while the prolonged scenes of driving in Mexico turned up in "Lady On The Run" (season 5). I've been seeing so much in the various "NBC Mystery Movies" series from the 1970s that were inspired in one form or another by film series of the 1930s and 40s, can this really be a coincidence, or later writers simply borrowing and updating obvious tropes to use in shows watched by audiences too young to even be aware of what they're borrowing from?
Just as this was the first FALCON film without some kind of regular supporting cast, it's also the first to end without a bogus lead-in to the next film. ("Oh, Mr. Lawrence! You HAVE to help me!")
The 10 FALCON movies starring Tom Conway break down almost neatly into 2 periods. The first had him involved with Inspector Timothy Donovan (Cliff Clark) and his sidekick Detective Bates (Edward Gargan). Most of these took place in the New York City area, except for the 5th, ...OUT WEST, where the two cops followed Lawrence's long-distance investigation. Unlike THE LONE WOLF series, which carried such nonsense to insane limits, starting with his 6th film, you had 5 in a row, each featuring a different pair of cops in a different part of the country.
Emory Parnell is "Winthrop Lucky Diamond Hughes", who owns most of the dead man's work, and insists he knows his style better than anyone. He's also arrogant, obnoxious, and never stops complaining. Among his long resume are ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES, THE HOUSE OF FEAR (1939), THE SECRET OF DR. KILDARE, FOREIGN CORRESEPONDENT, THE MALTESE FALCON, ZOMBIES ON BROADWAY, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, and 3 FALCON movies (he comes back in the next one as the cop-of-the-film).
Pedro De Cordoba is "Don Carlos Ybarra", the local rich guy whose daughter posed for the stolen painting. I've also seen him in CITY IN DARKNESS, THE GHOST BREAKERS, THE MARK OF ZORRO (1940), TARZAN TRIUMPHS, THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (1945), and SAMSON AND DELILAH (1949).
Mona Maris is "Raquel", half of a professional dance team, and the 2nd wife of the late artist, who worries that should her first husband turn out to still be alive, she will be married to two men at once. Often playing femme fatales, I've seen her in THE DEATH KISS, WHITE HEAT, and A DATE WITH THE FALCON (opposite George Sanders).
Martha Vickers is "Barbara Wade", the dead man's daughter, who's long suspected that her father may still be alive, and almost seems to have a psychic connection with the hotel he lived in. She had bit parts in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN and THE MUMMY'S GHOST, but will forever be remembered as "Carmen Sternwood" in the 1946 version of THE BIG SLEEP.
Nestor Paiva is "Manuel Romero", a cab driver of many, many talents who, along with his young son "Pancho", attaches himself to Lawrence the moment he arrives in Mexico and won't let go. He absolutely STEALS the movie, and to me is the main reason to watch-- and re-watch, when you find out what he's really hiding from his temporary employer. I've seen him in THE SPIDER'S WEB (1938), THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1939), PHANTOM RAIDERS, THE GREEN HORNET STRIKES AGAIN!, MEET BOSTON BLACKIE, DRESSED TO KILL (1941), TARZAN'S DESERT MYSTERY, THE LONE WOLF IN MEXICO (where he plays one of the more intelligent cops in that series), THE PALEFACE, MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, MY FAVORITE SPY (1951), I THE JURY (1953, as a bartender friend of Biff Elliot's "Mike Hammer"), CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, REVENGE OF THE CREATURE, TARANTULA, 2 episodes of RICHARD DIAMOND, PRIVATE DETECTIVE, 14 episodes of ZORRO with Guy Williams, ATLANTIS: THE LOST CONTINENT, and, he did voices in 3 episodes of JONNY QUEST (1964). What a guy!
This particular film has always struck me as possibly being a direct influence on not one but two much-later episodes of McCLOUD with Dennis Weaver. While the now-departed Cliff Clark's brusk personality often reminded me of that show's "Chief Clifford" (J. D. Cannon), the search in Mexico for an artist believed dead turned up in "Somebody's Out To Get Jennie" (from season 2), while the prolonged scenes of driving in Mexico turned up in "Lady On The Run" (season 5). I've been seeing so much in the various "NBC Mystery Movies" series from the 1970s that were inspired in one form or another by film series of the 1930s and 40s, can this really be a coincidence, or later writers simply borrowing and updating obvious tropes to use in shows watched by audiences too young to even be aware of what they're borrowing from?
Just as this was the first FALCON film without some kind of regular supporting cast, it's also the first to end without a bogus lead-in to the next film. ("Oh, Mr. Lawrence! You HAVE to help me!")