The Falcon is the nickname for two fictional detectives. Drexel Drake created Michael Waring, alias the Falcon, a freelance investigator and troubleshooter, in his 1936 novel, The Falcon's Prey. It was followed by two more novels – The Falcon Cuts In, 1937, and The Falcon Meets a Lady, 1938 – and a 1938 short story. Michael Arlen created Gay Stanhope Falcon in 1940. This Falcon made his first appearance in Arlen's short story "Gay Falcon", which was originally published in 1940 in Town & Country magazine. The story opens with the words "Now of this man who called himself Gay Falcon many tales are told, and this is one of them." Arlen's Falcon is characterized as a freelance adventurer and troubleshooter – a man who makes his living "keeping his mouth shut and engaging in dangerous enterprises."
Edward Santree Brophy 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 portrayed dumb cops and gangsters, both serious and comic.
Tom Conway was a British film, television, and radio actor remembered for playing detectives and psychiatrists, among other roles.
Robert Lenard Lippert was an American film producer and cinema chain owner. He was president and chief operating officer of Lippert Theatres, Affiliated Theatres and Transcontinental Theatres, all based in San Francisco, and at his height, he owned a chain of 139 movie theaters.
The Falcon's Brother is a 1942 American crime drama film in which George Sanders, who had been portraying "The Falcon" in a series of films, appears with his real-life brother Tom Conway; with Sanders handing off the series to Conway, who would play the new Falcon in nine subsequent films. Jane Randolph was featured in a supporting role. The Falcon's Brother, the only one to feature two Falcons, was directed by Stanley Logan.
William A. Berke was an American film director, film producer, actor and screenwriter. He wrote, directed, and/or produced some 200 films over a three-decade career.
The Gay Falcon is a 1941 American mystery thriller film directed by Irving Reis and starring George Sanders, Wendy Barrie and Allen Jenkins. A B film produced and distributed by RKO Pictures, it the first in a series of sixteen 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. Sanders was cast in the title role; he had played The Saint in the prior RKO series. He was teamed again with Wendy Barrie 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, Sanders' real-life brother, as Tom Lawrence, brother of Gay.
Rain or Shine is a 1930 American pre-Code film directed by Frank Capra and starring Joe Cook and Louise Fazenda. The film was adapted from a hit Broadway musical of the same name and was originally planned as a full-scale musical. Due to the public backlash against musical films, all musical numbers were discarded before release. This move proved to be prudent as the film was a box office success, continuing the streak of hits Capra directed for the young Columbia Pictures studio.
The Falcon Takes Over, is a 1942 black-and-white mystery film directed by Irving Reis. Although the film features the Falcon and other characters created by Michael Arlen, its plot is taken from the Raymond Chandler novel Farewell, My Lovely, with the Falcon substituting for Chandler's archetypal private eye Philip Marlowe and the setting of New York City replacing Marlowe's Los Angeles beat. The B film was the third, following The Gay Falcon and A Date with the Falcon (1941), to star George Sanders as the character Gay Lawrence, a gentleman detective known by the sobriquet the Falcon.
The Falcon Strikes Back is a 1943 American crime film directed by Edward Dmytryk and stars Tom Conway as the title character, the amateur sleuth, the Falcon. Supporting roles are filled by Harriet Hilliard, Jane Randolph, Edgar Kennedy, with Cliff Edwards filling in for Allen Jenkins as the Falcon's sidekick, "Goldie" Locke. It is the fifth film in the Falcon series and the second for Conway, reprising the role that his brother, George Sanders had initiated.
Trail Street is a 1947 American Western film directed by Ray Enright and starring Randolph Scott, Robert Ryan, Anne Jeffreys and George "Gabby" Hayes. Based on the novel Golden Horizons by William Corcoran, and a screenplay by Norman Houston and Gene Lewis, the film is about the legendary Bat Masterson who brings law and order to the town of Liberal, Kansas, and defends the local farmers against a murderous cattle baron. Filmed on location in Agoura, California, at the Andy Jauregui Ranch in Newhall, California, and at the Encino Ranch of RKO Pictures. The film made a profit of $365,000.
A Date with the Falcon is the second in a series of 16 films about the suave detective nicknamed The Falcon. The 1942 sequel features many of the same characters as the first film, The Gay Falcon (1941).
A Night of Adventure is a 1944 American crime mystery film directed by Gordon Douglas. It stars Tom Conway, Audrey Long, and Edward Brophy.
The Falcon in Mexico is a 1944 film directed by William Berke and stars Tom Conway in his recurring role as a suave amateur sleuth, supported by Mona Maris and Martha Vickers. Conway would play the Falcon seven more times before RKO retired the franchise in 1946.The Falcon in Mexico was the ninth of 16 films in the Falcon detective series. The film features many second unit sequences filmed in Mexico and Brazil; the latter scenes from Orson Welles's aborted film It's All True.
The Falcon's Alibi is a 1946 American mystery film directed by Ray McCarey and starring Tom Conway, Rita Corday and Vince Barnett. It was the ninth film featuring Conway as The Falcon. After the following film, The Falcon's Adventure, the series was ended due to declining popularity.
The Falcon in San Francisco is a 1945 American crime and mystery film directed by Joseph H. Lewis and stars Tom Conway, Rita Corday and Edward Brophy, who played the recurring role of "Goldie" Locke. The film was the 11th in The Falcon series of detective films, and the eighth featuring Conway as the amateur sleuth. The Falcon in San Francisco was the final film in the series produced by Maurice Geraghty, after which budgets were reduced and location shooting largely abandoned.
The Falcon in Danger is a 1943 American mystery film directed by William Clemens and starring Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Amelita Ward and Elaine Shepard. The film was the sixth of thirteen The Falcon detective films produced by RKO, all starring Conway.
The Falcon Out West is a 1944 American mystery film directed by William Clemens and starring Tom Conway, Joan Barclay and Barbara Hale. The film was part of RKO's The Falcon series of detective films, this time, a murder set in Texas.
Madge Meredith was an American film actress who appeared in numerous films and television series between 1944 and 1964. However, she may have been best known for her wrongful conviction for kidnapping.
Danger Zone is a 1951 American film noir directed by William Berke and starring Hugh Beaumont, Tom Neal and Edward Brophy. A lower-budget second feature, it was distributed by the independent Lippert Pictures.
