The Gay Falcon

"CRIMINALS BEWARE! Here comes fiction's man of mystery!"

1941 1h 7m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 25

Mystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Having forsaken the detective business for the safer confines of personal insurance, Gay Laurence is compelled to return to his sleuthing ways. Along with sidekick Jonathan "Goldie" Locke, he agrees to look into a series of home party robberies that have victimized socialite Maxine Wood. The duo gets more than they bargained for when a murder is committed at Wood's home, but Lawrence still finds time to romance the damsel.

“CRIMINALS BEWARE! Here comes fiction's man of mystery!”

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Cast

George Sanders
Gay Laurence / The Falcon
Wendy Barrie
Helen Reed
Allen Jenkins
Jonathan G. 'Goldie' Locke
Nina Vale
Elinor Benford
Gladys Cooper
Maxine Wood
Edward Brophy
Detective Bates
Arthur Shields
Inspector Mike Waldeck
Damian O'Flynn
Noel Weber

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Irving Reis
Writers: Frank Fenton, Lynn Root, Michael Arlen
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 67-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

85 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Falcon Series" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Irving Reis, shot by Nicholas Musuraca. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Paul Sawtell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor George Crone shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

George Sanders and Wendy Barrie and Allen Jenkins carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "CRIMINALS BEWARE! Here comes fiction's man of mystery!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Irving Reis directs. Nicholas Musuraca behind the camera. Paul Sawtell scores. George Crone cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 67-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
285 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "The Falcon Series" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Irving Reis, shot by Nicholas Musuraca. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Paul Sawtell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor George Crone shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7George Sanders and Wendy Barrie and Allen Jenkins carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "CRIMINALS BEWARE! Here comes fiction's man of mystery!".
9IMDB entry: tt0033650 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 25 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Nicholas Musuraca
Original score: Paul Sawtell
Editing: George Crone
Costume design: Renié
Runtime: 67 min · 1h 7m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Gay Falcon (1941)

Part of

The Falcon Series

The movie series from the 1940's featuring the detective The Falcon...

Also by

Irving Reis

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-11-30
★ 6/10
Irving Reis packs loads into the hour or so it takes George Sanders' "Gay" to try to sort out a complex series of jewel robberies whilst fending off the affections of ladies from all over the place! "Maxine" (Gladys Cooper) is the society matriarch concerned when she realises that her lavish and exclusive parties might be being used as a vehicle for some thievery and insurance fraud. That nervousness isn't helped when another renowned hostess whose dancing really does make your toes want to curl - "Vera" (Lucile Gleason) finds her own toes have curled up - permanently. Poor old "Gay" is just trying to get on with his peaceable life with fiancée "Elinor" (Nina Vale), but together with sidekick "Goldie" (Allen Jenkins) and the aforementioned, rather smitten "Helen" (Wendy Barrie) must now endeavour to track down the conspirator, thief, murderer - before they strike again. If anything, it's all a bit rushed, which doesn't really suit Sanders' style of delivery, but the story is solid and the characters offer us as many breadcrumbs as they do him in the search for the protagonist. I'll admit that I didn't get it right - backed the wrong horse completely. This all smacks of a cheap and cheerful but reasonably well written and watchable adaptation of a radio play designed for some wartime diversion. It just about does the trick, too.

Production companies