RKO produced 13 Falcon films, beginning with George Sanders (first 3 movies) in the lead role, then, after he got tired of it all, his real-life brother, Tom Conway (from the 4th movie to the end of the series), took over. I prefer Conway, as he was more fun to watch and less of a stiff upper-lipper. When I first watched the fifth movie, not having seen the fourth, the changeover surprised me. In the fourth movie, Sanders’ Falcon gets bumped off, opening the door for Conway’s Falcon. Neat, huh? By 1944, and judging by this movie, the series was running on fumes. Taking the character from his urban environment to a western one provided some interesting contrasts, but overall the story is lackluster while still watchable. Lawrence Tierney (Reservoir Dogs) does an uncredited appearance as an orchestra leader. TCM notes that Tierney didn’t work well with Quentin Tarantino, leading to some shoving, a firing, and an intervention (from Harvey Keitel) so he could finish Reservoir Dogs. Barbara Hale (unforgettable in Perry Mason) plays Marion Corday. She also appeared in The Falcon Goes to Hollywood.
