The Falcon Takes Over (1942)

The Falcon Takes Over (1942)

He’s the man everyone calls when things go wrong — until the night he walks into a setup meant just for him. A missing woman, a dead man, and too many lies to count. In a city of smoky rooms and double-dealing dames, even the Falcon can’t fly above the shadows… not this time.

Hello to all of the classic people who are returning. I am glad you are back. I want to welcome any new visitors. Today on Classic Movie Review, we are taking on The Falcon Takes Over (1942). This film is the third of 13 films in The Falcon Series. Sander would only make one more in the series before turning the franchise over to his brother.

I am surprised that IMDb.com doesn’t list this as a Film Noir, as it does with much of the Falcon series. It’s based on the Raymond Chandler story and is basically the same plot as Murder, My Sweet (1944) and Farewell, My Lovely (1975).

This film has a fairly deserved 6.4[1] rating on IMDb.com. On RottenTomatoes.com, there is no Tomatometer score and only an audience score of 45 percent. I would say it’s a good Sunday afternoon view, and it’s interesting to see what they did with the Chandler story.

The New York Times film critic Theodore Strauss said in a contemporary review: “For a man of Mr. Sanders’s cool talents, ‘The Falcon Takes Over’ is a distinct waste of time.”[2]

Actors – The Falcon Takes Over (1942)

Returning

British actor George Sanders was in the lead role as Gay Lawrence, AKA the Falcon. Of course, he is the best Falcon of the two, but not by much. Sanders was first covered in Lured (1947).

Hans Conried was cast in the uncredited role of Quincey W. Marriot. This was the third Falcon role for Conried, and it was interesting to play something besides an extreme eccentric. He was first covered in the horrible John Wayne Film Noir Big Jim McLain (1952), where he played a crazy person.

Ward Bond was uncredited in the role of the gigantic killer Moose Malloy. I have always thought of Bond as a character actor, like his cop role in It’s A Wonderful Life (1946). However, I keep finding good leading roles he was in, such as The Halliday Brand (1957).

Mystery and horror actor Turhan Bey was cast as swami Jules Amthor and was uncredited. This actor was first covered in the genre where I most often expect him, The Mummy’s Tomb (1942).

Anne Revere was a pretty decent Jessie Florian. And yes, she, too, was uncredited. The actress was not given enough time to develop the drunkenness of her role, falling short of the other two actresses who have played Jessie. Revere was first covered in the Film Noir Fallen Angel (1945).

James Gleason appeared again as Inspector Mike O’Hara. He is definitely in the film for wisecracks. Gleason was first covered as the ice-skating taxi driver in the wonderful Christmas movie, The Bishop’s Wife (1947).

New

Lynn Bari played sparkly-eyed cub reporter Ann Riordan. Bari was born in Virginia in 1919, although some references suggest an earlier date. Following her father’s death, the family moved to Boston. Her mother’s remarriage led them to Los Angeles. She graduated from Beverly Hills grammar school in 1933.

Bari began getting tiny film roles in 1933. She was given all of the young starlet roles, like an audience member, a girl in the back, and a chorus line member. She finally had a credited role in Lancer Spy (1937). The next year, she appeared in Always Goodbye (1938) opposite Barbara Stanwyck.

Fox began giving her co-leads and good roles in second-tier films such as The Return of the Cisco Kid (1939), Pack Up Your Troubles (1939), Hotel for Women (1939), and Hollywood Cavalcade (1939).

The next decade saw her in films including Pier 13 (1940), Earthbound (1940), Kit Carson (1940), and Sun Valley Serenade (1941). However, these movies didn’t advance her career.

During World War II, Bari was second only to Betty Grable among pin-up girls. She was marketed as The Girl with the Million Dollar Figure and The Woo Woo Girl. During the remainder of the decade, she appeared in films such as The Magnificent Dope (1942), China Girl (1942), Hello Frisco, Hello (1943), The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1944), and Nocturne (1946). In 1950, Bari found herself mostly working in television. She retired in the late 1960s and passed away in 1989.

Story – The Falcon Takes Over (1942)

Jonathan “Goldy” Locke (Allen Jenkins)  is waiting for his employer, Gay Lawrence (George Sanders), the urbane gumshoe known as “The Falcon.” A large man is looking around outside the night spot, Club 13.

The menacing man begins questioning Goldy about the club and a woman named Velma, who may have worked there five years before. Goldy says he has only been inside one time. The man says he has been waiting these five long years to see her again. He shakes Goldy when he doesn’t like one of the answers given.

The Man-Hulk slams a doorman who tries to deny him entrance because of a formal dress code. He slowly walks into the club where he clearly doesn’t belong. The bartender tells the large man that no one named Velma works at the club. When a manager tries to convince the man to leave, the giant slaps him and tosses him across the room. The colossus then heads for the senior manager’s office.

When the manager sees what is coming for him, he grabs a gun and fires a couple of shots at the titan. The large man leaves the club and jumps in the car with Goldy, forcing him to act as a getaway driver.

Police inspector Michael O’Hara (James Gleason) and his assistant, Detective Bates (Edward Gargan), arrive at the club and meet The Falcon outside. Of course, the Falcon pushes his way inside to join the investigation. O’Hara reminds the Falcon that he gave up amateur detective work when he became engaged. The Falcon says his fiancée is out of town. Just then, a beautiful blonde grabs the Falcon, calling him by a fake name.

The coroner says that the senior club manager has a broken neck from being shaken by the shoulders. They find fingerprints and send them to the lab for analysis. O’Hara gets a call saying the fingerprints belong to an escaped prisoner named Moose Malloy (Ward Bond). Moose was doing a 20-year stretch for manslaughter, but escaped the week before after serving five years. They also say he is an ex-wrestler and weighs 265.

A police officer brings Goldy into the crime scene after arresting him for helping Moose get away. Goldy maintains that if he were guilty of a crime, he wouldn’t have come back. Goldy lies about where he dropped Moose off. The Falcon knows he is lying.

In the car, the Falcon forces Goldy to tell where he took Moose. The Falcon has Goldy drive him to the address in Brooklyn. The house looks like it belongs on the set of The Addams Family. The mailbox is labeled Jessie Florian (Anne Revere). Goldy leaves the car and runs while the Falcon pretends to be a drunk coming to a birthday party. The Falcon goes away singing, and Moose takes the empty car. Goldy is on the ground beside the car.

The Falcon goes to the window and sees Jessie, panicked, on the phone. Jessie tells the man on the phone, Laird Burnett (Selmer Jackson), that Moose will kill her if he finds out what they have done. Laird says she has been paid every week and should not worry. Laird gives Jessie an address, 415 Morton Avenue, to send Moose to if the goliath returns.

The Falcon goes inside to talk with Jessie and asks about Velma. Jessie goes to get something for the Falcon, and he writes down the address and time that is for Moose. Jessie returns with a stack of photographs and says Velma is one of the girls who used to work at her husband’s club, Mike’s, before he died. Jessie gets violent, and the Falcon calms her by telling her that Moose murdered someone. Jessie says Velma is dead and throws the Falcon out.

Goldy and the Falcon make their way back in a taxi. At the apartment, the butler tells the Falcon that a lovely young lady has been stopping by to see him. The Falcon gets a call from Quincy W. Marriott (Hans Conried), who wants the Falcon to deliver a payoff in exchange for a stolen jade necklace. The exchange is set to take place in a deserted cemetery. The Falcon arms himself before leaving for the job.

Outside of the apartment building, Ann Riordan (Lynn Bari) is hiding behind a plant. She watches the Falcon leave. O’Hara and Bates also see the Falcon leave. The two cops question Goldy about where the car is. He lies, saying he last saw it in front of the building. They tell Goldy that he will have to report on the Falcon’s movements, or they will send him to jail.

The Falcon meets with Marriott, who explains the money drop that he is making for a friend. He asks the Falcon if he is armed. Marriott says he was on a date with a lady when they were robbed, and the lady’s necklace was stolen. The thieves are selling it back because it would be too hard to pawn.

The cemetery is shrouded in fog, as if straight out of The Wolf Man (1941). Marriott sends the Falcon to deliver the money while he waits in the car. Marriott has the Falcon leave his gun in the car. Marriott takes the gun and shoots the Falcon in the back. Marriott is then shot and killed by an unknown assailant who leaves in a car.

Ann comes out of the bushes and approaches the Falcon’s body. He grabs her ankle, and she runs away, grabs the Falcon’s gun, which was lying by Marriott’s body. The Falcon tells Ann that his gun is loaded with blanks. Ann freaks when the Falcon accuses her of shooting Marriott. She fesses up that she is a budding newspaper reporter and wants to crack the case so she can land a job in the big city. She flatters the Falcon by calling him the smartest person working on the case.

The Falcon searches Marriott’s body and finds a business card for Jules Amthor, Psychic Consultant, with the same address that Jessie was supposed to give to Moose. The Falcon takes Ann to O’Hara’s office so they can confess to the events that took place in the cemetery.

Ann leaves to research the jade necklace. The Falcon says he will resume investigating once she has some information.

Back at the apartment, the Falcon tells Goldy that the necklace doesn’t exist. Ann shows up at the apartment to see the Falcon. She has discovered that the jade necklace is real and belongs to trendsetter Diana Kenyon (Helen Gilbert). Ann also says Diana plays the field, but recently she was running around with Marriott.

Ann has already concocted a plan to meet with Diana for an interview about the jade necklace. The Falcon sends Goldy to the Psychic Consultant for a reading. He doesn’t tell Goldy that Moose is expected to be there at the same time.

Diana is excited to meet the Falcon. The Falcon flirts, and Ann ducks out. Diana pretends not to know much about Marriott. The Falcon wonders if Marriott was part of the setup. The pair make a date for later that night at the Swan Club. Ann is a little cranked when the Falcon comes out with lipstick on his mouth.

Goldy arms himself before heading to the Psychic appointment. The two cops follow Goldy. Goldy enters a dark room where a man in a turban sits. Goldy is ushered into another room, and the opening closes behind him. Seated at the table is Jules Amthor (Turhan Bey). Amthor wants to know why Goldy has come in place of Moose, as he can only deliver the message to Moose.

Amthor leaves the room, and Moose comes out of the curtains. He grabs Goldy, and the two turban-wearing men rush towards Moose. The lights go out, and a gun is fired. The two cops break in, and more shots are heard. When the cops get the light back on, Amthor and his assistant are dead, Goldy is fine on the floor, and Moose is gone. The cops arrest Goldy on suspicion of murdering Amthor. They lean heavily on Goldy, but they really want information on what the Falcon is doing.

Goldy is having his neck massaged by the butler after his most recent shaking by Moose. The Falcon and Ann arrive at the apartment. The neck massage is cut short because they leave to drop Ann off at the police station to conduct record research while Goldy and the Falcon go to Jessie Florian’s home. Goldy sneaks out while at the police station to tell O’Hara and Bates about Ann’s mission and where they are going.

Detective Bates gives Ann all the info she needs, including their suspension, that Moose took the rap for Larid Burnett. Bates says Burnett is a nightclub owner whom they have never been able to get the goods on.

The Falcon finds Jessie dead from a broken neck. He asserts that Jessie sent Moose to be murdered by Amthor at Burnett’s request. He doesn’t know how Marriott fits into the case. The Falcon finds a signed picture of but Velma quickly notes that the writing is Jessie’s. However, the Falcon knows a little more. O’Hara arrived, and Goldy passed out, thinking it was Moose.

Ann hears on the radio that the police want to question the Falcon about some homicides. Ann tells what she found at the police station, and the Falcon sneaks out to the Swan Club ahead of O’Hara. A detective follows the Falcon.

Diana is waiting at the club. The Falcon has Diana introduce him to Burnett. Burnett, the club owner, is very friendly with the Falcon. The Falcon asks if Burnett can get in touch with Moose. The Falcon shows the picture of Velma to Burnett. Moose is shown listening to the conversation from outside the window.

Diana says she has seen Velma before and that Velma is a dancer at The Green Mill, a roadhouse in an isolated area. Diana offers to drive the Falcon to The Green Mill. To get past the cop, the Falcon has Diana get a fight started.

The Falcon leaves a note for the police before he and Diana exit to her chauffeur-driven car. They drive out into the country, and Diana pulls a gun on the Falcon. He calls her Velma, having recognized her from the photograph. He sums up that Velma was in the fake psychic business with Marriott, Burnett, and Amthor. They would send wealthy clients from the club to the swamis and then blackmail them with the information they obtained.

The Falcon also finds that the attempt on his life at the cemetery was a plot by Diana and Burnett to get rid of Marriott because they thought he might crack under the pressure. Burnett and Diana were lovers, and Jessie Florian was keeping the secret that Moose was taking the rap and that Velma was in a new identity.

The driver of the car is shown to be Moose and has heard all of Diana’s betrayals.

The police are on the road somewhere behind the Falcon. Diana tells the chauffeur to take the Falcon for a one-way walk. Moose steps out of the driver’s seat and goes after Velma, and she shoots him. He dies asking why she did it. Just as she is about to finish off the Falcon, Ann arrives in her jalopy. The Falcon disarms Diana.

O’Hara locks up Diana and tells the Falcon that he and Goldy are off the hook. The desk sergeant tells the Falcon that his fiancée has landed at the airport. Ann arrives, and she has gotten the story published. The Falcon gives Ann the brush off, just as a group of lovely showgirls is brought in on a murder investigation.

The lead girl begs the Falcon for help. He goes to help. Man-whore. 

Conclusion – The Falcon Takes Over (1942)

The novel “Farewell, My Lovely” by Raymond Chandler has been made by major studios three times over the years. The first is The Falcon Takes Over (1942) with George Sanders. The second film, done only two years later, was Murder, My Sweet (1944) starring Dick Powell. The third film, titled Farewell, My Lovely (1975) and starring Robert Mitchum, was released 31 years later.

Today’s film will have to come in third of the three. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth watching. If you enjoy Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, you will probably like the Falcon series.

While watching this film, I was most impressed by how the filmmakers used camera angles and forced perspective to make Ward Bond’s Moose seem so large. Bond is listed as being 6’2″ tall but not supersized. They shot down from his perspective, up from other people’s perspective, and framed him very close to the camera.

World-Famous Short Summary – Take a gun with ya!

Beware the moors.

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