Tonight's Movie: The Falcon in Hollywood (1944)
THE FALCON IN HOLLYWOOD is an especially entertaining entry in the long-running series, notable for a bevy of lovely leading ladies, a fun cameo, and a lengthy tour of the RKO Studios lot.
Tom Lawrence, aka the Falcon, is relaxing at the racetrack when he meets up with a gorgeous but nutty numerologist (Rita Corday) and a pretty young movie actress (Barbara Hale), not to mention the actress's shady former employer (Sheldon Leonard).
The Falcon attempts to help the ladies when there's a mix-up with their purses, and that leads him to a fast-driving lady cabbie (Veda Ann Borg) and then a movie studio murder, with one of the suspects being a costume designer (Jean Brooks). A pair of L.A. cops (Emory Parnell and Frank Jenks) are constantly on the Falcon's tail, always just a bit slow to catch up with the latest developments.



One of the murders in the film takes place inside the empty Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. There's not really much story reason for the scene to take place there, but the location shoot adds some visual interest.

THE FALCON IN HOLLYWOOD was directed by Gordon Douglas. It was the only film he directed in the series. Photography was by Nicholas Musuraca; it was also his only work in the series. The movie runs 67 minutes.
THE FALCON IN HOLLYWOOD was just released on DVD in the Warner Archive's remastered The Falcon Mystery Movie Collection, Vol. 2. It's also available on Region 2 DVD in Europe.
Reviews of the earlier films in the series: THE GAY FALCON (1941), A DATE WITH THE FALCON (1942), THE FALCON TAKES OVER (1942), THE FALCON'S BROTHER (1942), THE FALCON STRIKES BACK (1943), THE FALCON IN DANGER (1943), THE FALCON AND THE CO-EDS (1943), THE FALCON OUT WEST (1944), and THE FALCON IN MEXICO (1944).
6 Comments:
Laura, after reading your review, I've got this film recently and look forward to seeing it. I like the idea of seeing some of the RKO lot.
Hurray! I thought you might of missed the backseat driver spot. I thought it was intentional - just a funny trick played on the audience, and maybe to see if they were paying attention. IMDB missed it, too. Kudos
Vienna, I hope you've enjoyed it!! Fun film.
Norman, it would be interesting to know the story behind that blooper, or if it was just a little joke!
Best wishes,
Laura
Around 22:10 into the movie, what looks to be a portrait of Orson Welles as a balding Charles Foster Kane is visible behind the Falcon and the female cab driver as they are examining the seated body in the prop area. Agree/disagree?
I don't have the movies easily at hand but the same studio released both so it seems possible. Will try to remember to look for that in the future! Thank you for sharing that.
Best wishes,
Laura
You’re welcome. It subtly caught my attention when I shifted my attention away from the focal point of the shot.
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