A DATE WITH THE FALCON
US, 1942, 65 minutes, Black and white.
George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, James Gleason, Allen Jenkins, Mona Maris.
Directed by Irving Reis.
A Date with the Falcon is one of four films with George Sanders starring as Gay Lawrence, the detective who lives the Playboy life, is always under suspicion by the police, always has his eye on attractive women, and, with seeming ease, solves all the cases that the police cannot.
The issue behind this story is that of the making of artificial diamonds cheaply, possible for use in industrial situations, especially for weapons. However, there are always criminal elements eager to get their hands on such diamonds and sell them.
Gay Lawrence is about to go off on a trip with his fiancee, Helen, Wendy Barrie. She spends most of the film upset, jealous, angry, because of the continued disappearances of her fiance and his seemingly poor excuses, especially where women are concerned. Also on hand is Lawrence’s assistant, Goldy, played by Allen Jenkins, always available to take on odd jobs. Then there is the police Inspector, Mike O’Hara?, James Gleason, friend of the Falcon, yet, it seems, unwarrantedly suspicious of him for robberies and murder, continually exasperated by his assistants, having finally to admit that the Falcon was able to solve the case.
The case involves the abducting of the manufacturer of the diamonds, a faked telegram urging him to meet his twin brother and the murder of the brother which is assumed to be the murder of the manufacturer. In the meantime, there is a femme fatale who wants the Falcon onside (Mona Maris) and various criminal colleagues, the Falcon ultimately making her suspicious of her boss and her killing him. There are also different abductions of the Falcon himself, one which is amusing as, stuck in the back of the criminal’s car with the gun at his side, he pokes faces at the passing police, carries on as if he is drunk, and makes them stop the car so that he makes his getaway.
In the other chase, he sets up Helen, the criminals pursue her, Goldy follows them, stops the criminals in the street but is accused of being drunk, and with the Falcon captured, his twisting the femme fatale’s motives, but ultimately setting the police on the criminals who are all arrested. Case closed, off with his fiancee – to the next film.
