Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

bkoganbing For The Falcon Takes Over the folks at RKO chose an impeccable source in the person of Raymond Chandler for this film. It's based on the famous Chandler novel Farewell My Lovely which both Dick Powell and Robert Mitchum played Philip Marlowe in two different versions.But in this first adaption the private eye is our protagonist the urbane and witty Falcon played by George Sanders. RKO didn't even bother to change the names of the rest of the characters, just grafted the Falcon series regulars in the story.Standing out in the cast is Ward Bond playing the hulking Moose Malloy fresh out of stir and looking for his Velma. Helen Gilbert is the selfsame Velma for whom the Moose did a prison stretch for and who thanks him for that solid favor properly. Lynn Bari plays a would be reporter who gets the scoop of her life when the Falcon breaks the case. And Anne Revere really stands out as the dipsomaniacal Jessie Florian.Having seen the two classic later versions first didn't spoil this one for me. It's a solid entry in the Falcon film series though it doesn't have the style and ambiance of the Powell and Mitchum versions.How could it?

csteidler Ward Bond is Moose Malloy, deranged escaped convict searching for a one time girlfriend named Velma. Drawing considerable noisy attention to himself, the Moose tracks down a shady night club manager who seems to know something—but is quickly murdered. That's just the beginning of a complicated plot that includes seedy characters, dimly lit locales, and more questions than answers.George Sanders is excellent as Gay Lawrence—also known, of course, as the Falcon. Sanders handles the picture's serious mystery elements with gravity and style. He also manages to fit into the other half of the plot, which is essentially comic relief provided by the Falcon's right hand man Goldie Locke (Allen Jenkins) and the usual bickering police duo (James Gleason and Edward Gargan as exasperated inspector and dumb assistant detective).Lynn Bari is fine as the female in the case – unexceptional but solid as the usual plucky girl that the Falcon teams up with. She and Sanders exchange some decent banter: "You believe me, don't you?" she asks at one point. "I like you," he answers, "which is much more important."Easy viewing for fans of series mysteries, with Sanders' strong performance standing out.

judy t Comparing this film to Chandler's novel or to Murder My Sweet - and I'm a huge fan of both - is pointless. This 'Falcon' is a terrific 40s programmer, and I enjoyed seeing how plot elements and characters from the novel were whipped up into a frothy and fun comedy. I've read all the bios on Chandler and knowing he loathed Hollywood, he probably loathed what RKO did to his magnum opus, but Falcon fans, and me, liked it. This is my first Falcon film, watched only because Lynn Bari played the female lead. My interest in seeing Bari's films comes from reading her superbly wonderful biography, 'Foxy Lady', and Bari is terrific here as the investigative reporter who could have solved this mystery all by herself. I've always liked George Sanders, and he doesn't disappoint. The Velma actress had the right vampish allure, but her hairstyle is jarring and I got distracted wondering why RKO didn't borrow Metro's Guilaroff to fix her wig. I laughed a lot at the comedians - Jenkins, Gleason and his sidekick, the Falcon's valet. All in all, I had a very enjoyable Saturday night at the movies.

Michael_Elliott Falcon Takes Over, The (1942) ** 1/2 (out of 4) An ex-wrestler breaks out of prison, goes looking for his girlfriend and soon bodies start to pile up so The Falcon (George Sanders) gets involved in the case along with a reporter (Lynn Bari). This third film in the series adapted Raymond Chandler's 'Farewell, My Lovely' making it the first to do so and it's also an early example of film noir before the term really caught on. This is certainly the best of the first three films but after a very good start things slide downhill as the film loses target of the central story and doesn't pick up again until the very good ending. Sanders delivers his best performance out of the three films and Allen Jenkins is here in fine form.