The Falcon Takes Over

Audience Reviews

View All (12) audience reviews

Audience Member George Sanders is the Falcon, an upper crust society-type who is also a private investigator. He seems to also have a way with the ladies (a la James Bond). However, in this film, a rendering of Raymond Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely, the Falcon is really Philip Marlowe, so there's a bit of dissonance: Marlowe was never so suave. Indeed, Dick Powell's Marlowe in the superior Murder, My Sweet (1944) is far more lived in and grungy. He also gets beat up a fair bit which doesn't happen to the Falcon; instead Sanders has a sidekick played by Allen Jenkins who takes the various beatings from Moose Malloy and also provides comic relief by getting into trouble. This moves the film into the more formulaic territory of the mystery serials (e.g., Charlie Chan, Dick Tracy, Mr. Moto, Sherlock Holmes, etc.) which were generally lighter fare. But somehow the Chandler text elevates the picture to something more than the usual "guess the murderer before he/she is identified by the sleuth" mystery - it is a little more confusing, less straightforward, more interesting. George Sanders' star power is more than evident but he's still an odd droll character - who thought he should be the hero? That said, I fully approve of him and the film was fine. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member George Sanders is back as The Falcon, but storewide this film is actually an adaptation of Raymond Chandler's oft filmed "Farewell, My Lovely." The Falcon helps a punch drunk ex-con find his old girlfriend Velma. Certainly not as good as "Murder, My Sweet" but still a pretty good retelling of the Chandler mystery and a solid vehicle for Sanders as The Falcon. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member a B movie 'murder my sweet' knock-off Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Just as good a private detective story as the first two in this series, with Allen Jenkens adding plenty of colour to the film as usual. There's less emphasis on 'The Falcon's' love-life in this one which is the only sub-plot theme that is continuous through all the films. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member i enjoy all the falcon films, a time of champayne cocktails, cigarette cases and smudges of red lipstick on hankerchiefs, late night movies. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Mike M The innards of the Chandler novel... reordered to showcase Sanders' way with a withering quip - not quite as refined here as in the actor's later vehicles, but still entertaining enough. Script and direction are quite perfunctory - tediously written interrogation sequences fall a long way short of providing the interpersonal chemistry of the great studio stars, and we're never given enough to convince us the journalist love interest might also be a crackshot with a pistol - but there are regular flashes of the genre's pleasures, as though it were intended as a sampler of noir themes and language for audiences put off by the flourishes of a Lang or Nick Ray. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/23/11 Full Review Read all reviews

The Falcon Takes Over

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Most Popular at Home Now