''The Falcon in Danger'' is a 1943 American

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

directed by William Clemens and starring

Tom Conway Tom Conway (born Thomas Charles Sanders, 15 September 1904 – 22 April 1967) was a British film, television, and radio actor remembered for playing private detectives (including The Falcon, Sherlock Holmes, Bulldog Drummond, and The Saint) ...

Jean Brooks Jean Brooks (born Ruby Matilda Kelly; December 23, 1915November 25, 1963) was an American film actress and singer who appeared in over thirty films. Though she never achieved major stardom in Hollywood, she had several prominent roles in the ea ...

Amelita Ward Amelita Ward (July 17, 1923 – April 26, 1987) was an American film actress. She played supporting roles in over 20 films between 1943 and 1949, generally in B Pictures such as ''Gangway for Tomorrow'' and '' The Falcon in Danger'' (1943). She w ...

and

Elaine Shepard Elaine Elizabeth Shepard (April 2, 1913 – September 6, 1998) was a Broadway and film actress in the 1930s and 1940s. She was also the author of ''The Doom Pussy'', a semi-fictional account of aviation in the Vietnam War. Film and stage Shepar ...

.Jewell and Harbin 1982, p. 185. The film was the sixth of thirteen The Falcon detective films produced by RKO, all starring Conway.

Plot

At a New York airport, a passenger aircraft coming in from

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

crash-lands An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...

at a crowded airport, however nobody is on board the plane. The aircraft had been hijacked at its previous stop with all but the pilot and two leading

industrialists A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

left behind. In addition to the three men, $100,000 worth of

securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

is also missing. Although he promised his "fiancée" from Texas, Bonnie Caldwell (

), that he will give up solving crime, Tom Lawrence (

), aka The Falcon, can't resist the lure of a fresh mystery. When she receives a ransom note, Nancy Palmer (

) asks for his help in locating her father (

Clarence Kolb Clarence William Kolb (July 31, 1874 – November 25, 1964) was an American vaudeville performer and actor known for his comedy routines that featured a Dutch dialect. Biography Kolb started out as one half of a vaudeville comedy team, Kol ...

), one of the missing industrialists. One of the Falcon's prime suspects is Nancy's jealous cousin Iris (

). Police Inspector Timothy Donovan (Cliff Clark) and his assistant, Bates (

Edward Gargan Edward Gargan (July 17, 1902 – February 19, 1964) was an American film and television actor. Career He was born of Irish parents in Brooklyn, New York. He was the elder brother of actor William Gargan. As soon as he had left college, he wen ...

), are called to investigate the mystery. Later, all the passengers, except for Nancy's father, Stanley Harris Palmer, and his assistant, Wally Fairchild (

Robert Emmett Keane Robert Emmett Keane (March 4, 1883 – July 2, 1981) was an American actor of both the stage and screen. Biography Keane began on stage in the 1910s, his first Broadway appearance being in the production of '' The Passing Show of 1914''. He co ...

), are found stranded at a rest stop. Nancy is told to leave $25,000 at a drinking fountain on Park Road, while Iris tells Tom that she suspects Nancy's fiancé, Ken Gibson ( Richard Davies), told the kidnappers that Fairchild was carrying $100,000 in securities. Tom accompanies Iris and Nancy to the Palmer's house and later sees Nancy leave a box by the drinking fountain. When two men collect the box, Tom follows their car on horseback and finds it belongs to an antique store owned by George Morley ( Richard Martin). Donovan announces that Palmer has returned home alive; he and Fairchild stayed on the aircraft but strangers robbed Palmer at gunpoint, ordered him to parachute from the aircraft while the pilot set the controls on

autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...

. More clues to the mystery appear, Tom finds a piece of junk that appears to be part of the aircraft and the missing securities which he turns over to Donovan. Donovan suspects Fairchild but state troopers report the missing pilot and Fairchild have been found dead in a field. Morley becomes the next likely culprit but disappears. As he unravels the mystery, Tom reconstructs the second part of the flight. With other passengers gone, Palmer killed Fairchild who had proof of Palmer's cheating the government, then after take off, had also killed the pilot and dumped the bodies. Palmer's dog attacks Morley in the antique store. Just then, Donovan arrives in time to see Tom shoot and kill Palmer in self-defense. Later at the airport, Bonnie tells Tom she is going home to Texas by herself. Dejected, Tom declares that he is forsaking all women, until a pretty co-ed approaches him, asking for his help.

Cast

as Tom Lawrence / The Falcon *

as Iris Fairchild *

as Nancy Palmer *

as Bonnie Caldwell * Cliff Clark as Insp. Timothy Donovan *

as Det. Bates *

as Stanley Harris Palmer *

Felix Basch Felix Basch (1885–1944) was an American-Austrian actor, screenwriter and film director. He first acted in Vienna, and he was a producer and director for the German film production company UFA GmbH, U. F. A. Following the Nazi takeover of powe ...

as Morley * Richard Davies as Kenneth Gibson * Richard Martin as George Morley * Erford Gage as Evan Morley * Eddie Dunn as Det. Grimes *

Ian Wolfe Ian Marcus Wolfe (November 4, 1896 – January 23, 1992) was an American character actor with around 400 film and television credits. Until 1934, he worked in the theatre. That year, he appeared in his first film role and later television, as a ...

as Thomas * Art Dupuis as Air raid warden * George De Normand as Policeman * Bob Thom as Excited man *

Harry Semels Harry Semels (November 20, 1887 – March 2, 1946) was an American film actor. He appeared in over 315 film between 1917 and 1946. Career Semels appeared in his first film in 1917. He began to achieve fame after arriving at Columbia Pictu ...

as Excited man * Sid Troy as Excited man * Elmer Jerome as Eric *

Rosemary LaPlanche Rosemary E. LaPlanche (October 11, 1923 – May 6, 1979) was an American beauty queen and actress. She won Miss California three years in a row (1939-1941), and won Miss America in 1941. Early life LaPlanche moved to southern California fr ...

as Nurse (credited as Rosemary La Planche) *

as Wally Fairchild (credited as Robert E. Keane) *

Lew Kelly Lew Kelly (August 24, 1879 – June 10, 1944) was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1928 and 1944. He was born Louis Kelly in St. Louis, Missouri, and died in Los Angeles, California. Selected ...

as Guard *

Lynton Brent Lynton Wright Brent (August 2, 1897 – July 2, 1981) was an American film actor and a writer. He appeared in over 240 films between 1930 and 1950. Brent is best known for his prolific work with Columbia Pictures in the Three Stooges shor ...

as Guard *

Eddie Borden Edgar Mason Borden (May 1, 1888 – June 30, 1955) was an American film actor who started his career in vaudeville as an acrobat and then successfully turned to comedy. Throughout the 1920s, he toured in the Keith, Orpheum and Pantages vaudev ...

as Welder *

Hooper Atchley Lemuel Hooper Atchley (April 30, 1887 – November 17, 1943) was an American film actor. Atchley was the son of Mr. and Mrs. P. S. Atchley. He was a 1908 graduate of the Knoxville, Tennessee, school system. Atchley's first professional ac ...

as Dr. Oliver * Bruce Edwards as Mechanic * Robert Andersen as Airport attendant *

Joan Barclay Joan Barclay (born Mary Elizabeth Greear; August 31, 1914 – November 22, 2002) was an American film actress of the 1930s and 1940s, starring mostly in B-movies and cliffhangers, with her career starting during the silent film era. Biography ...

as Hysterical girl * Selmer Jackson as Airline official *

Charles Trowbridge Charles Silas Richard Trowbridge (January 10, 1882 – October 30, 1967) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1915 and 1958. Biography Trowbridge was born in Veracruz, Mexico, where his father served in the ...

as Palmer's doctor

Production

Principal photography on ''The Falcon in Danger'' took place from April 13 to early-May 1943. According to a '' Hollywood Reporter'' news item, the growing popularity of the Falcon series led to rushing the film into production. The previous film in the series, '' The Falcon Strikes Back'' was filmed from January 19 to early-February 1943. To conserve costs, the main entrance and several buildings on the studio lot were camouflaged to look like an airport. The aircraft depicted were a miniature

Lockheed Model 10 Electra The Lockheed Model 10 Electra is an American twin-engined, all-metal monoplane airliner developed by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in the 1930s to compete with the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2. The type gained considerable fame as one was f ...

and stock footage of a Douglas DC-3 in flight, and the Capelis XC-12, a failed 1933 twin-engine transport aircraft that found new life at RKO as a non-flying movie prop.Orriss 1984, pp. 59–61.

Reception

Film historians Richard Jewell and Vernon Harbin described ''The Falcon in Danger'' as an attempt to "upgrade the romantic appeal of the Falcon series". Further, "Screenwriters Fed Niblo Jr. and Craig Rice did a fairly smooth job of working the beauties into their story, an otherwise standard whodunit involving a double murder and the theft of $100,000 in securities.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Drew, Bernard A. ''Motion Picture Series and Sequels: A Reference Guide''. London: Routledge, 2013. . * Jewell, Richard and Vernon Harbin. ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. . * Orriss, Bruce. ''When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War II''. Hawthorne, California: Aero Associates Inc., 1984. .

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Falcon In Danger, The 1943 films American mystery films American black-and-white films 1943 mystery films Films scored by Roy Webb Films directed by William Clemens RKO Pictures films The Falcon (film character) films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films