Watching RKO's The Falcon

As a series of posts, co-director James Harrison takes us on a trek viewing RKO’s The Falcon series (1941 – 1949). Please Note: these notes are works in progress as James watches the series throughout December 2026.

It’s been a usual staple for me for many years that, when Christmas begins to appear on the horizon, I lineup a selection of films to view throughout December. This list of films could be connected either by filmmakers or stars; or the list could be made up of a random theme or subject or, to make it much easier, a franchise itself.

Past lists have included the films of Mae West, W.C. Fields, Joan Crawford, Bette Davies, William Powell, The Marx Brothers, John Ford, Howard Hughes, Samuel Fuller, André De Toth, William Wyler, Ernest Lubitsch or even the early films of James Cagney or Humphrey Bogart as well as franchises such as The Thin Man series and even Tarzan from what I can remember over the years. There has been the odd modern film list as well including Bruce Lee, Police Academy, Die Hard as well as the Lethal Weapon franchise.

This year, I’m taking on RKO Radio Pictures’ Falcon crime series (16 films in totally). First starring George Sanders (1941-1942) as Gay Lawrence and then replaced by Sanders’ own brother, Tom Conway (1943-1946), who then handed over the baton for three final films to John Calvert (1948-1949).

The Falcon series was very much, like its predecessor, The Saint film series, a backbone for RKO’s production line, a regular project that would keep stalwart RKO staff busy for nine years until the almighty Howard Hughes purchased the studio and very much pressed the reset button when it came to productions under the RKO banner.

The following is very much my own thoughts about each film and how the franchise developed/changed over the course of eight years. Noting any minor changes when it comes to either the creative or editorial side of things, on and off camera. Think of it as an observational mush of notes, nothing overly critical; I shall leave that to others.

The Gay Falcon (1941)

Director: Irving Reis / Starring: George Sanders, Wendy Barrie, Allen Jenkins, Nina Vale

Running Time: 67mins