The Falcon's Brother

This is a B-movie detective film from back in the day when such series were common. While The Falcon series isn't as interesting or fun as Charlie Chan or Sherlock Holmes, it is one of the better examples of the genre. Interestingly enough, growing up I often couldn't remember if I'd just seen a Falcon film or a Saint film, as both series were produced (for the most part) by RKO and many featured George Sanders playing the same character in almost every way aside from their name! The formula and action was identical--both detectives were sophisticated rich guys who mostly dabbled in investigating crimes out of a desire to avoid boredom or meet women! From a historical standpoint, this is THE must-see film of either series, as it stars George Sanders AND his nearly identical-looking and talking real-life brother, Tom Conway--who when on to play The Falcon in nine films! It seems that George was tired of this series work and wanted out of the contract, so they decided to use his equally talented older brother--who made a smooth transition to the role. In fact, it's pretty cool to see BOTH Falcons in the same film and I really appreciated the unusual and unexpected ending (which I WON'T divulge so I'll keep it suspenseful).

Apart from Conway and Sanders, the film is also better than the average Falcon film, as the plot is very good and the supporting cast all do an excellent job of combining mystery with a light sense of humor. This isn't an intellectual or deep film, but represents a good and watchable B-movie that has held up well through the years.