The Night of the Falcon

Episode aired Nov 10, 1967
TV-PG
1h

IMDb RATING

7.8/10

198

YOUR RATING

Robert Duvall in The Wild Wild West (1965)

Action Adventure Western

After witnessing the total destruction of a town called Tonka Flats, agents West and Gordon receive a further threat to destroy the city of Denver. Demanding a ransom, Dr. Horace Humphries, ... Read allAfter witnessing the total destruction of a town called Tonka Flats, agents West and Gordon receive a further threat to destroy the city of Denver. Demanding a ransom, Dr. Horace Humphries, alias "The Falcon", plans to fire a single shell from a falcon-shaped cannon toward this w... Read allAfter witnessing the total destruction of a town called Tonka Flats, agents West and Gordon receive a further threat to destroy the city of Denver. Demanding a ransom, Dr. Horace Humphries, alias "The Falcon", plans to fire a single shell from a falcon-shaped cannon toward this western city. West and Gordon go to an underground hideout in search of the destructive can... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.8/10

198

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos14

+ 8

User reviews5

7.8198

Featured reviews

a_l_i_e_n

A Direct Hit

The agents must locate a super cannon capable of destroying an entire city.

A motley crew of international criminals bid on a megalomaniac's doomsday weapon. In order to crash the auction, Arte passes himself off as adeceased South American crime lord while West attempts to enter the Falcon's nest through a booby-trapped entrance.

As the smiling bad guy Felice Munez, Ross Martin displays both arrogant machismo as well as "extra-ordinary" charm. His fellow bidders include a monocle-wearing German munitions merchant, an Eastern opium pusher and a British gentleman thug with a switch blade in his walking stick. Playing the evil Falcon is none other than a pre-fame Robert Duvall. And though it doesn't have any lines, playing just as pivotal a role in this episode is the super cannon everyone wants to get their hands on. Few moments in the history of "Wild, Wild West" can match the impact of the moment in which the enormous weapon (beautifully designed in the shape of a giant falcon) makes it grand entrance trundling out from behind massive doors as assembled characters, quite appropriately gaze in awe of it's grandeur. Of all the props ever built for "Wild, Wild West", the falcon cannon is surely the most impressive.

While much of this big-scale episode works very well, there is the odd misstep here and there as when West knocks out a guard who appears for a moment to be unsure if he was supposed to go down while in another scene an aging bad guy shakes off two attacking henchmen with unlikely ease. Also, the sight of the Falcon's headquarters in flames looks terribly unconvincing by today's standards. However, such flaws do little to diminish the impact of this superior entry, and coming in a season where stories seemed to concentrate on western themes at the expense of the "wild" component, "The Night Of The Falcon" delivers both with pinpoint accuracy.

7aramis-112-804880

Who is the Falcon and What Does He Want?

Say you're a magalomaniac with a huge cannon you wish to peddle to the highest bidder. How much do you have to pay your burly henchmen to dress up in falcon helmets and breastplates? Who wants to do that work, anyway? Do you advertise in the paper openings from the men killed by stray Secret Service agents?

That's the question to be asked about the Falcon, who could be a Batman villain. The great cannon looks like a falcon and the Falcon himself dresses up on the side.

In any case, West and Artie have to locate the cannon, which can destroy an entire town. And neutralize its bidders, who come from as far afield as Manchester and Constantinople.

Robert Duvall, later a star, turns in a curiously poor performance as a local doctor.

This time the tag at the end is very funny.

Trivia
The falcon-shaped cannon seen in this episode was the largest prop built for the series. Although it appears to be a massive cast iron construction, in reality it was made mostly of styrofoam.

Goofs
Doctor Humphries identifies Silvio Balya as one who "...masterfully controls and promotes the use of all opium and cocaine...". In the 1870s, neither substance was illegal in the US and most other countries. Cocaine was widely used in patent medicines and was easily available without prescription. US sale and distribution was banned in 1914, but it did not become a controlled substance until 1970. Opium was also legal, though local restrictions took effect in California as early as 1875; import was not banned nationwide until 1909. Like cocaine, it did not become a controlled substance until 1970. Famously, Coca-Cola contained trace amounts of coca from 1886 to 1906, and cocaine was the drug of choice for the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes.

It is interesting to note, however, that opium prohibition had been in effect in China, where it was produced, since 1729. Its abuse was reportedly brought to the US via Chinese immigrants along with widespread disapproval (mainly due to anti-Chinese sentiment) outside medicinal use (San Francisco banned opium dens in 1875, the approximate time period of the show) despite the lack of federal laws limiting use until many years later.