Search for Danger (1949) Online

Actor/magician John Calvert made three low-budget features as The Falcon in 1948-49 for the small "Film Classics" company. Tom Conway made a strong impression in many Falcon films in the early and mid-40s, and Conway had a smooth, urbane, sarcastic edge that for many made him the definitive Falcon. Calvert wisely does not choose to ape Conway's approach, instead taking a more laid-back interpretation of the role. His approach works well. The film was directed (as was the previous film, APPOINTMENT WITH MURDER)by Jack Bernhard, well-regarded for the film noir classics DECOY and VIOLENCE, both made for Monogram in 1947. This film is not as over-the-top as those two, but it is a solid little murder mystery with a fine supporting cast (Albert Dekker and Ben Welden as the owners of a gambling club, Douglas Fowley as a police inspector). The intrigue gets deeper and deeper as the film proceeds and I must say that the climax was a total surprise to me. It is fun to see all the other characters get angry and flustered while The Falcon maintains his cool and gradually breaks them down, seemingly effortlessly. There is also some nice location photography of the streets of 1949 L.A., which helps to create a nice L.A. flavor for a film that is otherwise largely shot on cheap, small sets. Anyone who loves a good murder mystery and appreciates series films such as Charlie Chan, Boston Blackie, etc., should enjoy this. It's not as slick as the RKO Falcons, but the low budget creates a nice cheap ambience which in hindsight turns out to be a virtue for the film. All three Calvert Falcon films are worth watching if you can find them.

This is the 16th and last of the Falcon films based upon the detective character 'the Falcon' created by novelist Michael Arlen (1895-1956, best known for his best-seller of 1924, THE GREEN HAT) in his 1940 short story entitled 'Gay Falcon'. It is the third and last of the extremely low-budget Falcon films starring John Calvert in the title role, which brought the cinematic excursions of the Falcon to a close. In this last effort, the Calvert Falcon films finally got into their stride, just before expiring forever. Somebody told Calvert to stop grinning (I have previously likened this grimacing of his to a dog trying to imitate a human smile), and he plays the role completely straight, which works much better. The whole film is played straight, in fact. The script is better this time, and although there is some excellent hard-boiled dialogue, there are no wisecracks, jokes, or any attempt at humour. The plot is extraordinarily complex and ingenious, and for those who enjoy watching old B film mysteries, this one has some unusual twists and is well worth watching. As the other reviewer has also pointed out, there are numerous good location shots of 1949 Los Angeles. Of course, the three Calvert Falcon films were a far cry from the witty sophistication of the originals of 1941 and 1942 starring George Sanders, a tradition carried on with gusto by his real-life brother Tom Conway for several years. Those Falcon films helped a war-weary populace find some welcome entertainment, diversion, and laughs during the War years. By 1947, the 'franchise', if such there were, was evidently sold to new low-budget producers, and only the name and idea of 'the Falcon' continued, since even his real character name was changed. I suspect this sale of rights must have happened, because the name of Michael Arlen continued to appear in the initial credits of these last three films on prominent display, as contracts normally require. There is a floozy dame in this called Wilma, in the finest Raymond Chandler tradition (played by Myrna Dell). The story is by Jerome ('Jerry') Epstein, who later became a producer and director and scripted and directed Elmer Rice's THE ADDING MACHINE in 1969. I met Jerry in 1966 on the set of A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG (1967), the last film directed by Charlie Chaplin, some of which I watched being made. Jerry produced that film, and he was a very charming and amiable guy. He died in 1991, having left the film business in 1972. Jerry had been an uncredited Associate Producer of Chaplin's A KING IN NEW YORK in 1957, which is presumably when they met. Charlie trusted him, and they seemed to work amicably together. I used to know more about their friendship and association, but I have forgotten it. Jerry was a very easy person to chat to, being friendly and gregarious by nature. I believe that Jerry and Charlie shared leftish political views, which made them closer. It was thus interesting for me to see what a clever mystery plot Jerry was capable of coming up with in 1949. Jerry put Charlie's son Sydney Chaplin into THE ADDING MACHINE. Sydney had also been in A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG, which was the only time I ever met Sydney, 1926-2009, who was a frank, open, and rather delightful charmer to talk to. He was an older half-brother of the better known Chaplin children Geraldine (who was also in A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG) and Victoria, the brilliant acrobat and circus performer. Having met all of those Chaplins, I marvel at the DNA involved! The family genius shows no signs of petering out, as Victoria's children are also so brilliantly talented. But back to this film. The script was by Don Martin, who had scripted the other two Calvert Falcon films. I don't know why his script for this one was so much better than the others, but perhaps he made the extra effort because he was made Producer of this one, which was his only producing job in his career of writing thriller and Western novels and scripts for films and TV. In order to be helpful for Falcon hunters, and having now reviewed them all, I am here adding a chronological list of the 16 Falcon films, with their dates of release and the names of the starring actors.

FALCON FILMS: In chronological order of production and release:

1. The Gay Falcon (1941) starring George Sanders 2. A Date with the Falcon (1942) starring George Sanders 3. The Falcon Takes Over (1942) starring George Sanders 4. The Falcon's Brother (1942) starring George Sanders and Tom Conway 5. The Falcon Strikes Back (1943) starring Tom Conway 6. The Falcon in Danger (1943) starring Tom Conway 7. The Falcon and the Co-Eds (1943) starring Tom Conway 8. The Falcon Out West (1944) starring Tom Conway 9. The Falcon in Mexico (1944) starring Tom Conway 10. The Falcon in Hollywood (1944) starring Tom Conway 11. The Falcon in San Francisco (1945) starring Tom Conway 12. The Falcon's Alibi (1946) starring Tom Conway 13. The Falcon's Adventure (1946) starring Tom Conway 14. Devil's Cargo (1948) starring John Calvert 15. Appointment with Murder (1948) starring John Calvert 16. Search for Danger (1949) starring John Calvert

It's been an interesting road for the Falcon, going from the art deco look at RKO to back to the basics in the look of this extremely low budget programmer from Screen Guild. John Calvert who is assumed the role here is quite different from his predecessors, real life brothers George Sanders and Tom Conway. In fact, had Calvert appeared in the original series, I guarantee he would have been cast as a villain rather than the leading hero.

The murder that Calvert is attempting to solve here involves the owner of a posh gambling house and the two partners (Albert Dekker and Ben Weldon) who are the main suspects. In his journey to find out who tied up gagged and shot in cold blood the victim, Calvert encounters the razzor hard-boiled Myrna Dell who seems to know more than she's talking. The script here is rougher and less polished than the more lavishly filmed predecessors at RKO but that is also intriguing in the fact that it reveals more in character then the other films did prior to the three filmed at screen Guild.

In a way, the low budget is beneficial to the later Falcon series because it has the look of an early TV series rather than a big screen feature. That makes it more intimate and when everything is brought together and solved, it utilizes standard formats for future mystery TV series in its use of flashbacks as a way of revealing the culprit. When it all comes together, Calvert Is craftier and more obvious than the subtle Sanders and Conway would be. Of the Falcon films that I've seen from RKO, none of them had an ending that was as intense as this one, and that ends up being the highlight of the final film of the entire series.