Let's be realistic.

Brilliant and touching

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

A little different than earlier films in the series, this one is the first film since A Date with the Falcon without Edward Gargan as Detective Bates and first one without Cliff Clark as the Police Inspector since The Falcon's Brother, when Clark took over the role from noted character actor James Gleason. Also, a single character Manuel (Nester Paiva), who "adopts" the Falcon (Tom Conway) when he arrives in Mexico, provides much of the comic relief, service and other roles normally played by a sidekick, houseboy etc..The film begins with the Falcon kissing his girlfriend goodnight, promising her he'll not get involved in another crime solving case. After avoiding walking under a ladder and a black cat crossing his path, he sees a beautiful woman (Dolores, played by Cecilia Cellejo) attempting to break into an art gallery. He cannot help himself. She tells him she is trying to retrieve a painting of hers inside and he helps her only to find, once inside, that the painting is a portrait of her, and that the art dealer has been murdered. About this time, some "rent a cops" show up, the girl disappears, and the Falcon is suspected of the murder.He learns that the painting was done by deceased artist Humphrey Wade, making it valuable, and that it was recently purchased by a collector of Wade's paintings, "Diamond" Hughes (Emory Parnell). Of course, the Falcon escapes with the painting before the police arrive and heads to Hughes' house. Hughes doesn't know the identity of the girl in the painting, didn't even know of this painting's existence until recently, but suggests that perhaps the artist's daughter (who lives nearby) knows more.When the Falcon meets Wade's daughter (Martha Vickers), she reveals that she believes her father may still be alive. They agree to go together to Mexico, where her father did his painting, but she "ditches" him shortly after they arrive. A taxi driver, Manuel, and his son help the Falcon follow the daughter to the hotel that was the artist's residence. Manuel becomes as ever present as the Falcon, appearing in most scenes and/or at critical times throughout the movie, delivering broken English lines reminiscent of Yogi Berra.The proprietor of the hotel (Mary Currier), who acts suspiciously, and the song & dance couple (Mona Maris and Joseph Vitale) working there, are all found to have a connection with the former artist. The woman in the musical team is the stepmother of Wade's daughter, who also turns up at the hotel. Dolores, the woman in the painting (which is stolen from the Falcon's room, and later found in proprietor's room), makes a brief appearance before she disappears again, we meet her father (Pedro de Cordoba), and she is found dead by fisherman. Once "Diamond" Hughes arrives, everyone with any kind of connection to Humphrey Wade and/or a motive for wanting him (to stay?) dead is checked in to the hotel. We also learn more about Manuel.There is song and dance entertainment throughout this film. There are also some beautiful lake scenes including butterfly fishing boats, as well as a "Carnival" celebration on the island across the lake. Of course, the Falcon solves the mystery and catches the murderer (by putting himself at risk). However, this film does not include a (fairly typical) lead in to the next film in the series.

So is artist Wade alive or not. His daughter seems to think so even though he's supposedly ensconced in a crypt in Mexico. Fear not, however, the Falcon (Conway) is on the case. Actually the ingredients of a good mystery are present but the script mixes them up in a sloppy fashion. Much of the problem, as other reviewers note, is the big travelogue part, which only gets out of Hollywood proper thanks to some artistic Orson Welles stock footage. Otherwise it's process shots and RKO's backlot, along with that all-purpose ethnic Nestor Paiva (Manuel) furnishing a dollop of comic relief. Then too, the musical interludes tend to interrupt at inconvenient times. (Still, I really like the enchanting two little girl singers Hunter & Alvarez.)What's worth watching for the guys, at least, are the gals, especially Vickers who's downright beautiful, at least in my book. I could have used a couple dozen more close-ups. Too bad the director treats her so casually. Anyway, the smooth-as-silk Conway is on hand to lend this slapdash programmer some class. But he really was better off with the great Val Lewton and his classic horror fests than he is here.

When Tom Conway met that black cat determined to cross his path he should have gone blocks out of the way. He didn't though and wound up helping Cecilia Callejo break into an art gallery to retrieve a painting for which she modeled. But the gallery owner is dead Callejo flees through a window and Conway has to run from the San Francisco police.The daughter of the dead artist who painted it played by Martha Vickers might provide answers. So might Vickers's stepmother Mona Maris and her new husband Joseph Vitale. So might millionaire Emory Parnell who bought several of the dead artist's paintings. They all wind up meeting in old Mexico providing The Falcon with a host of subjects. Along with ever helpful driver Nestor Paiva and his young son Fernando Alvarado.A middle run Falcon film, the exotic location helps, but it's not anything abut a studio created Mexico.

This is the ninth Falcon film, and a particularly good one. It contains some very good second unit material shot in Mexico, so there must have been a large budget for that, as it must have taken at least two or three weeks on location. It took a lot of editing to intercut all that with the actors back home in the studio. Tom Conway is in fine form, and there is some crackling dialogue as usual: 'Are you following me around?' 'I've been doing nothing else since we first met.' No prizes for figuring out who said that. There are excellent performances from two Hispanic actors, Fernando Alvarado is a charming little Mexican boy, and Nestor Paiva is excellent in a major supporting role. Martha Vickers is suitably alluring and ambiguous as a typical Falcon heroine. One would like to have some time alone with her in her dressing room (just for research purposes, of course). The plot is solid, a truly puzzling mystery this time, with so many possible villains that the fingers on both hands seem hardly sufficient. This is an excellent unpretentious B picture, just the sort of thing one wants in the Falcon series.