The Falcon's Brother

"Why, Mr. Lefty, the newspapers said you were incarcerated."

"You know I never drink. I was pinched, but I beat the rap through a suspended sentence."

Well-known detective Gay Lawrence (Sanders) and his assistant Lefty (Barclay) go to the dock to meet his brother. However, the police are already on board investigating a death. They identify the victim as Gay's brother Tom (Conway). 

Gay knows that the body is not Tom, but let's the police believe it so he can investigate unhindered.  But Gay is injured, leaving Tom and Lefty to investigate with fashion reporter Marcia Brooks (Randolph). Can they solve the crime before anyone else gets hurt?

The 4th film in the RKO Falcon film series. The character is based on Michael Arlen's short stories about detective Gay Falcon.

The Good: 

I enjoy George Sanders, so when I stumbled on this film, I had to check it out. This is his 4th and final appearance as the Falcon. He is joined by his actual brother Tom Conway, who plays his character's brother. Conway continued in the franchise in 9 more films, taking over the mantle of the Falcon. Sanders and Conway are suave and look and sound similar.

Don Barclay, as the side-kick Lefty, gets most of the laughs with his non-sequiturs.

The Bad: 

Not as good as other detective series, although the ending still throws you for a loop.

Other Comments:

-Conway starred in 9 more Falcon films.

-The series continued in 1948 with John Calvert as Michael Waring. This character is based on Drexel Drake's Falcon novels.

-Keye Luke has a small role as Jerry. Luke also appeared in both the Charlie Chan and Mr. Wong detective series.

The Falcon's Brother (1942) 63 minutes

Director: Stanley Logan

Starring: George Sanders as Gay Lawrence/The Falcon

Tom Conway as Tom Lawrence/The Falcon

Jane Randolph as Marcia Brooks

Don Barclay as Lefty

Cliff Clark as Inspector Timothy Donovan

Edward Gargan as Detective Bates

Eddie Dunn as Detective Grimes

Charlotte Wynters as Arlette

James Newill as Paul Harrington

Keye Luke as Jerry

Amanda Varela as Carmela

George J. Lewis as Valdez

Gwili Andre as Diane Medford

André Charlot as Savitski

Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1200th post)

And just like that 1,200 posts! Previous milestones: 

100 The Pajama Game / 200 Guys and Dolls / 300 The Rocky Horror Picture Show / 400 Tea for Two / 500 Annie / 600 Mary Poppins / 700 Into the Woods / 800 Anchors Aweigh / 900 42nd Street / 1000 Royal Wedding / 1100 A Song is Born

Cinderella (Brandy) dreams of a better life. Since the death of her parents she has worked as a servant in her home, where she waits on her Stepmother (Peters) and selfish stepsisters Calliope (Cox) and Minerva (Desselle). One day in the market, she meets and is captivated by a handsome young man.

The young man is Prince Christopher (Montalban), escaping from palace life for the afternoon. His parents, King Maximillian (Garber) and Queen Constantina (Goldberg), want him to marry and throw a ball for all of the eligible young women in the kingdom.

Cinderella is forced to stay home, while her Stepmother and stepsisters go to the ball. While she dreams about the ball, her Fairy Godmother (Houston) arrives. She encourages Cinderella to go to the ball and uses her magic to transform her clothes into a beautiful ball gown. Can Cinderella make all of her dreams come true.

This is a TV film for Disney. It is an updated remake of the Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein 1957 made-for-TV musical. The musical is based on the Cinderella fairytale. The original film was later adapted to a Broadway musical. 

The Good:

The costumes are beautiful, especially at the ball. Brandy's blue dress (pictured above) is gorgeous. The production is well done and looks more polished than the previous 2 filmed versions.

The cast is great. Bernadette Peters, Victor Garber, Veanne Cox, and Paolo Montalban are Broadway stars with great voices. Brandy and Whitney Houston were popular singers. Natalie Desselle and Jason Alexander were TV stars. 

This version is a little more comedic, due to the talents of the cast. They also updated the story to make Cinderella a stronger and more independent character. 

The Bad:

Victor Garber is the only cast member that does not sing, despite having a good voice and musical background. 

Other Comments:

-Features 3 songs from other musicals by, at least, Rogers: "The Sweetest Sounds" (by Rogers) from No Strings attached, "Falling in Love with Love" (by Rogers and Lorenz Hart) from The Boys from Syracuse, and "There is Music in You" (Rogers and Hammerstein) from Main Street to Broadway.

-This film features a diverse cast. Brandy was the first black actress to portray Cinderella in film.

-The original 1957 show starred Julie Andrews as Cinderella. The first remake, in 1965, starred Lesley Ann Warren in the title role.

-The character of Lionel was created for this film. He is a little over the top, but it works with the comedic tone.

-The duet of "Impossible" by Brandy and Whitney Houston is a standout. It is one of my favorite songs in the film, although I also enjoy the "Stepsisters Lament" (but Ann Harada's version in the 2013 Broadway show is my favorite).

-Brandy and Montalban reprised their roles of Cinderella and Prince Christopher in the 2024 Disney Channel film Descendants: The Rise of Red.

Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997) 88 minutes 

Director: Robert L. Freedman

Starring: Brandy as Cinderella

Whitney Houston as Fairy Godmother

Paolo Montalban as Prince Christopher

Jason Alexander as Lionel

Victor Garber as King Maximillian

Whoopi Goldberg as Queen Constantina

Bernadette Peters as Wicked stepmother

Veanne Cox as Calliope

Natalie Desselle as Minerva