At one stage the Falcon was engaged to a trashy Texan heiress but that character doesn’t appear in this Western-flavoured adventure, which starts with a Texan tycoon dying in a city nightclub … of a rattlesnake bite. The man’s fiancée is suspect number one and the Falcon tries to save the day, resulting in them staying at a ranch out west. One of the gals who works there is played by a pre-Perry Mason Barbara Hale, giving the support cast a bit of zing.
The series was a well-oiled machine by this stage – it feels confident and sure of itself. Having said that, it doesn’t quite work to have the Falcon operating on a ranch – he seems to suit the city and the night, not the great outdoors (its jarring to see him on a horse.) There’s a little bit of Hollywood liberalism at play here – it’s pointed out that the ranch is on land stolen by the Indians and the Indians are annoyed by it. Also a good scene where Barbara Hale’s father realises everyone think he’s guilty.
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