Movie review – Falcon #10 – “The Falcon in Hollywood” (1944) **1/2

The Falcon is a lot more at home in Hollywood than out west and this is a really bright, fast paced mystery, helped with Gordon Douglas’s quick handling. The Falcon is on holiday in the movie capital when he runs into a crim he once put away and gets involved in a mystery. Much of the action takes place on a studio backlot, adding to the fun, and there is an energetic collection of supporting characters: mad European director, Shakespeare-quoting producer, wise cracking female taxi driver (Veda Ann Borg, lots of fun - it's great to see a girl as the Falcon's sidekick), flaky actresses into numerology. Barbara Hale returns to the Falcon series but in a different role; there’s also Jean Brooks in her third Falcon – she plays a designer here. One of the best of the series.