The Return of THE FALCON

To some he is Gay Stanhope Falcon, the freelance adventurer and trouble-shooter from Michael Arlen's 1940 short story. To others he is Gay Lawrence, the English gentleman detective portrayed by George Sanders in those wonderful RKO films of the early 1940s. You may know him as Tom Lawrence, Michael Watling, Malcolm J. Wingate, or Mike Waring. Which one is the real Falcon? For a large number of people who never saw The Falcon movies or listened to The Falcon radio programs, the larger question is "Who is the Falcon?" Author Ian Dickerson knows and he provided us with a 362 page book documenting the history of the fictional detective that has been elusive to even the most dedicated reader of hard-boiled crime fiction. 

The fictional detective, often regarded as (a good) imitation of Leslie Charteris' The Saint, started out as a short story and was quickly licensed to RKO for a series of B-mysteries starring George Sanders, following by Tom Conway (who played The Falcon's Brother). Then came the radio program which aired over more than one network, an Australian rendition on radio, then a one-season TV series with Charles McGraw in the lead.

“Ready with a hand for oppressed men, and an eye for repressed women,” The Falcon character was once referenced in Leslie Charteris’ 1943 novel, The Saint Steps In, as “a bargain-basement imitation.” 

Until now, there was but brief entries in encyclopedias about the radio program and movies, and even less for the television rendition. Little was known about the character, the creator and the history of the program. The majority of the write-ups were focused on the plots and premise of those renditions. Ian Dickerson went to considerable effort to browse archives and archival materials to ensure we now have an extensive tome about the subject. 

Commentary on the character’s birth in print, a complete overview of his time on the silver screen, a broadcast log of his adventures on radio (both in the United States and in Australia), and an accounting of the short-lived television program is contained within the 360 pages. There is also a full reprint of a Falcon story from Radio Mirror magazine. Help show your support and display of thanks to Ian Dickerson for going to the effort by digging through archives to produce these welcome tomes.

https://www.amazon.com/Who-Falcon-Detective-Print-Movies/dp/1617093882