A loose adaptation of Chandler’s Farewell My Lovely with George Sanders as the Falcon instead of Marlowe, which more or less means the same plot but instead of Marlowe muttering we have Sanders kissing all the girls — almost literally! And he swans about in his white tie and tails about which I’ve no complaint. You can see how he quickly bored of the series and passed it over to his brother (aka the ‘nice one’). Tom Conway needs more attention.

There’s also a wacky humour thread that undercuts the narrative tension. Mostly from the coppers, the Falcon’s sidekick Goldie (Allan Jenkins) and from a wannabe reporter played by Lynn Bari. The veteran cast includes James Gleason, Anne Revere and as Moose Molloy, Ward Bond. It’s a trifle but back then they knew to keep flix brief enough not to wear out their welcome. Bonus: Turhan Bey ever so briefly as the psychic.

I actually wrote this on Letterboxd first. Made a couple of lists, too. Check them out.