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The Adventures of The
Falcon |
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You met The Falcon first in his best selling
novels, then you saw him in his thrilling motion
picture series, now join him on the air when The Falcon solves
- Author Michael Arlen introduced his literary sleuthing creation The
Falcon in a 1940 short story
entitled Gay Falcon. His full
name was Gay Stanhope Falcon but
by the time he became a player on radio, television and the silver screen all
that remained was his nickname, "The Falcon". In fact, it was
motion pictures that saw the first of the detectiveÕs name changes; beginning
when RKO adapted ArlenÕs story into a B-picture in 1941 called The Gay
Falcon starring George Sanders. The characterÕs name was rechristened as Gay
Lawrence, and between 1941 and
1949, a total of 16 Falcon movies were produced (and are available for the
Movies Series section of this website). The FalconÕs Brother (1942) was the
4th film of the series and was to be George SandersÕ last appearance in the
series - at the end of that film and the role of the Falcon was taken over by
his brother, Tom Lawrence
(played by SandersÕ real-life brother, Tom Conway). So from that film and for the next 9 entries, The
Falcon was called Tom Lawrence. When The Adventures of
the Falcon debuted on radio in the
mid 40's, the character underwent his third name change to Michael Waring, a gumshoe-for-hire. Actor James Meighan had the role when the series debuted on Mutual in
1945; he was then replaced by Les Tremayne from 1948-51, who was followed in turn by Les
Damon (who seemed made for the
role) and finally by George Petrie
when the series closed in 1953. The Adventures of the
Falcon was based and produced in
New York, which allowed the cr¸me de la cr¸me of its radio talent to
frequently perform on the program; among the actors heard in support: Mandel
Kramer (as Sgt. Johnny Gleason), Ken Lynch (Sgt. Corbett), Joan Banks, Robert
Dryden, Elspeth Eric, John Gibson and Everett Sloane. The phone rings - "Hello - yes, this is
The Falcon speaking - oh Peggy - I'm glad you called - I'll have to ask for a rain-check, angel, I'm
all tied up with this case - The Falcon played it solo,
without a love interest or even catty secretary like other detectives put up
with. He got rid of the love interest on the phone right at the beginning of
the program. He might have been something of a gumshoe workaholic. His
methods were solid and serious, and the cops were usually several steps
behind him on the chase. His lines were sharp, cutting. He had had a knack
for spotting the fine details, did not suffer law enforcement and definitely
had a keen eye for the ladies. Up until 1952 the series
would open with the following descriptor: The Falcon is Michael Waring, freelance
detective who's always ready with a hand for repressed men and an eye for
repressed women! The sponsors (Gem Razor
Blades and Kraft Foods - Miracle
Whip) certainly made their presence
felt throughout the pre 1952 series with perhaps the most innovative (and
annoying) being announcer Ed Herlihy when he plugged Miracle Whip in a string of episodes beginning with The
Case of the Broken Fingerprint
(20th June 1951). During these episodes Mike makes an appointment to discuss
pertinent issues of the current case with the police etc at "Ed's
Luncheonette". Ed is of course Ed Herlihy and he manages to promote the excellence of Kraft
Foods products whilst taking orders and supplying burgers and salads to Mike
and his lunch partner for the episode. (Note: this interchange has been left
in the Broken Fingerprint episode but has been judiciously edited out - by
Trev - in the following episodes - the important exchanges are left in but
Ed's needless interventions have been excised!) The series reached its high
water mark with the Les Damon
episodes and in particular those made in 1952. At that time the series became
"sustaining" and the organ was dropped in favour of (taped)
orchestra music and sophisticated sound effects. What resulted was a very
polished and characteristic NBC production from the 1950s The Adventures of The Falcon - dedicated to private investigators everywhere
- those hard hitting detectives who like Mike
Waring, risk their lives to aid law enforcement
agencies - so join him now when The Falcon solves - In another interesting
variation and commencing with The Case of the Vanishing Visa (22nd June, 1952), Waring started working for Army
Intelligence in which he tangled with espionage agents & saboteurs all
over the world: Paris (twice), London (twice), Berlin (twice), Vienna,
Casablanca, Palermo, Athens, Cairo, Lisbon & Rome As final testaments to the
far reaching effects of The Adventures of The Falcon radio show, it should be observed that the radio
moniker of Mike Waring was used when Film Classics resurrected The Falcon movies series in 1948 for
three entries with John Calvert
in the role. The Mike Waring name was also used across the Pacific, when
Australian radio premiered their own Adventures of the Falcon in 1950 with George
Randall in the role. And finally,
in 1954 a US TV series titled Adventures of The Falcon featured Charles McGraw as (you guessed it) Mike Waring (note that this TV
series is available from the TV Series section of this website. Want
to check out an episode? - why not "taste & try"? This
episode can be freely downloaded to your computer - just right button click
on any link below and chose "Download Linked File" (or words to
that effect). The file is on an average about 17Mb - download time will
depend on your (broadband) speed FC_1952-06-22
The Case of the Vanishing Visa.mp3 These 3 MP3 CD contains all 85 episodes of
"The Adventures of the Falcon" categorized as below. Each episode has been
fully & carefully restored and provides an excellent listening
experience A. James Meighan
Episodes 1.
FC_1945-11-27 Murder
is a Family Affair.mp3 2.
FC_1947-xx-xx Murder
Knows No Borderline.mp3 B. Les Tremayne Episodes 1.
FC_1948-11-01 Murder
is a Bad Bluff.mp3 2.
FC_1949-02-20 Murder
is the Knockout.mp3 C. Les Damon (1950-51)
Episodes 1.
FC_1950-05-14 The Case
of the Amorous Bookkeeper.mp3 2.
FC_1950-08-23 The Case
of the Larcenous Lark.mp3 3.
FC_1950-08-30 The Case
of the Disappearing Doll.mp3 4.
FC_1950-09-03 The Case
of the Quarrelsome Quartet.mp3 5.
FC_1950-09-10 The Case
of the Worried Champion.mp3 6.
FC_1950-09-24 The Case
of the Friendly Target.mp3 7.
FC_1950-10-01 The Case
of the Talented Twins.mp3 8.
FC_1950-10-15 The Case
of the Careless Client.mp3 9.
FC_1950-10-22 The Case
of the Double Nephews.mp3 10.
FC_1950-10-29 The Case
of the Double Exposure.mp3 11.
FC_1950-11-05 The Case
of the Rich Racketeer.mp3 12.
FC_1950-11-12 The Case
of the Widow's Gorilla.mp3 13.
FC_1950-11-19 The Case
of the Puzzling Pin-Up.mp3 14.
FC_1950-11-26 The Case
of the Stooge's Errand.mp3 15.
FC_1950-12-03 The Case
of the Harried Husband.mp3 16.
FC_1950-12-10 The Case
of the Raw Deal.mp3 17.
FC_1950-12-17 The Case
of the Baby Brother.mp3 18.
FC_1950-12-24 The Case
of the Unwelcome Christmas Present.mp3 19.
FC_1951-01-07 The Case
of the Invisible Thug.mp3 20.
FC_1951-01-21 The Case
of the Substitute Target.mp3 21.
FC_1951-01-28 The Case
of the Bellicose Boxer.mp3 22.
FC_1951-02-04 The Case
of the Neighbor's Nightmare.mp3 23.
FC_1951-02-11 The Case
of the Mighty Muscle.mp3 24.
FC_1951-02-18 The Case
of the Superfluous Murder.mp3 25.
FC_1951-02-25 The Case
of the Practical Choker.mp3 26.
FC_1951-03-04 The Case
of the Gangster's Girl.mp3 27.
FC_1951-03-11 The Case
of the Un-Silent Butler.mp3 28.
FC_1951-03-25 The Case
of the Talented Texan.mp3 29.
FC_1951-04-01 The Case
of the Worried Wife.mp3 30.
FC_1951-04-08 The Case
of the Carved Ham.mp3 31.
FC_1951-04-15 The Case
of the Shopkeeper's Gun.mp3 32.
FC_1951-04-22 The Case
of the Missing Miss.mp3 33.
FC_1951-04-29 The Case
of the Big Talker.mp3 34.
FC_1951-05-06 The Case
of the Flaming Club.mp3 35.
FC_1951-05-13 The Case
of the Dutch Doll.mp3 36.
FC_1951-05-20 The Case
of the Curious Cop.mp3 37.
FC_1951-05-27 The Case
of the Unwelcome Wife.mp3 38.
FC_1951-06-06 The Case
of the Proud Papa.mp3 39.
FC_1951-06-13 The Case
of the Sweet Swindle.mp3 40.
FC_1951-06-20 The Case
of the Broken Fingerprint.mp3 41.
FC_1951-06-27 The Case
of the Nervous Shakedown.mp3 42.
FC_1951-07-04 The Case
of Everybody's Gun.mp3 43.
FC_1951-07-11 The Case
of the Vanishing Varmint.mp3 44.
FC_1951-07-18 The Case
of the Cautious Cousin.mp3 45.
FC_1951-07-25 The Case
of the Plenty Twenty.mp3 46.
FC_1951-08-01 The Case
of the Hypocritical Hypo.mp3 47.
FC_1951-08-15 The Case
of the Loose Lip.mp3 48.
FC_1951-08-22 The Case
of the Beautiful Bait.mp3 D. Les Damon (1952)
Episodes 1.
FC_1952-02-17 The Case
of the Missing Patient.mp3 2.
FC_1952-02-21 The Case
of the Gold Ring.mp3 3.
FC_1952-03-02 The Case
of the Natural Seven.mp3 4.
FC_1952-03-09 The Case
of the Killers Key.mp3 5.
FC_1952-03-16 The Case
of the Grand Gamble.mp3 6.
FC_1952-03-23 The Case
of the Murdering Missus.mp3 7.
FC_1952-04-13 The Case
of the Handy Helpmate.mp3 8.
FC_1952-04-20 The Case
of the Jumping Jack.mp3 9.
FC_1952-04-27 The Case
of the Weeping Willow.mp3 10.
FC_1952-05-04 The Case
of the Fatal Fix.mp3 11.
FC_1952-05-11 The Case
of the King of Hearts.mp3 12.
FC_1952-05-18 The Case
of the Falling Star.mp3 13.
FC_1952-05-25 The Case
of the Happy Hoodlum.mp3 14.
FC_1952-06-01 The Case
of the Burning Bridges.mp3 15.
FC_1952-06-08 The Case
of the Dirty Dollar.mp3 16.
FC_1952-06-22 The Case
of the Vanishing Visa.mp3 17.
FC_1952-06-29 The Case
of the Menacing Mademoiselle.mp3 18.
FC_1952-07-06 The Case
of the Babbling Brooks.mp3 19.
FC_1952-07-13 The Case
of the Running Waters.mp3 20.
FC_1952-07-20 The Case
of the King of Clubs.mp3 21.
FC_1952-07-27 The Case
of the Broken Key.mp3 22.
FC_1952-08-03 The Case
of the Lonely Hunter.mp3 23.
FC_1952-08-10 The Case
of the Rolling Stones.mp3 24.
FC_1952-08-17 The Case
of the Gorgeous Greek.mp3 25.
FC_1952-08-24 The Case
of the Silent Butler.mp3 26.
FC_1952-08-31 The Case
of the Careless Corpse.mp3 27.
FC_1952-09-07 The Case
of the Jack of Diamonds.mp3 28.
FC_1952-09-14 The Case
of the Strawberry Blonde.mp3 E. George Petrie
Episodes 1.
FC_1953-06-22 The Case
of the Ace of Spades.mp3 2.
FC_1953-xx-xx The Case
of the Disguised Murderer.mp3 3.
FC_1953-xx-xx The Case
of the Wandering Wife.mp3 F. George Randall (Aust)
Episodes 1.
FCA_1950-xx-xx Death
Doesn't Disappear.mp3 2.
FCA_1950-xx-xx Murder
is a Snap.mp3 |