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The character of Gay Stanhope Falcon, also known simply as The Falcon, was created in 1940 by Michael Arlen in his short story, "Gay Falcon," which was first published in 1940 in Town & Country magazine. Falcon is a freelance adventurer and troubleshooter, definitely on the hardboiled side, a man who makes his living "keeping his mouth shut and engaging in dangerous enterprises." The Falcon was quickly brought to the screen by RKO in 1941, in the film The Gay Falcon, in which he was redefined as a suave English gentleman-detective with a weakness for beautiful women. The film was intended to establish a character who would replace RKO's popular series of B movies featuring Leslie Charteris' The Saint, which starred George Sanders.

Sanders appeared in the first three Falcon films, which followed the Saint pattern so closely that author Charteris sued RKO for plagiarism. Sanders, tired of B leads, bowed out of the series in "The Falcon's Brother" (1942). The role of the brother and new Falcon was taken by Sanders' actual brother, Tom Conway. Conway starred in ten more Falcon films through 1946, almost always with a wisecracking sidekick (portrayed variously by Edward Brophy, Allen Jenkins, Don Barclay, Cliff Edwards, and arguably best of all, Vince Barnett).

One well-known gimmick in the Falcon series was tacking an epilogue onto one movie to act as a sort of tease to the next. This little "preview" often had little to do with the actual upcoming film, but it was meant to keep interest alive.

The Falcon character was revived in three more films, all made in 1948, starring John Calvert, but these were unsuccessful. The Falcon also appeared in radio and television dramas.

Though "Falcon" was originally the character's surname, in the film he was renamed "Gay Lawrence", so that "The Falcon" became a nickname, comparable to "The Saint". In his later outings he has a variety of real names, while still being the "The Falcon". Not one of these films or television or radio episodes explains why he is known as The Falcon.

• Starring George Sanders (Gay Lawrence)
  • The Gay Falcon (1941)
  • A Date With The Falcon (1941)
  • The Falcon Takes Over (1942)
  • The Falcon's Brother (1942)
• Starring Tom Conway (Tom Lawrence)
  • The Falcon's Brother (1942)
  • The Falcon Strikes Back (1943)
  • The Falcon in Danger (1943)
  • The Falcon and the Co-eds (1943)
  • The Falcon Out West (1944)
  • The Falcon in Mexico (1944)
  • The Falcon in Hollywood (1944)
  • The Falcon in San Francisco (1945)
  • The Falcon's Alibi (1946)
  • The Falcon's Adventure (1946)
• Starring John Calvert (Michael Waring)
  • Devil's Cargo (1948)
  • Appointment with Murder (1948)
  • Search for Danger (1949)

• The Falcon