The Falcon in San Francisco
A detective enlists the help of a little girl to capture silk smugglers.Tom Lawrence aka The Falcon (Tom Conway) and his sidekick 'Goldie' Locke (Edward Brophy) are travelling by train to San Francisco for a vacation. Goldie has discovered that he would be better off financially if he were married so asks any woman he meets for their hand with predictable results - this is a recurring theme throughout the film. The pair encounter a lonely little girl, Annie Marshall (Sharyn Moffet) who is searching for her pet dog Diogenes she tells them that she is being held prisoner in her home in San Francisco by her nurse, Miss Carla Keyes and butler, Loomis. The little girl's story is cut short when the stern Miss Keyes (Hermine Sterler) comes to reclaim her charge, but not long after Annie runs into the club car to announce that Miss Keyes is dead. The Falcon, suspecting the woman to have been murdered offers to escort Annie home to San Francisco but when the train reaches it's destination Tom is arrested by the police on a kidnapping charge. When Tom is unexpectedly released from jail on a $10,000 bail he finds it has been posted by a woman he has never met before by the name of Doreen Temple (Fay Helm) who promises that she will explain everything if Tom meets her for dinner that evening.That evening at a local nightclub, when Doreen excuses herself from the table, her thug Rickey (Carl Kent) posing as a cop tricks Tom into going with him. Rickey K.O.'s Tom and takes him to Doreen's apartment where she questions him about the murder of Miss Keyes and orders him to tell racketeer Peter Vantine to stay away from the S.S. Citadel. Rickey takes Tom far from the apartment and dumps him. Upon returning to his hotel room Tom meets up with Goldie and together they visit Annie's home where they meet her older sister Joan (Rita Corday). Joan denies knowing Doreen or Vantine and Annie tells the pair that she is not being held captive at the house so they leave.However, later that night The Falcon and Goldie return, sneak into Annie's room through an open window and she tells them that indeed she is being held prisoner by the butler Loomis (Jason Robards Senior) and takes the two sleuths to search Miss Keyes' room. Tom finds a photo of a ship's officer bearing the legend "To my dear wife Carla, love Abel". However, clumsy Goldie knocks over a lamp during the search of the room attracting the attention of Loomis, as the butler opens the door to Miss Keyes' room a shot rings out and the butler falls down dead. Tom grabs the photo and he and Goldie climb back out the window and return to their hotel room where an armed Peter Vantine (John Mylong) soon comes knocking on the door. Vantine demands the photo but The Falcon disarms him and forces him to reveal that Doreen was the paramour of bootlegging racketeer Duke Monette - who taught her all the tricks of his trade.To try and trap Doreen Tom visits the offices of the Star Coastal line to inquire about the officer, Abel. There he meets the Star general manager DeForrest (Robert Armstrong) but when Tom barges into DeForrest's office he is surprised to find Joan Marshall there. DeForrest explains that Joan is actually the owner of the shipping line and that Abel is 1st mate aboard the S.S. Citadel. Tom invites Joan to lunch but as they are leaving the helpful receptionist hands Abel's home address to Tom. IT IS A TRAP. The receptionist is in league with Doreen Temple and the address she has handed Tom is the address of Doreen's apartment and unwittingly Tom and Joan walk straight into the trap.Doreen and her thugs capture the pair and Doreen warns The Falcon not to try and interfere with the unloading of the Citadel. Vantine seems to have also been lured into the trap but when he arrives he fights with Doreen's men and in the confusion Tom and Joan escape. Tom returns to his hotel room where he finds DeForrest hiding in his closet. When questioned by The Falcon DeForrest insists that his concern for Joan drew him there, after DeForrest leaves Goldie shows Tom a newspaper clipping stating that the S.S. Citadel belongs to Duke Monette. That night the two sleuths sneak aboard the Citadel and discover that concealed amongst its legitimate cargo of bales of hemp is a valuable cargo of raw silk. When Tom shows the silk to DeForrest he orders that the Citadel be reloaded. The Falcon heads over to the Marshall house hoping that Joan might lead him to Duke.At the house Annie tells Tom that her sister has gone to Telegraph Hill to meet her 'secret lover', The Falcon follows Joan and watches as she meets with and embraces DeForrest. When Tom confronts them DeForrest admits that he is Duke Monette and that he is using a false identity to protect his daughters - Joan and Annie. Tom warns him that Doreen's gang is planning to hijack the Citadel and steal it's cargo that night and Duke asks for The Falcon's help to foil their scheme. Later that night Duke and The Falcon watch as Vantine, Doreen and their gang board the ship. When they board her Duke knocks the engineer out, leading to an explosion in the unattended boiler room of the vessel. But Duke then pulls a gun on Doreen and Tom. The Falcon informs Doreen that it was Duke who killed the two people she had hired to watch Joan and Annie - Miss Keyes and Loomis. When he then goes on to warn her that Duke intends to blow up the ship, Doreen and her henchman Rickey try to jump Duke but he shoots them both. As Rickey falls to the floor he shoots Duke allowing The Falcon to flee the S.S. Citadel before it spectacularly blows up.
murder