The Falcon heads to Texas to solve a rancher's murder. In most of the classic film series from the '30s and '40s, detective or otherwise, it seemed mandatory that they put the main character in a western setting at some point. I'm not sure whether this was done because audiences loved cowboys or to get more use out of existing western sets, as well as easy on the writers to reuse tired plots and clichés. This is the weakest Falcon movie up to this point. It isn't much fun despite some forced comedy and the mystery is pretty limp. The western stuff is more corny than exciting. When they found an excuse to add a runaway stagecoach gag, I knew it would be a long hour. Tom Conway and the regulars do their best, but they are out of their element with this setting. Sadly this is the last appearance in the series for both Cliff Clark and Edward Gargan. The obligatory lovely ladies this time are Carole Gallagher, Barbara Hale, and Joan Barclay. Lyle Talbot has a surprisingly small part, being killed off in the first five minutes of the picture. It's not a bad movie but a bit of a disappointment following the extremely enjoyable Falcon and the Co-Eds.

The character of the Falcon, an amateur gentleman detective similar to Leslie Charteris' "the Saint", was created by Michael Arlen, a Bulgarian-born British writer of Armenian descent, and was then taken up by Hollywood in a series of crime dramas. Arlen's hero was named Gay Falcon, but in the films he was, for unknown reasons, renamed Gay Lawrence, "the Falcon" being a nickname. (Arlen's choice of a forename for his hero was a strange one. I am well aware that in the thirties and forties the word "gay" did not carry its modern meaning of "homosexual", but even then "Gay" was well-established as a feminine Christian name). In the first four films the Falcon was played by George Sanders, who had also played the Saint in a series of films based on Charteris' books. Feeling that he was becoming typecast, Sanders dropped out of the series after the fourth film in which a new Falcon was introduced, Gay Lawrence's brother Tom. This character was played by Sanders' real-life brother, Tom Conway. (His real name was Tom Sanders; "Conway" was a stage name)."The Falcon Out West" (aka "The Falcon in Texas") is one of Conway's contributions to the series. The Falcon is called in to investigate when Tex Irwin, a wealthy Western rancher, collapses and dies in a New York nightclub. The cause of death is established as rattlesnake venom, and as New York nightclubs are not the natural habitat of the rattlesnake the Falcon correctly suspects foul play. The action then moves to the Irwin ranch in Texas where the Falcon has no shortage of suspects- Irwin's ex-wife, his gold-digging fiancée Vanessa Drake, his business partner Dave Colby, his foreman Dusty and Colby's beautiful daughter Marion.The film rather incongruously combines the conventions of the detective murder mystery with those of the Western. The film was made in 1944 and the action is supposed to take place in that year, but the Falcon seems to travel backwards in time, from a 1940s New York to a Texas that does not appear to have changed much since the Wild West of the 1870s or 1880s. It incorporates what have been described as all the "standard horse-opera clichés", including ambushes, shootouts, stage coaches and Indians. As in many standard Westerns of the period the portrayal of the Indians is rather stereotyped and condescending.I preferred Tom Conway's interpretation of the Falcon to that of his brother, who struck me as being just a little too laid back, even when serious matters like murder were at stake. Conway manages to achieve the necessary lightness of touch without descending into frivolousness. As a murder mystery, however, this is not a very interesting one; I could spot who the murderer was a mile off, long before the solution to the crime was officially announced. The Western setting adds little of interest; trying to cross the whodunit with the horse-opera was not a great success. 5/10

Nice idea - bringing the urbane Falcon (Tom Conway) out west to solve the murder of a rancher (Lyle Talbot) killed by a rattlesnake bite in New York City. The rancher had a fiancée (Carole Gallagher), an ex-wife (Joan Irwin), and helpers (Minor Watson and Barbara Hale as his daughter), all of whom seem to have something to hide. Once out west, the search is on for the rancher's will and deed to his house, and the Falcon finds himself in danger.This is actually a pretty good mystery with some old-fashioned Indians and prejudices thrown in - this is pretty common in old films, and gives one a good idea of the sensibilities of the time. Barbara Hale, who went on to play Della Street on "Perry Mason" is the most familiar face here - young and pretty, she started out as an RKO starlet. Carole Gallagher, the fiancée, had the beauty of a Lana Turner but alas, none of the spark, and her career didn't amount to much. Tom Conway does a good job at the Falcon, but I admit that I prefer George Sanders in the role.This is an okay entry into the series.

Not too much can be said for THE FALCON OUT WEST except that it moves swiftly to its conclusion after establishing a few red herrings that make the revelation of the real murderer a somewhat mild surprise.TOM CONWAY plays the suave detective who happens to be present when LYLE TALBOT (as a wealthy Texan) suddenly is struck by a snakebite poison and collapses. His death immediately throws suspicion on several shady characters who might have profited by inheriting his wealth.The Falcon goes west to a ranch run by MINOR WATSON, Tex's former partner and his daughter BARBARA HALE, where mysterious attempts on his life make it clear that someone wants him out of the way before he solves the crime.Hale is her usual charming self but her role is very underwritten. CAROLE GALLAGHER, as the young blonde fiancé of the wealthy Texan, looks like a double for the young Lana Turner but lacks the Turner charisma and seems no more than a bland beauty.Nothing special, but it passes the time pleasantly with Conway doing an excellent job as the Falcon.