TheLittleSongbird The Falcon films, both with George Sanders and Tom Conway in the lead role, are on the most part very enjoyable. There are some very good ones like the first two Sanders Falcon films and 'The Falcon Strikes Back', though also a few disappointments like 'The Falcon in Danger'.Generally, 'The Falcon and the Co-Eds' is one of the most entertaining Falcon films and one of the better ones too. By all means, it could have been a little bit better, with it getting off to a sluggish start and while the film is never dull once and has a diverting story with some great and wonderfully unusual twists and turns (with a very surprising reveal), it occasionally feels a little rushed as a result of the running time being as short as it is and there are a couple of loose ends that confuse things a little.However, The music is lively and haunting enough, and on the most part the production values are slick and atmospheric with particularly nicely done photography. William Clemens directs efficiently. Further advantages are a very playful script with dialogue that crackles with wit and a mostly absorbing story that is never less than bright, breezy and fun with some suspense, great twists and turns and a very exciting climax.Conway continues to thrive and enjoy himself as the title character, everything that Sanders brought to the role are also present in Conway's performance and with full impact. Cliff Clark and Edward Gargan's comedy is more understated this time round, but they are nonetheless amusing still. There are some great female characters too, Rita Corday is alluring and sassy and Amelita Ward is significantly less annoying than in the previous Falcon film.It is true though that one of 'The Falcon and the Co-Eds' biggest delights is the 3 Ughs, such delightful characters performed with the perfect balance of sultriness, charm and often hilarious comic timing.Overall, among the most entertaining and best of the mostly very enjoyable Falcon series. 7/10 Bethany Cox

tedg I've seen two of these this week, both from the same era and both assuming that some evil person can have hypnotic control over an innocent. Most of these are not worthy of comment, but in this case, the innocent is someone special.She is the daughter of a famous pianist, someone with passion so intense, it leaves the body and creates an empty husk unable to cope with the world. I know who the pattern for this is. This is a pianist that settles my soul with his abandon. I actually had the opportunity to spend time with his daughter, and she is nothing like the lovely fiction here portrayed.She is cursed with the soul of her father without his talent. A passion not allowed to disperse, someone who cooks. This is the woman that many of us may fall in love with. Because of this gift, she is suspected of being psychic, strange, vacantly alluring and (because of the era) hypnotically suggestible. There is a play within this that is the cause of a murder and which involves this girl. It is clumsily done, but the idea is so sweet that if you are susceptible, you could believe it.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

MartinHafer The Falcon is approached by a college girl at the beginning of the film. A professor died recently and she knows it's a murder even though they say it was a natural death. Before he has a chance to investigate, the impulsive and annoying girl steals his car--forcing him to go to the school to retrieve it (and thus get pulled into the investigation).As the film unfolds in a rather unremarkable and far-fetched plot, we meet a set of characters who all could have killed the professor--who, it turns out, did NOT die due to natural causes. When one of the suspects is then clearly murdered, the police become involved as well--and as usual, they are about as much help as a pilot's license to a fish! In the end, through some spurious reasoning, the Falcon figures out the murderer--leading to a very cool scene at the edge of a cliff.While this is not a bad detective film, it did seem that since the earlier Falcon films (with George Sanders, actor Tom Conway's real-life brother) that the series went into a bit of a decline. Part of it might be because I miss Sanders in the lead role, though Conway looks and especially sounds so much like him I doubt this is the main reason. I think the problem is that the original formula is gone. There is no great sidekick (such as Allen Jenkins), no fiancée and no glib remarks by the Falcon. In fact, it's the glibness that I think sets the earlier films apart from the later ones, as the earlier films had lots of wonderful lines--full of sarcasm and zip. This was especially noticeable since I had watched Sanders' second Falcon film and then this one just a few hours later. Still, despite its deficiencies, it is a worthwhile B-detective series film--just don't expect any spark to set it apart from the many rival series at the other studios.By the way, the psychology professor says of himself "I am a medical doctor and a psychologist". Actually, if he were an MD, then this would make him a psychiatrist--a distinction that should have been noted by the script writer. Psychiatrists don't like to be referred to as psychologists and vice-versa, plus their jobs are often quite different (psychiatrists generally use medication to treat mental illnesses, psychologists cannot legally do this and use counseling to treat problems).Oh, and one last thing. While the Falcon was sorely missing his usual sidekick and flustered fiancée, I did like the three young triplets. They were pretty amusing in a "huey, Dewey and Louie" sort of way, plus their brief song was a nice and enjoyable piece--certainly much more so than the other needless songs placed into the film.Competent overall but still somewhat lacking. Perhaps this was due to their being three Falcon films in 1943 and three more in 1944, and so with all these films a bit less care was being taken in production.

O'Malley The Falcon is my favorite B-movie detective series, largely because of the presence of the charismatic, suave and self-deprecating Tom Conway (who took over the role from his real-life brother, George Sanders). Conway was as cool as Bogart, but in place of Bogie's cynicism, Conway possessed a wonderful mix of wry sagaciousness, skepticism, self-awareness and chivalry. The Falcon And The Co-Eds is arguably the best of the series, with an exceptionally clever mystery plot, a very talented cast and some incomparable interplay between Conway and the various title Co-Eds. Once seen, the "3 Ughs" are never-to-be-forgotten. I've seen The Falcon And The Co-Eds a half-dozen times, and it has always given me genuine pleasure.