The Falcon Takes Over (1942)

A brutish hulk of a man by the name of Moose Malloy (Ward Bond) escapes from prison looking for the girl he left behind. But she seems to have disappeared. An amateur detective (George Sanders) takes an interest in the case when his right hand man (Allen Jenkins) becomes a suspect in a murder committed by Malloy. Based on the novel FAREWELL MY LOVELY by Raymond Chandler and directed by Irving Reis (ALL MY SONS). The Chandler source material would later get a proper remake in 1944 under the title MURDER MY SWEET and again in 1975 under its original title. The Chandler novel has Philip Marlowe as its detective hero, here the character of The Falcon is shoehorned in instead. If you can put aside that this movie is a travesty of the Chandler novel, it's actually quite entertaining. The film has comedic elements not in the original book. The supporting cast is good. With Lynn Bari, Anne Revere, James Gleason, Turhan Bey, Helen Gilbert (channeling Veronica Lake) and Hans Conreid.