The Falcon (literary character)
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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," as a sort of 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, but soon tired of the role. He was written out by being "shot" in the film The Falcon's Brother (1942), after which his brother was supposed to have taken over his identity. 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. The 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 ever really bothers to explain why he's known as The Falcon.
