The Falcon Takes Over

Brutish prison escapee Moose Malloy forces Goldie Locke to drive him to Club 13, hoping to be reunited with his old girlfriend Velma. He blasts his way into the club and, after failing to find Velma, kills the club manager to clear the way and drags Goldie out to begin a getaway. The brutal confrontation immediately marks Moose as a dangerous target for anyone who crosses him.

Gay Lawrence, an amateur sleuth and Goldie’s boss, arrives at Club 13 and quickly learns that Moose is the main suspect in the manager’s death. Goldie is arrested as an accomplice but is released after questioning, leaving Lawrence to dig deeper. The police begin tying the case to Velma and the strange disappearance surrounding her.

Lawrence and Goldie tail Moose to a house in Brooklyn where he is hiding. Lawrence pretends to be drunk to slip inside, while Moose makes a getaway in Goldie’s car. The pursuit deepens the mystery and moves the investigation toward new clues.

Jessie Florian is frantic on the telephone, pleading protection from Moose and directing Lawrence to a specific address. She then tells Lawrence that Velma is dead, a revelation that changes Lawrence’s understanding of the case. The address Jessie mentions becomes a key lead for what follows.

Lawrence is lured to a deserted graveyard under the pretense of delivering ransom for a stolen necklace. Marriott ambushes him, steals his gun, and shoots him, though an unseen assailant later shoots Marriott and slips away. Lawrence survives but is left with more questions than answers.

Seeing Lawrence still alive, reporter Ann Reardon helps him to his feet and learns that his gun was loaded with blanks. This twist complicates the pursuit of Marriott and Moorse and explains why Marriott didn’t meet his mark. Ann and Lawrence decide to press on with the clues toward Amthor.

Lawrence searches Marriott’s coat pockets and finds a business card for psychic Jules Amthor at 415 Morton Avenue. The card confirms a new lead and suggests where Moose might be heading next. The trail links Amthor to the other players in the web of deception.

Lawrence tasks Ann with tracking the stolen jade necklace belonging to socialite Diana Kenyon. He schedules a date to meet Diana at the Swan Club, while Goldie heads to Amthor’s residence to gather more information. The threads begin to converge around power, reputation, and hidden identities.

Goldie arrives at Amthor’s house where Moose is waiting; when the lights go out, gunfire erupts and Amthor is found dead. O’Hara arrives and uncovers Amthor’s corpse as the investigation threads tighten around the suspects. The night grows darker as more motives surface.

Lawrence and Goldie return to Jessie’s house only to find Jessie Florian dead with a broken neck. The murder deepens the mystery and challenges the idea that Moose is the sole killer. Lawrence begins to suspect there are other players with darker, intertwined motives.

Back at his apartment, Lawrence re-evaluates the case and recognizes there are more forces at work. He learns from Ann that the police suspect Moose pleaded guilty to manslaughter to protect Laird Burnett, the Swan Club owner, tying the deaths to a blackmail scheme. The case widens beyond a simple murderer’s motive.

Diana Kenyon, revealed as Velma, goes on a drive with Lawrence who has already guessed her true identity. Velma tries to kill Lawrence, but Moose, who has been driving, turns on Velma and is shot and killed. Velma survives the confrontation, leaving Lawrence to untangle the remaining deception.

Ann arrives in a backfiring car and provides the decisive distraction that allows Lawrence to disarm Velma. The immediate danger subsides as Velma’s masquerade begins to crumble under scrutiny. The team now focuses on exposing the underlying blackmail plot.

Ann delivers a major scoop that exposes a sordid blackmail scheme involving Velma, Burnett, and Marriott. The revelation reframes the entire case and brings the various deaths into clearer focus. Lawrence now has solid evidence to pursue the true culprits.

As Lawrence is about to leave the squad room to meet his fiancée, a glamorous woman asks for his help and he immediately goes to assist. The ending signals that, for all the questions resolved, Lawrence’s detective work will continue in pursuit of justice. The film closes with him stepping into another challenge.