RKO must have had a very small budget to work with when they made "The Falcon in Mexico", using stock footage of actual location photography but process photography for all of the studio shots with actors in front of the screened location backgrounds. It becomes such a distraction that there's a tendency not to follow the plot after awhile but just to watch how often the actors are in Hollywood rather than Mexico.
Whatever, the story is not intriguing enough and nobody seems to be trying very hard to bring it to life. Even the usually vivacious MARTHA VICKERS (who played the nymphomaniac in THE BIG SLEEP) has a hard time conveying any genuine emotion while she pines for her long lost father, while others in the cast are competent enough but not really inspired. NESTOR PAIVA has the best supporting role as an overly enthusiastic but helpful taxi driver called Manuel.
Nevertheless, Conway does a decent job as the debonair detective who has the same interest as the police in solving a crime, but seems to be avoiding them at every turn.
Some of the background photography is well filmed, but using process shots for scenes involving the actors is too obvious for comfort.
Summing up: All in all, a passable B-film entertainment.
Whatever, the story is not intriguing enough and nobody seems to be trying very hard to bring it to life. Even the usually vivacious MARTHA VICKERS (who played the nymphomaniac in THE BIG SLEEP) has a hard time conveying any genuine emotion while she pines for her long lost father, while others in the cast are competent enough but not really inspired. NESTOR PAIVA has the best supporting role as an overly enthusiastic but helpful taxi driver called Manuel.
Nevertheless, Conway does a decent job as the debonair detective who has the same interest as the police in solving a crime, but seems to be avoiding them at every turn.
Some of the background photography is well filmed, but using process shots for scenes involving the actors is too obvious for comfort.
Summing up: All in all, a passable B-film entertainment.