Bulldog Drummond's Revenge
"On my record darling, you're justified in expecting battle, murder and sudden death." -- Bulldog Drummond

A while back, I watched a slew of old Bulldog Drummond films courtesy of one of those 50-films for $20 cheapo collections. 1937's Bulldog Drummond's Revenge kicks off the collection in grand fashion. I'm familiar with the character, but have only seen him in action in the much later and very different Deadlier than the Male, which is an exceptional film and very much worth watching. It's a lot more colorful, of course, seeing as it's in color, and more in line with the swingin' 60s spies like Flint and Bond whereas the 1930s version of the dogged investigator is much more in line with the traditional image of a private eye the likes of a Thin Man or the Falcon -- those snappy, chipper, fast-talking gents who, in sharp contrast to the grim heroes of the noir era, always seem to be having a whale of a time solving whatever mystery has fallen into their lap.


The so-called noir film revolution was just beginning to peek out from behind the curtain, and while Bulldog Drummond may dip a toe into the hard-nosed world from time to time, it has more in common with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the early espionage and suspense thrillers of Alfred Hitchcock than with Raymond Chandler or Out of the Past. The dialog is snappy, the wit is sharp, and there's a fair bit of smart humor sprinkled liberally throughout this tale that finds Drummond's upcoming wedding complicated by the heist of a powerful new explosive that he must recover before it falls into the hands of people who would use it to do things like blow London to bits.

I'm not sure exactly where this film falls chronologically in the series of Bulldog Drummond features that were produced during the 1930s, but it doesn't take long to get acquainted with the principle players. Actor John Howard is superb as Drummond, and his performance is further buoyed by a stellar supporting cast (including the elder John Barrymore as beleaguered and oft-exasperated colonel) that never misses a beat of the script's expert pace. If there is a fault with the film, it's that the villains are a bit forgettable, but with everything else so memorable, Bulldog Drummond's Revenge serves as an excellent introduction to the series (though I'm not really remembering any point at which he needed, wanted, or got any revenge) and the characters, even if it's not the first in the series. Bravo, old chap!

Bulldog Drummond Escapes
Bulldog Drummond's Revenge gave us a snappy, high enjoyable mystery movie in which the titular character never really seeks out any revenge. We follow up that movie with Bulldog Drummond Escapes, a movie in which Bulldog Drummond does escape something at one point, though it's hardly so important an escape that it warrants naming the movie after the act.

This time around, ace busybody and amateur sleuth Bulldog Drummond is played by none other than Ray Milland, looking fit and handsome and for more respectable than he did in The Thing with Two Heads and The Premature Burial. If you watched either of those films and wondered why anyone thought Milland was dashing or talented, then Bulldog Drummond Escapes might clue you in a little better. He's top notch here in this great little movie.

Bulldog Drummond Escapes finds Drummond back in England to witness the birth of his best friend, Algy's (Reginald Denny -- who would reprise this role in seven other Bulldog Drummond films throughout the 1930s), child. Drummond's presence comes much to the exasperation of Colonel Nielson (Guy Standing, who died shortly after this film's completion in 1937), since Drummond seems to spontaneously generate mysteries and mayhem. Sure enough, despite Nielson's pleading with Drummond to get lost, Drummond soon stumbles upon a mystery involving an heiress imprisoned in her own home by a gang of unscrupulous relatives and hangers-on who plan to steal her fortune. The young woman is no other than Phyllis Claverling, who will become Drummond's put-upon fiance in future films as they develop the running joke that she and Bulldog are on their way to be married when they are diverted by some new mystery that must be solved. Actress Heather Angel plays Phyllis in this entry into the series, as well as most of the future entries, though Louise Campbell played her in Bulldog Drummond's Revenge.

As with the previous film (at least in the order I watched them), the script is fleet-footed and consistently witty. There's no real mystery presented to the viewer -- we know who the villains are and what they want -- but that doesn't detract from the fun of watching Drummond, Algy, and Drummond's trusted butler Tenny (E.E. Clive) run about getting knee-deep in mysterious hijinks. Milland's performance is enthusiastic and engaging, and a fella like me can't help but empathize with Drummond's enthusiasm at getting caught up in such a case. There's a great scene where Milland basically goes giddy as a schoolgirl as he points out the drooping trees, the foggy night, and just how perfect it all is for sleuthing.

His gung-ho performance is buttressed expertly by a cast of experienced character actors who know exactly what to do and when to do it. E.E. Clive is possibly the best wise, adventuring butler ever put on screen -- and yes, weirdly enough, there are a lot of wise, adventuring butlers (Alfred from the Batman stories would probably be the highest profile these days). Both the action and comedic timing is perfect, and Bulldog Drummond Escapes is simply another immensely enjoyable old-fashioned potboiler with a healthy helping of wit and winking.

Bulldog Drummond in Africa
Bulldog Drummond in Africa takes our intrepid adventurer (John Howard, who plays Drummond in just about all of the Bulldog Drummond films) and thorn in the side of the stuffy Colonel Nielson (played this time by H.B. Warner) to, as you may surmise from the title, Africa. Morocco, in particular. We first meet Drummond at home in England where and his butler, for some strange reason, have no pants on and pass the day playing the bagpipes and doing a wee bit o' Highland dancing. Turns out this was a plot devised by Drummond's beloved fiance (once again played by Heather Angel) to ensure that he can't go out and get involved in some new mysterious adventure that further delays their impending wedding. Naturally, even without their pants, Drummond and Tenny (who is played once again with impeccable hilarity by E.E. Clive) manage to get caught up in dastardly shenanigans when they discover a treacherous spy from the colonel's past has returned and kidnapped Nielson in hopes of dragging some information regarding a new super weapon out of the old man. It's up to Drummond, Tenny, Phyllis, and Algy to fly to Morocco and rescue the colonel.

Bulldog Drummond in Africa is a small step down from the previous films I watched, but just by a little. It's still a wonderfully breezy, frequently funny, and occasionally thrilling mystery adventure. Howard was tailor made for the role of Bulldog Drummond, and as much as I enjoyed Ray Milland's turn in the role in Bulldog Drummond Escapes, Howard just owns the character the same was Basil Rathebone owned Sherlock Holmes. Once again, the entire cast is in top form, bouncing witting banter off one another with breakneck speed. I don't know if the entire Bulldog Drummond series maintains this high a standard, but after three delightful films, I'm still excited to find out.

Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police
Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police finds ace busybody and freelance adventurer Captain Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond and his beloved Phyllis sequestered away in Drummond's home on the eve of their wedding. This would be about the ten thousandth attempt they've made at a getting married, only to have each wedding spoiled by some crazy mystery or adventure that sends them off solving a murder, combating spies, or some other activity far more fun than getting married. But Phyllis is determined to see that nothing gets in the way of this wedding.

Unfortunately, if Drummond doesn't go looking for a mystery, one is sure to come looking for him. And sure enough, it arrives in the form of a bumbling professor who happens to have knowledge of a secret treasure hidden in the catacombs of Drummond's very own home. When a murderous assistant shows up to off the prof and claim the booty as his own, Drummond and the usual crew of Phyllis, stolid Scotland Yard inspector Nielson, goofball best friend Algy, and well-armed war veteran butler Tenny find themselves hunting for the killer and the treasure when they were supposed to be memorizing vows and preparing the soup for the wedding.

Bulldog Drummond films are perfect Saturday afternoon/late night fare. They movie quickly (most of them, including this one, clock in at barely an hour), boast scripts that are jammed with witty dialog and exchanges, and sustain themselves with a steady diet of shenanigans and intrigue. Even the comedy is usually pretty funny, which is a rare thing for comedy to be. Like many long-running film series, they can tend to get repetitive, relying on cookie cutter plots that are tweaked just slightly enough to pass for a new movie, but this really doesn't bug me since the end results are always so much fun. Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police is another winner, and the do-or-die treasure hunt beneath Drummond's estate is a swell setting for lots of adventure, booby traps, and guys falling into underground rivers. The cast is familiar with their roles by this point, and they perform admirably. As Drummond, John Howard positively bursts with enthusiasm. Drummond is a man who absolutely thrills like a child at the scent of an adventure, and Howard conveys that perfectly. Here's hoping he and Phyllis never get married.

Bulldog Drummond Comes Back
The action continues with Bulldog Drummond Comes Back, though this is a film that falls much earlier in the chronology of the series (as Drummond has proposed to the first time to Phyllis, I assume it immediately follows Bulldog Drummond Escapes). When a nemesis from the past shows up and kidnaps Phyllis, Drummond, Algy, and Tenny find themselves on a wild goose chase around town, following one seemingly pointless clue after another, with Inspector Nielson close behind in a variety of silly disguises. The simple plot allows for the film to sort of meander around as Drummond and his friends go back and forth listening to photograph records and deciphering riddles, but once again, it's a lot of fun and, as the film is only an hour long, the cat and mouse game hardly wears out its welcome before Drummond finds himself in a house of traps, struggling to save his beloved from certain doom.

Once again, the cast is superb, but this film really belongs to the venerable John Barrymore (yes, of THAT Barrymore family) as Colonel Nielson. Forbidden by Drummond's nemesis to get involved, Nielson decides to fall back on his old theater days in order to meddle without being detected, assuming the secret identity of a drunken hobo and a corncob pipe puffing salty old fisherman. And as always, Algy falls down and Tenny gets hit on the head.

So far so good. I can't imagine going wrong with Bulldog Drummond. Even the relatively middling films in the series are a great deal of fun.

Labels: Crime, Series: Bulldog Drummond