robert-temple-1 Three Bulldog Drummond films were made in 1937 in quick succession, this being the first, and the only one starring Ray Milland as Drummond. It was the eighth Drummond film to be made. It came out in April, 'Bulldog Drummond at Bay' came out in July, and 'Bulldog Drummond Comes Back' came out in September. Each had a different leading man, the next two in succession being John Lodge and John Howard. In this one, the young Ray Milland was amusing and engaging, but over-acted in a way which was not helpful. He portrayed the hero as someone with adolescent, almost juvenile, attitudes, thereby turning Drummond into a rather idiotic parody, and making the whole film too much like a comedy, despite its scenes of danger and distress. The producers instantly realized they had made a mistake and had endangered their plans for a series of films, so they sought someone with more gravitas. The next film used John Lodge once. But after that, inspiration finally came in the form of John Howard, who was perfect casting and would go on to make many Drummond films, with just the right combination of gravitas mixed with a residual boyish sense of fun, openness (never Milland's strong point), and solid, sporting good humour. In this film, Phyllis Clavering is introduced for the first time, and inspired casting occurred when Heather Angel played the part. The producers made a big mistake in having Phyllis played for three more films by the boring Louise Campbell, but Heather Angel would reappear the next year five films later (Phyllis does not appear in one of them), and carry on for several films to great effect. Phyllis enters the world of Drummond as a helpless imprisoned maiden in distress, whom he rescues. Eventually she ends up suspended in his arms, kissing him, with marriage beckoning. (As all Drummondonians know, this marriage would be 'interruptus' on numerous future occasions.) Guy Standing is boring as Inspector Nielson in this film, and they got rid of him too. E. E. Clive as Tennie the Butler, and Reginald Denny as Algy are in fine fettle for this episode, and were to grace the series for a long while with their charm and talents. There is a curious scene in this film where the villains are driving through the gates of a great house in a Rolls Royce. This shot is actually cut from the 1929 'Bulldog Drummond' and re-used! Much of this film is spent with Algy Longworth desperately trying to phone the hospital to see if his wife has had her baby yet. In 'Bulldog Drummond Comes Back', he will be desperately trying to make it to that same baby's christening, while Drummond will be desperately trying to marry Phyllis, the villains preventing both of these things. This film is entertaining and lively if one is not fussy, and has humour as well, so it is good viewing. As Tennie the Butler would say: 'That is my thought exactly, Sir.'

Hitchcoc As with most of the items in this series, one must put aside a great deal of incredulity. There are far too many coincidences and events dependent on the victim, for the bad guys to be as successful as they are. That said, there is a great deal of byplay among the principles, including the police department and others makes it a good deal of fun. The thing that really stretches things is that the young woman whom we focus on is semi-conscious much of the time and participate a bit too much in the plot to conceal her. There are, however, so many opportunities to escape or to get help, the ultimate rescue seems a little unnecessary. Ray Milland as Drummond is quite good. I always found him unflappable in his many portrayals (even the Hitchcock classic). He has suavity down to a science. The byplay with the butler is quite delightful. I'm still not sure why they were hanging on to this girl (she seemed like excess baggage) and what the mystery was, but I still had a fine time. I have six of these films and look forward to the next one.

classicsoncall For my first introduction to the Bulldog Drummond franchise, I must say I was rather pleasantly entertained. The film is decidedly played in a much lighter vein than the Charlie Chan stories of the same era, and with a cast of characters that complement each other nicely. Captain Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond (Ray Milland) however is not without his shortcomings as a detective, as he gets blind sided more than once and rescues the wrong girl before finally resolving the mystery.In retrospect, the set up is one of the bigger plot holes in the movie. Miss Phyllis Clavering (Heather Angel) hijacks Drummond's auto in the middle of nowhere, only to return to the Greystone estate where she's being held captive. There we're introduced to a villainous cast of characters headed by Norman Merridew (Porter Hall), who masterminds a counterfeiting scheme following the murder of Miss Clavering's brother.For his part, Drummond is aided by hapless partner Algy Longworth (Reginald Denny), and Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Reginald Nielson (Guy Standing). However it's Drummond's butler Tenny (E.E. Clive) who almost steals the show as the deadpan foil for his master, getting him out of more than one scrape before it's over. His best effort is when he nonchalantly drags a body in a blanket to Drummond's closet as if it were a routine occurrence.Pay attention to a conversation between Phyllis and Drummond when she describes the letter she found in the garden. She states that it was blurry and covered in mud making it hard to read. Earlier however, when we see that same letter switched to prevent it from reaching Colonel Nielson, it appeared in perfect condition.There's a running gag that gets a bit overdone regarding Algy's first encounter with fatherhood. He's constantly thwarted trying to get in touch with the hospital to find out what's happening. Of course everything works out well, as the old boy is rewarded with a son.All in all, "Bulldog Drummond Escapes" is a fun story, complete with clever word play, the old shoes behind the curtain trick, a lights out gimmick and the advantage between good and bad guys shared equally. Drummond even gets the girl in the end, planning marriage as it were, though I understand other adventures stood in the way before that happened. I'm inclined to check them out based on this introduction to the series.

Snow Leopard This is a solid low-budget feature that delivers the main things you hope for in a 'Bulldog Drummond' movie. It has good action, a plot involving a heroine in distress and some crafty villains, and a confident, good-natured hero played here by Ray Milland. All of the actors who portrayed Drummond gave the movies their own feel, but Milland, like most of them, gives the character the right balance of energy and British poise, while putting his own style into the role as well.The story is set up by an odd encounter between Drummond and Phyllis (Heather Angel) that leads to an involved sequence of events, with Drummond determined to find out exactly what dangers Phyllis is facing, at times even having to oppose his friend Colonel Neilson. The story moves at a good pace, moving quickly from one predicament to the next. There are times when it doesn't quite fit together smoothly, and with even better writing and editing it could have been even more effective, but the basic idea works pretty well.Heather Angel makes a good Phyllis, winning and energetic. It's interesting to see her in this early Drummond episode, since she later came back to play Phyllis after the character was played by other actresses for the next few features. Neilson is not given a particularly large role here, but the rest of the usual crowd is present, with E.E. Clive as the resourceful Tenny and Reginald Denny as the befuddled but helpful Algy.Porter Hall also helps out, with one of his many good character performances as Drummond's slippery opponent. The low budget look is helped by having most of the action take place at night and/or in darkened settings, giving it a decent atmosphere despite the lack of detail. It makes for a solid feature that works well enough as light entertainment.