Leofwine_draca This 1929 adaptation of the famous Sapper hero is one of the earliest screen incarnations of the character, only the third to be made as far as I can tell. The film was produced by big shot Samuel Goldwyn in America, although by all respects and purposes it looks and feels like a British movie and it was shot in London. It stars popular actor Ronald Colman in the leading role and he's a good fit for Drummond; he looks the part physically and he has a kind of macho charisma to boot.The film's plot is quite simplistic but we must remember that this was made right at the outset of the talkies when cinema was still in its early days. Drummond advertises for adventure and is contacted by a beautiful young woman who claims that her uncle is being held hostage by a crooked gang. With the help of his buddy Algy and his butler Danny, Drummond heads off to investigate.Most of the action is centred around a creepy old mansion with plenty of sinister characters making up the cast. Ther's a surprising hint at rape along with set design and atmosphere familiar from the era's horror pictures. The story could have used a little more physical action but we do get a car chase. Some parts of the story are a little dissatisfying, particularly the ending, but overall it holds up very well and certainly doesn't feel its age. I particularly enjoyed Claud Allister's humorous performance as comic relief character Algy.

utgard14 The first Bulldog Drummond movie with sound stars Ronald Colman, also in his first talkie. Colman shines as Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond, a retired British captain who is bored with civilian life, so he places an ad in the paper looking for adventure. He's soon helping a young American woman (a beautiful nineteen year-old Joan Bennett) whose uncle is in danger of being robbed by three crooks at an asylum. Aiding him (ineffectually) is his annoying friend Algy (Claud Allister). Colman's Bulldog Drummond is charming, funny, and tough. He kills a man with his bare hands while cracking jokes -- Pre-Code greatness there! It might seem surprising given today's "standards" for what constitutes an Academy Award-worthy performance, but Colman was nominated for this film. For her part, Bennett is solid after a rough start (her first scene she's playing to the balcony). Claud Allister is an acquired taste. Unfortunately I have yet to acquire it as I found his shtick more annoying than amusing. He's supposed to be the comic relief but he's as funny as root canal. Colman and Allister would return to play Drummond and Algy again in 1934's Return of Bulldog Drummond. Lilyan Tashman, Lawrence Grant, and Montagu Love play the baddies and are all fun.As with most films made during the transition to talkies, there is some creakiness and a stiff, stagy feeling at times. But that's really only going to be an issue for you if you haven't seen many films from this period or before. The sound quality is actually pretty good, all things considered. The script is also quite nice, as are the sets courtesy of William Cameron Menzies. Once the villains enter the picture, the pace picks up and it's a very entertaining movie. Paramount would have some success later with their Bulldog Drummond series of B detective pictures but this one is a more polished, higher quality production than any of those.

preppy-3 VERY early talkie from 1929. It stars Ronald Colman as a wealthy WW1 veteran--Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond. He sets out to help people in trouble. He gets a letter from the mysterious Phyllis (Joan Bennett) who believes her father is being held against his will and tortured in a nursing home. She wants Bulldog to rescue him. He agrees and is helped by his faithful valet and annoying best friend Algy (Claud Allister).Most early talkies are boring stiff affairs but not this one. It moves quickly, is lots of fun, has exciting action sequences and has a great Oscar-nominated performance by Colman. The sound recording is good and the video is as good as can be expected from a 1929 film. The only negative about this is Allister as Algy. He plays his role WAY over the top and comes across as annoying and unfunny. Halfway through I wanted that guy gone! Him aside though this is an enjoyable and fun early talkie.

Nazi_Fighter_David Ex-army captain Hugh Drummond, first introduced by Hector McNeil (Sapper) in 1920, was, at the time of his first appearance in print, meant to be the embodiment of everything that was good and upright in the English character, but closer examination reveals someone distinctly less appealing, an educated fascist thug who is constantly seeking an outlet for his built-in violence… Finding it in a kind of moralistic crusade against crime, he delights in the suffering imposed by his brutal methods, nonchalantly breaking people's necks and organizing the military Black Gang to terrorize Bolshevik agitators…Drummond's first screen appearance was in 1922 when Carlyle Blackwell (as Drummond) and Gerald Deane (as his resourceful companion Algy Longworth) starred in a straight adaptation of the original novel: Singer/dancer Jack Buchanan came next in "Bulldog Drummond's Third Round" (25) but it was Colman's restrained and immaculately well-timed performance in Sam Goldwyn's first talkie "Bulldog Drummond" that proved the most popular of all… He was a character far removed from Sapper's original... In place of an upper class thug was a twentieth-century adventurer, a gentleman amateur complete with tweed jacket, white scarf and open sports car who, to relieve the boredom of his life, advertises in 'The Times' for his cases.He receives a large number of letters, the most promising coming from a beautiful young woman (a lovely Joan Bennett in her movie debut) who tells him that her uncle is being held prisoner in an insane asylum by doubtful doctors – who are in reality a gang of international crooks…So enduring was Drummond's popularity that an eight-film series (with John Howard) was made between 1937-1939 and the character was played by such famous stars as Sir Ralph Richardson and Ray Milland... Even the Sixties saw him in action with Richard Johnson in "Deadlier Than the Male" (1966) and "Some Girls" (1988).