Alias Bulldog Drummond (1935) User Reviews

Jack is the Beanstalk

[Spondonman · 7/10 · 12 September 2004]

This is a fairly typical 1930's British comedy thriller yarn, only with a slightly better cast and plot albeit managing on much the same meagre budget. This makes it only slightly more interesting than the usual "quota-quickie" of the time, unless you like and love the humour of the Hulbert brothers and ditto the entire Bulldog Drummond canon like me. To an Unbeliever there is only Fay Wray to appreciate, unless you're mesmerised over the size of Jack Hulbert's chin.

To the fan though there is much pithy humour to be had, admittedly sometimes a bit slapstick and even awkward, but generally there's a credible and amusing banter going off between Jack and Claude throughout the film. Claude's best work came later with his collaborations with Will Hay, especially in My Learned Friend, but Jack's film work was simply to fund his stage work - he never made any classics. I suppose that was also the reason Ralph Richardson starred here as a manic baddie. Jack always looked a little lost without his wife Cicely Courtneidge by his side too - utterly faithful to her, in this he didn't even (and looked like he didn't want to) Kiss The Girl!

The climax resolves itself into a chase involving the British Museum and the London Underground, and is generally handled pretty well - although watch out for Jack jumping through the Tube train window!

very funny underground movie

[captainzip · 7/10 · 11 February 2007]

Released in the U.S. as 'Alias Bulldog Drummond', Bulldog Jack is just about the only one of a long series of patriotic Jack Hulbert comedies to survive the test of time and still be entertaining without being somewhat alien today.

The past is another country, so they say, and this piece of the past seems to have another London Underground system.

The film is very ably directed by Walter Forde, the former silent comedian who directed Rome Express and three other Hulbert comedies. It has a witty script by J.O.C. Orton, Sidney Gilliat and Gerard Fairlie, worked humorously around the serious 'Sapper' characters created by H.C. McNeile.

There is some gorgeous early film noir photography by Mutz Greenbaum on excellent sets of the British Museum and tunnels and an abandoned station on London's 'Central' Underground Line built at the Gaumont British studios at Shepherd's Bush (which just happened to be on the Central Line).

They changed the names of stations in the film to fictitious ones (though, oddly, later expansion of the real Central Line adopted two of the station names from the film) but there was a genuine closed 'Museum' station (called Bloomsbury in the film) which I can remember seeing the abandoned platforms of while passing from Tottenham Court Road to Holborn on the Central Line back in the '60s. It's not visible now. I've looked.

However, the idea for the film is said to have come from writer J.O.C. Orton noticing the abandoned Brompton Road station on the Piccadilly Line. Still, there are such a lot of abandoned stations in London that it could have been any one of them.

The film is remarkable for an incredibly eccentric performance by Ralph Richardson in the role of the master criminal Morelle, and as being the first of a number of British films that American star Fay Wray appeared in without ever being asked to scream once. In this film she looks simply beautiful - as ever - in some very beautiful clothes not suited at all to adventures in elevator shafts and tunnels. But her clothes never seem to get dirty once – which is how it should be.

There is also amusingly able support from Jack Hulbert's brother Claude as bumbling upper-class twit Algy Longworth - a role he seemed born for with his cartoon mouth and flappy ears.

In part we have to thank producer Michael Balcon for the film being so watchable today as he was the only British producer at the time inclined to apply high production values to comedies.

But we must also thank German expatriate Alfred Junge, who had designed for British silent classic Piccadilly, and who would go on to work with Powell and Pressburger on The Canterbury Tale, Colonel Blimp and A Matter of Life and Death (US title: Stairway to Heaven).

His stunning work is really only let down by the occasional use of models which are a little less than convincing but quite acceptable in the spirit of a very silly film which abandons reality fairly early on.

It is perhaps best to see this film in its very crisp Super 8 version, which, at only one hour long, disposes of the tedious, unfunny and dated dialogue scenes at the beginning of the full feature to leap right into the action with an impressive and dangerous accident on The Devil's Bend.

The somewhat aboriginal fight scene in the British Museum is beautifully crafted and well worth seeing, and I am still pondering over how many takes there must have been to get the boomerangs to perform precisely as well as they did.

The film has a very exciting climax on the Central Line (which at the time hadn't extended quite as far west as the film takes it) but I shall not spoil the ending for you by saying any more than that.

Funny, entertaining – for fans of the genre or Bulldog

[clark-9 · 7/10 · 4 July 2001]

Humorous dialog is the big plus for this film, and it's not even so-called 'British humor'. Is this a spoof or not? That's the best kind!

The fast pace combined with the typically weak early 30s British audio quality means you have to listen closely to catch a lot of the humor, but there are also visual slapstick and spoof-like moments too.

Having enjoyed several of the Bulldog movies starring John Howard (and the one Ray Milland entry), this movie was especially enjoyable for its `spin' on the characters and series. Use of the London Underground helps the atmosphere and staging as well as providing some humorous references in the dialog.

Ersatz Bulldog

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 25 November 2014]

Following the lines of this film, a few years later 20th Century Fox did a version of The Three Musketeers where the Ritz Brothers take the place of the real musketeers and tell part of Dumas's story. It's not one of my favorites. But Alias Bulldog Drummond where the real bulldog is incapacitated so Jack Hulbert takes his place as Fay Wray goes to him for help.

Algy who was never much help to Bulldog Drummond in any event is also along for the ride. It doesn't go too good at first, Fay Wray who is seeking help for her father gets kidnapped, Paul Graetz her father who the crooks really want is also kidnapped and Scotland Yard is put out no end.

As it turns out Ralph Richardson in one of his earliest films is the leader of a gang of jewel thieves. They want Graetz to make a duplicate of a valuable necklace to replace the original when they steal it. Richardson and his gang are playing for some very high stakes.

Jack Hulbert and his brother Claude who plays Algy have some nice comic bits in the film. Richardson is quite the suave master crook. There are some nice scenes in the London Underground where Richardson's crew have made their hideaway and there's a great climax involving a train, shades of The Taking Of Pelham 1-2-3.

As for the real Captain Drummond, who cares if it's an ersatz bulldog as long as the job gets done.

Bulldog Impersonator gets the girl via a secret tunnel

[robert-temple-1 · 7/10 · 15 May 2008]

This film, released in the USA as 'Alias Bulldog Drummond', was the seventh Bulldog Drummond film. It was made a few months after 'The Return of Bulldog Drummond', the highly political Mosleyite Drummond film in which Ralph Richardson played Drummond for the only time. In this film, Richardson plays the villain, Morel (or Morelle). Drummond himself is briefly played in this film by Atholl Fleming, who was not very well known and only appeared in eleven films in his entire career. Drummond is injured and confined to hospital near the beginning of this film and asks another man to take his place at a meeting with a mysterious woman and report back to him, and authorises him to impersonate him and pretend to be Drummond himself. This bizarre idea was cooked up by actor Jack Hulbert, who wrote the story, as a vehicle for himself. Hulbert was a popular comedian and tap dancer in British films of the 1930s and as unlikely a man to be in a Bulldog Drummond film as can be imagined, or could be imagined then, for that matter. Hulbert was a strange-looking man with a hatchet face and an enormous pointed chin, rather like Mr. Punch. Despite these unfortunate looks, he dressed, behaved and acted like an irresistible Romeo in many films, including this one. Hulbert cast his younger brother Claude Hulbert in this film as Drummond's sidekick Algy Longworth, and that was very successful, as Claude Hulbert had no difficulty at all in acting like a twit. (Whether he was one I wouldn't know, but many were in those days.) All these men with slicked-down hair and top hats and effete manners grate on the nerves today, but it was ever so fashionable in the 1930s. Fay Wray plays the girl in distress in this film, an undemanding part which she had no trouble in mastering. The butler Tenny is played very boringly by Gibb McLaughlin in this film, where he is called 'Denny', which was a mistake, as all Drumondonians will know. The film was directed very adequately by Walter Forde. It is treated very much as a comedy thriller, with jolly music of a humorous intent laid on too thick, and people colliding on stairs, and that sort of thing. It must not be taken seriously as a Bulldog Drummond thriller, as that was not the intention at all. The chief interest of this film historically is that a lot of it was shot in the recently decommissioned (25 September 1933) Central Line underground station known variously as 'Museum' or 'British Museum', depending on the time one refers to. In the film, the stations' names are changed, so that Holborn becomes 'High Holborn' (the name of the road above), and Museum becomes 'Bloomsbury' (the area in which it lies). Museum Station lay and still lies between Tottenham Court Road Station and Holborn Station, and I have recently suggested to Mayor Boris Johnson its reopening in order to relieve the desperate overcrowding at Holborn Station, which has become intolerable and a danger to the public owing to the intensity of office development in that area and the thousands of extra people who use the station every day. This film made free use of the abandoned Museum Station, and one sees a great deal of it as it was two years after closing, when it was still in what is called in Britain 'pretty good nick', meaning 'pretty great shape' in American dialect. In the story, this abandoned station is linked to the nearby British Museum by a tunnel, through which villains gain access to priceless ancient treasures. The yarn is good, the film is not bad, one can have fun and stare incredulously at Jack Hulbert's chin, and imagine the 'lost underground station' being restored to its former glory.

Hulbert takes the genre seriously

[kmoh-1 · 7 August 2018]

One of Jack Hulbert's best films, a spoof of the Bulldog Drummond series. There is little point watching Bulldog Jack if you are a fan of neither Bulldog nor Jack, but the USP of this film is that it doesn't play fast and loose with the thriller elements. It works pretty well as a Drummond film, and the first reel could easily have been transplanted from any of the others, as the crooks try to sabotage Drummond's car. Jack Hulbert steps in with his immense amateur enthusiasm and endless self-belief, immune to any doubts about his detective ability despite setback after setback; this confidence was Hulbert's trademark, and in any of his films you knew it would get him the girl, eventually. Smart dialogue peppers most scenes, particularly the early scene in Drummond's flat where Hulbert tries to make sense of the mysterious goings-on: "who is this man Santini, and why doesn't he know what he's done?" Claude Hulbert steps in as Algy, perennial 'silly ass' of the Drummond films, a clever piece of casting which allows brother Jack a confidante who will not outshine him, however dim he is being; Claude's finest moment is in the climactic scenes on the underground. Ralph Richardson is a somewhat eccentric master villain (with bizarre hair and a "filthy hat"), and Fay Wray as the love interest plays it entirely straight, which was probably wise.

For the aficionado of either Bulldog or Jack, this is a great picture. It is one of Hulbert's best (he was always a stage star), and it's better than most straight Drummonds. This is at least partly because the thriller elements are taken seriously. The most obvious sign of this is that there are no songs in the film, still less dancing. Even in Jack's the Boy, in contrast, Hulbert gives himself a couple of charming numbers. The self-restraint pays off in spades here.

BULLDOG JACK (Walter Forde, 1935) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 22 January 2014]

The same year that BULLDOG DRUMMOND STRIKES BACK (1934) emerged from Hollywood, Britain supplied its own adventure for the character (incarnated by Ralph Richardson) created by H.C. "Sapper" McNeile, namely THE RETURN OF BULLDOG DRUMMOND – in which he was pitted, as in the 1929 BULLDOG DRUMMOND, against his frequent antagonist Carl Peterson. A year later, a spoof (note my review of STRIKES BACK, which was itself something of a lampoon!) was produced – also in Britain – and, interestingly, Richardson here changed sides and essayed the chief villain role!

Anyway, the narrative – on which the author was himself involved! – begins with the real Drummond, played by one Atholl Fleming, being put out of action after he has promised leading lady Fay Wray (in a brief U.K. stint) his help; partly to blame for this indisposition, star Jack Hulbert – pining for the thrills that are Drummond's bread-and-butter – requests to offer his services but, when he comes face to face with Wray, decides to take the case (since he had been asked by the sleuth himself to temporarily impersonate him!). Also on hand is Drummond's sidekick Algy (played by Hulbert's younger brother Claude!), who is against their getting involved further…but, when the heroine is kidnapped, he joins "Bulldog Jack" (incidentally, the film was bafflingly retitled ALIAS BULLDOG DRUMMOND for the U.S.!) in pursuit.

As it turns out, this is guilty of the same criticism with respect to plot that I leveled at the Ronald Colman vehicles which preceded its viewing: Wray is in the care of a grandfather, whose forgery skills are sought by Richardson in order to replace the jewels adorning the statue of an Indian goddess inside the British Museum. While Jack Hulbert does not make for the most sympathetic lead (he had earlier starred in another highly-regarded, but unfortunately only partially available, comedy-thriller by the same director: the 1931 version of THE GHOST TRAIN, whose remake – also by Forde! – made 10 years later I own and have reviewed), the film maintains a good balance between delivering laughs and creating suspense. Also notable here are the settings – as mentioned, the climax occurs in the British Museum (to where the criminals gain access through the lid of an ancient tomb!), while Richardson's hide-out is in a disused branch of the London Underground (he even escapes by assuming control of a train, but is naturally routed by the intrepid hero) – and the editing (including judicious use of overlapping dialogue and cross-cutting).

To get back to THE RETURN OF BULLDOG DRUMMOND for a minute, I chose not to watch it at this juncture because I have a few more of the character's adventures (from his Hollywood run of B-movies) to go through – and, in any case, the three I did check out had earned a spot on the "Wonders In The Dark" poll of the all-time top 3000 films (even if I do not agree with its ranking this the highest)

Not one of the better films and not exactly a Bulldog Drummond film, nonetheless it's enjoyable.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 2 January 2011]

I would love to know the background for this film, as I simply cannot understand the reason such a plot was chosen. You see, this really isn't a Bulldog Drummond film. While Drummond (Atholl Fleming) is in the film, he's only in it a short time before he's injured. Then, another man (Jack Hulbert) poses as Drummond to complete the case! Now such a clumsy plot device like this MIGHT have made sense if Fleming had regularly played the part of Drummond but had commitments that made it impossible to complete the film with him. But Fleming never played this character before or after and I can't see why they just didn't have him or Hulbert play Bulldog Drummond and be done with it. Perhaps it just seemed like a good idea at the time! The film is a bit like a traditional Drummond film and a bit and not. While there is a mystery and a kidnapped damsel (Fay Wray, the 'hero' in the film is far less heroic--and a lot less macho. He and Algy both bungle about and somehow stumble upon a solution despite themselves. How anyone could mistake him for Drummond is beyond me, but it's all good fun (aside from a particularly bad performance by Claude Hulbert as Algy--yecch!) and a reasonably good entry into the series.

By the way, Bulldog Drummond is one of the most inexplicable characters in film history. While the films were obviously very successful because so many were made, the number of people who played this part is huge--and they never had any one actor who was the definitive Drummond. In 22 films, 13 different actors played this part! One of the best, sadly, was Walter Pidgeon. While not at all English, the film was better than most and quite enjoyable. Ronald Colman was pretty good but only played him twice.

Delightful example of British farce/comedy. Great fun!

[ljq · 8/10 · 4 April 2003]

Have seen this film several times now and generally chuckle/grin/smile most all of the way through. Always enjoy seeing the Underground and the British Museum settings again. Excellent "escapist" antidote to today's generally depressive "gloom and doom" national atmosphere. These days, I feel we need more of this type of film and less of the kind that's too light on dialogue and too heavy on violence and special effects.

An odd offshoot of the main Bulldog Drummond films, but very funny

[snogglethorpe-763-642810 · 7/10 · 19 April 2019]

This is very much a comedy, and the comic skills of the main leads are quite good.

It also works pretty well as a standard adventure film in the mold of the main series, albeit with none of the usual actors.

The main problem with this is that although the leads are funny, and Fay Wray is very pretty, they just don't have the charisma and charm of the actors in the main series.

Don't waste your time with this one!

[Norm-30 · 1/10 · 5 June 2000]

This film, simply put, is TERRIBLE! The acting is amateurish, and the characters run around a lot, but the whole thing FLOPS!

The only redeeming things about this film are the (always beautiful!) Fay Wray, and the sets of the abandoned subway tunnels.

Only die-hard Bulldog Drummond fans should see THIS one....if you can! (It's the "Plan 9" of Bulldog Drummond"!).

Amusing and exciting send up of the Bulldog Drummond Character is one of the best in the canon

[dbborroughs · 8/10 · 14 October 2008]

Jack Hulbert plays a polo player named Jack Pennington who literally runs into Bulldog Drummond when Drummond's car is sabotaged to stop Drummond from helping the young woman (Fay Wray) back in London. Drummond's arm is broken in the crash and he asks Hulbert to take his place in order to get the information that will let him help the fair damsel.Hulbert of course refuses to give up the ruse and soon with the aid of Algy he's trying to rescue the kidnapped girl and best the villainous Morelle (Ralph Richardson).

Moving like the wind this is a damn fine little comedy mystery. Hulbert is absolutely hysterical as the Drummond wannabe as he blusters his way in and out of danger. His insanity is absolutely charming.(He would repeat the same sort of nonsense to much the same effect three or so years later in Kate Plus Ten an adaptation of an Edgar Wallace story thats gotten better with each viewing. Fay Wray has never looked more stunning. I'm so used to her in American films which seem now never managed to show her beauty the way that this film does. As Morelle Ralph Richardson is a truly demented evil genius. Its clear he's dangerous, however he's so genuinely smooth that you almost by that he could be a nice guy.

The action is first rate with the climatic underground train sequence rightly held out as a key reason to see the film. One can easily imagine that the final twists and turns had audience members seeing this on a big screen shrieking.

This is a really good film and one wonders why its not currently out on DVD or, apparently, available for TV broadcast in the United States, since its easily one of the better mysteries of this sort.

Yes you really do want to check this film out.

(I don't know if I'd consider it a Bulldog Drummond film, partly because its so humorous, partly because Drummond isn't really in it and partly because its kind of atypical for the films that are real Drummond films. It is but its not. CAn we call it a semi-Drummond film?)

Funny that the phony Bulldog is more Dr. Watson than Holmes.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 28 September 2023]

Even the real Bulldog Drummond (Atholl Fleming) is nowhere near the dashing hero that Ronald Colman had played in two successful American motion pictures, involved in an accident which puts him in the hospital and causing the silly Jack Pennington (Jack Hulbert) to take his place. Having assisted Joan Bennett and Loretta Young in the Colman films, Bulldog is unfortunately unable to aide Fay Wray in this, but she's barely in this so that really doesn't matter much.

Taking on the kidnappers of Wray's grandfather, Hulbert ends up in a series of wacky situations in both the British museum and the underground, his droll personality assured of him not succeeding but somehow protected in spite of his incompetence. The action packed film is more farce than intrigue, with Hulbert utilizing a lot of slapstick and silly chases, including a table that acts as a slide down an extremely long circular staircase and ultimately a run away train. Maybe not a comic masterpiece, but Hulbert is endearing via way of his clumsiness that leads him to some very close calls. More laughs than groans makes this a moderate success.

Some good dialogue, but mostly quite boring

[peefyn · 5/10 · 29 January 2016]

I was not aware of the character Bulldog Drummond before watching this movie. This movie seems to be a fun way to make a comedy out his kind of stories, though. While the set up was a bit weak - Drummond basically handing over his everything on little more than a whim - it worked okay within the (silly) movie. For this is a silly comedy. It does have a crime plot, but it's not that good, and not at all in focus. It's about Jack Pennington and the goofs he is forced to solve this crime with. Jack Pennington himself is mostly a comic relief with a hard to pin-down personality. He does deliver some fun lines, mostly the dismissive ones between himself and his sidekick. This relationship is the highlight of the movie - but only certain scenes and situations. At its worst parts, the movie is dumb gags with sound effects. These can be good, but in this movie isn't. For instance, I Initially liked the visual gag of the spiral staircase, but it lasted way too long to.

Jack Hulbert does not impress with his acting, either. It might be that his style was more suited for the his era, as it bear similarities to other comedies of that time. But there's still something with his way of delivering many of the lines that distracted you from the punchline. At times it felt like he was on the verge of breaking into laughter. The other performances in the film did not feel off in this way.

But then again, maybe I am too young for these kind of movies? Or maybe I am not well enough versed in comedies like this to appreciate them? Either way, the movie did not work for me now.

Disguise

[tedg · 12 August 2008]

I'm constantly amazed at the inventiveness of 1930s detective stories. The genre was still being formed and all sorts of crazy narrative techniques were being tried. Most failed of course or even if they hit, they weren't rich enough to be developed and therefore died as well.

The Bulldog Drummond franchise was one of the most successful of the era, and also one that had the most experimentation, compared for example with Chan or Holmes. In this edition, the crooks hide behind false identities and motives. The criminal plan is to create a deceptive object. So there are already two "false identities" involved. This film adds a third: the series detective has a surrogate who operates in his name.

It doesn't work for me. Probably didn't at the time, except to provide a way to introduce "British" humor. But its a clever idea, huh?

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Bulldog Jack

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 26 February 2023]

Atholl Fleming - the real "Bulldog Drummond" features only sparingly in this cheerily entertaining and quickly paced jewellery caper. He is involved in a car accident and luckily the brave - but not so useful - "Pennington" (Jack Hulbert) steps up to the plate to help the damsel in distress, in this case "Ann" (Fay Wray). Her problem is that her grandfather - who makes fine necklaces - has been kidnapped by a gang who need to make a counterfeit version of one they intend to steal from the British museum, no less! Soon, the pair are engaged in a perilous search through the tunnels of the London Underground in search of the secret hideout of the would-be robbers and her missing grandad whilst still aiming to thwart the plans of their cold and calculating nemesis. Now we know pretty quickly whom this dastardly fellow is - if only because of his star status in the film, but that doesn't really impede the adventure and the ending is quite an excitingly filmed feat of cinematography as much as of acting. It does take it's time to get going, true, but once it's into third gear it's quite a fun film that effortlessly passes 75 minutes.

Sporadically funny spoof with some extremely well-done action

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 27 May 2012]

Bulldog Drummond sits this one out; he appears only at the start, gets injured, and sends a proxy to take over his new adventure. This proxy may be a bit of a bumbler, but when it comes down to it, he's quite brave and efficient as well! The traditional damsel-in-distress is played this time by the incredibly beautiful Fay Wray, of "King Kong" fame, while an unrecognizable Ralph Richardson, who played Bulldog Drummond himself in the previous entry of the series, now appears as the main villain! The film largely goes for the laughs, and finds quite a few, but not as consistently as one would like; however, in the last 10 minutes it goes for the thrills as well, with some extremely well-done stunts and action sequences that still hold up today. More than worth a look. **1/2 out of 4.

Very droll and amusing

[grafxman · 9/10 · 31 May 2004]

** small spoiler **

Bulldog's car is sabotaged and he crashes into another car on his way to a mysterious mission. As it turns out, the driver of the other car is a great fan of Bulldog's work and his lifestyle.

So, while Bulldog is mending in the hospital, the fan agrees to take on Bulldog's work for him. Thus begins an exercise in comedic silliness that only the Brits can do.

It's not hysterically funny. It just has that sort of laid back, gentle, situation type humor that the Brits do better than anyone else.

There is also enough tension and mystery to make all the running about worth while.

I gave it the nine it deserved.

Best thriller of the year!

[JohnHowardReid · 9/10 · 3 March 2018]

Sir Ralph Richardson who played the title role in The Return of Bulldog Drummond (1934), here returns to this series, this time playing the master villain, whose henchmen put the real Bulldog Drummond out of the way, only to be thwarted in their efforts to steal British Museum jewels by an inept impersonator. Although it has its fair share of chuckles, and two or three quite risible moments, it's fair to say that Bulldog Jack is far more successful delivering thrills than laughs. True, Jack is funny enough, whilst brother Claude makes the most perfect Algy of the entire series. Richardson in a wonderful fright wig overacts the arch-criminal to a "T", and Gibb McLaughlin is likewise successful as the Drummond butler. These are players who know instinctively how to tread the fine line between broad farce and genuinely menacing excitement. Unfortunately this talent is not shared by Fay Wray whose heroine's straight face seems almost frozen stiff, and Paul Graetz who manages to overact yet isn't the slightest bit funny. Fortunately shortfalls in the acting department don't matter very much by the time the double climax rolls around. Aided by Junge's magnificently eerie sets, Greenbaum's noirish lighting and Ludwig's exceptionally skilful film editing, the runaway climax is the most suspensefully thrilling of the series. As usual, Forde's direction is most accomplished. He even re-uses his famous running-down-the-stairs routine from Would You Believe It? (1929) in which all the action is filmed in just the single set but made to appear lighthousely extensive on the screen by rapid pacing and brilliant cutting. My only complaint is that Bulldog Jack was made at least ten or twelve years before guest star cameos became so desirable and popular. Atholl Fleming is a dull and bland Bulldog (even though his first telephone voice sounds like Rex Harrison). How Ronald Colman or Jack Buchanan would have livened up this brief but vital part!

OTHER VIEWS: A gentle spoof, with Jack Hulbert perhaps a little too strenuous in his pursuit of laughs, yet it manages to outpace many a more celebrated thriller in cliff-hanging suspense and nail-biting excitement. The casting of Claude Hulbert as Algy Longworth is nothing short of inspired, as is the enjoyable re-appearance of last year's Bulldog himself as this year's fiendish Moriarty-like antagonist. Lavish sets, atmospheric photography and a deft music score add immeasurably to the film's total appeal... Despite its comic potentials (which are for the most part realized quite ably and successfully), Bulldog Jack gets my vote as the best thriller of the year.

A Great Unknown!

[Maliejandra · 9/10 · 30 May 2014]

Why isn't this movie better known? If you're a fan of comedy and/or detective drama, this is the perfect movie for you.

Bulldog Drummond breaks his arm in a car accident and can't work, so he enlists the help of the other guy in the collision to stand in for him until he recovers. So begins a hilarious case where "Bulldog Jack" (Jack Hulbert) does his best to behave the way he believes a detective should, only he's pretty dense and makes plenty of stupid decisions with sidekick Algy (Claude Hulbert) including setting a door on fire when they're locked in a small room in order to escape.

The case involves a brunette Fay Wray who provides the eye candy in this stylishly-photographed thriller-comedy. If you get a chance to see it, do! What are you waiting for?