The Lone Wolf Returns (1935)

Director:

Roy William Neill

Writers:

Lionel Houser (writer)
Joseph Krumgold (writer)

Release Date:

31 December 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery

Plot:

Once a jewel thief always a jewel thief? Yes and no. Yes if you consider the fact that Michael Lanyard...

Plot Keywords:

Jewel Thief | Beautiful Woman | Sequel

Cast

Melvyn Douglas	...	Michael Lanyard
Gail Patrick	...	Marcia Stewart
Tala Birell	...	Liane Mallison
Henry Mollison	...	'Mal' Mallison
Thurston Hall	...	Inspector Crane
Raymond Walburn	...	Jenkins
Douglass Dumbrille	...	Morpheux
Nana Bryant	...	Aunt Julie Stewart
Robert Middlemass	...	Chief of Detectives McGowan
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Detective Benson

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Quotes:

Inspector Crane: Mrs Mallison, my arm...
Liane Mallison: Inspector Crane, my shoulder!

Movie Connections:

Followed by "The Lone Wolf" (1954)

This is the cast which should have made the series

I had read that this film was well done, but I was a little bit surprised at how well the cast really fitted the parts. Melvyn Douglas is superb as Michael Lanyard, the Lone Wolf. His assistant, played by Raymond Walburn, is excellent in an understated role, something Walburn doesn't usually do. He's much more like a Jeeves to a Wooster here. As Crane, the inspector, Thurston Hall gives an incredibly nuanced performance which at times is so like Lionel Barrymore as to be uncanny. Usually I find Hall over-the-top, but his performance here definitely is a climb way up above his normal outcome. Gail Patrick as the love interest is fascinating as a good girl, this in view of the performances by which she is most remembered, namely "My Man Godfrey", made the next year, and "Stage Door", made a year after that. She's good, and her restrained acting, but intense and telling eyes always have the viewer captivated. Tala Birell and Henry Mollison are just shady enough without being nasty - as in typical serial material - to add charm rather than detraction to the film. Douglas Dumbrille is Douglas Dumbrille, and when he's bad he's a pleasure to watch. Only vipers are more dangerous. I think what is disappointing to me is the fact that this cast was not used in sequel series fashion. It would have been a very formidable combination. No, it's not as good as "The Thin Man" series, but it's very watchable and worth an hour and a half.