The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady (1940) User Reviews

About time he met a lady

[Spondonman · 7/10 · 13 May 2004]

I've still a few of this series of films to see yet, but TLWMAL seems pretty typical of the William Warren Lone Wolf entries.

Basically the pretty and innocent socialite (Jean Muir) about to be married gets tangled up with theft and murder, then luckily for her gets tangled up with the Lone Wolf and his valet (Eric Blore). These two are about to go on holiday but stay to help the damsel in distress from the clutches of the law (Thurston Hall & Fred Kelsey).

There's quite a few twists and turns and the pace never lets up, especially when one of the baddies (Victor Jory) is summarily dismissed from the plot as a corpse without a shot being fired. I think one of the reasons why High Brows disdain this type of potboiler is because they're unnerved to find that it can take so much concentration to follow the story - This Should Not Be!

Favorite bit : In trying to give Muir an alibi, William runs the bath and orders her to take her clothes off - Blore is suitably and audibly outraged even though they immediately leave the room. The last few minutes are a bit frantic, but when the time was up they closed 'em down fast at Columbia.

This was good, recommended to all fans of the genre.

A very good example for this style of film

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 23 March 2007]

This movie is a B-detective series film. This means that as a "B" movie, it was the second and usually lesser film on a double-feature bill. This didn't mean that B meant it was a bad film, but it was certainly given a smaller budget and had lesser pretensions and expectations from the studio. Many B-films were detective series films and they provided great but also relatively predictable entertainment (much like a movie version of a TV show like MURDER SHE WROTE or even LAW AND ORDER). Common to all these films were goofy or evil supporting characters, a very fast pace, a relatively short length (55-70 minutes) and a certain familiarity with the main characters. Some notable examples are the Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, Falcon or Saint series films.

The Lone Wolf is in many ways particularly like The Saint or Falcon films because the lead (Warren William) plays a reformed thief and gentleman who is smooth with the ladies. While he's very easy to like and is obviously a force for good, the police never seem to understand he's helping them. AND, because of this, the cops are pretty dumb! This is the trademark of all these films.

In this case, William is very ably assisted by Eric Blore (who is hilarious as his butler in this third Lone Wolf film). Unlike the last of the Warren William Lone Wolf films (The Lone Wolf Strikes), this one has a very good plot and actually has some entertaining twists and turns. Plus, like the first of the series (The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt), the supporting actors in general are excellent. A very good example of the series.

A Better Lone Wolf Series

[whpratt1 · 7/10 · 29 September 2007]

Always enjoy the great acting of Warren William, (Michael Lanyard/Lone Wolf) and his partner, Jamison, (Eric Blore) who were planning on a nice trip to Lake Placid, N.Y. for some fun in the snow. However, their trip is upset because they almost run over a young lady who ran in the front of their automobile. This lady was Joan Bradley, (Jean Muir) who is a pretty blonde socialite about to get married and is robbed of a diamond necklace worth a great deal of money. Joan witnessed a murder and tells Michael Lanyard the entire story and he decides to help her get out of this mess of a situation she got herself into by giving her an alibi. The plot thickens and there are many twists and turns. There are plenty of laughs and you will never be able to figure out just who is the killer until the very end of the film.

Your either stupid or a genius

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 30 September 2007]

***SPOILERS*** The now retired from crime "Lone Wolf" Michael Lanyard, Warrner Williams,does in a way meet a lady in the movie almost by accident. This happens when he together with his bumbling valet Jamison, Eric Blone, almost run down and kill socialite Joan Bradley, Jean Muir, who was running mindlessly through the streets. At the time of the almost fatal accident Lanyard was running red lights, for fun I guess, just to see how fast his car can go without thinking that he might very well kill someone.

Picking up Joan and leaving the traffic policeman, who was chasing him, in the dust Lanyard finds out that she was just robbed of her $100,000.00 diamond necklace that she got as a wedding present from her future husband millionaire Bob Penyon,Warren Hall. If that wasn't bad enough for Joan her ex-husband, who is believed to be dead for years, Peter Nick Renick(Roger Pryor) came back from the dead and was immediately shot to death, by an unknown assailant, in her wedding suite as he was trying to take the necklace off her! The big mystery here is not only who killed Renick but who took the necklace and why?

The film has the suave and sophisticated ladies man Lanyard go undercover as a both private investigator and fake police detective to not only prove Joan's innocence but also find what's so important, besides it's value, about her necklace that caused the murder of not only Renick but his partner in crime Clay Beaudine, Victor Jory. It's doesn't take long for Lanyard to realize that the necklace is not what everyone thinks it is. The fact that the diamond necklace ended up in the bottom of the river, being thrown out the window by the dying Renick, outside of Joan's apartment has Lanyard plans to get a professional deep-sea diver to retrieve it.

The very confused ending has the actual killer and his accomplice come out into the open in thinking that the necklace is soon to be recovered from it's watery grave only to get themselves shot and arrested by the police whom Lanyard tipped off. The truth about the necklace is that it's****SPOILERS****really a phony and the fact that will soon come out, when it's appraised, will expose those who were involved in switching it's diamonds with costume jewelry! And furthermore the person who did the switching is the person in charge of the Penyons, Joan's husbands family, finances.

Talky but interesting crime drama with the added attraction of the two top cops on the case Insp. Carne, Thurston Hall, and his butterfingered partner Det. Dickens, Fred Kelsey, in comedy relief roles in almost letting the guilty parties get away and arresting totally innocent Joan and Lanyard. It didn't take that much to realize why Michael Lanyard was never caught during his life as a master Jewel thief with cops like that, Crane & Dickens, screwing everything up in their failed efforts to capture him.

Eric Blore: "Police don't like us, and it's oh, so mutual!"

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 14 November 2007]

If it weren't for some droll remarks by ERIC BLORE, this Lone Wolf entry called THE LONE WOLF MEETS A LADY hasn't got much material to distinguish it among all the other Wolf films.

Blore brings some much needed humor to the predictable formula which has the Wolf fleeing the authorities with a woman (JEAN MUIR) who has witnessed the murder of a man over the robbery of an expensive jewel. He and his valet (Blore) decide to help her free herself from the clutches of Inspector Crane (THURSTON HALL) as The Lone Wolf goes about to find the real man responsible for the crime.

The only surprise among the cast members is seeing BRUCE BENNETT pop up as an irate policeman. Bennett doesn't play his usual bland type and plays the feisty cop with a good display of temperament. Oddly enough, his name is billed last among the cast credits. WARREN HULL as Muir's fiancé is competent enough and better remembered by me as "The Green Hornet" in the serial series he did in the early '40s. As for WARREN WILLIAM, he seems completely at ease in the title role.

Nothing new here, and one of the less memorable but still enjoyable entries in this series.

An enjoyable whodunnit.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 9 June 2023]

The Lone Wolf comes to the aid of Joan Bradley, a young woman who gets herself embroiled in a case of murder and robbery.

Gentleman thief turned Private Detective Michael Lanyard is once again on the case, ably supported by Jamison.

A pretty good installment, a solid if unremarkable plot, but as a whodunnit, it worked quite well. This did actually remind me a little of The Lone Wolf Strikes, a case that also involves a jewellery theft.

It's quite well paced, it's full of twists and turns, and you are made to wait to learn exactly who the killer is.

Jean Muir is very good as Joan Bradley, but it's Eric Blore who steals the show as Jamison, he is absolutely hilarious throughout, his quick wit and one liners are a total joy, his delivery is flawless.

A pleasing mystery, one I enjoyed.

7/10.

Counterfeit Gems & Murder!

[profh-1 · 6/10 · 1 July 2022]

Lanyard & Jamison are heading for a holiday when, as the cop-hating butler flaunts traffic laws, they run across a lady in distress, and are pulled in deeper once the cops suspect HER of theft & murder. Naturally, once they find out she's gone to Lanyard for help, they suspect HE's behind the whole thing. Complicating it, and in a bit of a repeat of the previous film, TWO separate criminal forces are at work, wanting the jewels, for entirely-different reasons.

I felt this was a step down from the quality of the 4 previous films, but only slightly. Once the complications kicked in, it held my attention. On the plus side was the supporting cast, which included Victor Jory (who'd starred as THE SHADOW), Warren Hull (THE GREEN HORNET and THE SPIDER), Bruce Bennett (TARZAN!) and even a cameo by Shemp Howard (Moe & Curly's brother).

I still can't figure the lack of consistency in these Columbia LONE WOLF films. Thurston Hall, who played Lanyard's long-time flower-loving nemesis Inspector Crane in "THE LONE WOLF RETURNS", makes his 2nd appearance here, but has become far more arrogant, obnoxious and stupid than he was earlier. And he's in the next 5 films in the row, for a total of 7. I much preferred him as the Senator in "SHERLOCK HOLMES IN WASHINGTON". At least he wasn't playing an IDIOT in that one. He also played "Diet Smith" in the short-lived DICK TRACY tv series, a perfect fit.

What's weird is, Don Beddoe played Inspector Thomas in "...SPY HUNT", the identical Inspector Conroy in "...STRIKES", and an un-named police coroner in this one (not looking too healthy, either). And, he's also in 3 later films, each as a different character. WTF? Apart from Crane's obsession with flowers, you'd almost think the cops in the 2 previous films were the SAME guy... but it's hard to tell.

Meanwhile, Fred Kelsey makes his 2nd appearance as the absolutely MORONIC Detective Sergeant Wesley Dickens, a cop SO dumb, even his immediate superior suggests he was hoping he'd get shot. Dickens would also return for the next 5 films in a row, also for a total of 7.

One scene that really stood out was then Lanyard hides 2 people in different places in his apartment when the cops arrive. It seemed very much like it could have inspired the scene in Corbin Dallas' apartment in "THE FIFTH ELEMENT", when he had the girl hidden in the shower, the priest in the roll-away bed, and his army ex-boss in the FREEZER! Of course, it was MUCH funnier in there. ("I'll TAKE the mission.")

You know, I really enjoyed these when TCM ran them back in 2007, but I think the one film I've now seen with Melvyn Douglas as Lanyard has spoiled me. I really do wish he'd done the entire series, he was THAT good.

"Lady, you ARE in trouble."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 28 March 2016]

For all his sleuthing skill, The Lone Wolf (Warren William) never did figure out that the murdered Pete Rennick (Roger Pryor) was the ex-husband of Joan Bradley (Jean Muir). Seems like that plot element was a little hard to swallow, even if the guy faked his own death some time before.

It seems like there were more than a few lapses in logic during the story. Another big one occurred right at the very end when Jamison (Eric Blore) showed up in a rowboat with Miss Bradley. Since the killer Van Wyck (Robert Emmett Keane) kidnapped her in the taxi and taunted Michael Lanyard with the information, how did she manage to hook up with Jamison?

Ah well, you probably weren't supposed to pay such close attention to these stories back in the Forties. The pictures were churned out on a pretty tight budget and rewrites would probably have put a lot of these productions behind the eight ball. Overlooking such consistencies allowed one to have a pretty good time trying to figure out the murder mystery. The bit with the phony necklace was a pretty good ruse so that made things interesting. Inspector Crane (Thurston Hall) turned out to be a pretty good chap through it all, seeing as how he was constantly outfoxed and hogtied by Lanyard. Considering how ineffective he was, he could have served a dual role and played his own sidekick.

Surprisingly funny

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 25 July 2023]

I'd never heard of the Lone Wolf before watching this one but I ended up enjoying it a great deal. Much of that comes down to the unexpected comedy which makes this film a humorous treat. In particular, the witty interplay between the Wolf and his British manservant adds plenty of laughs to the proceedings. The film starts off with an involved little set up which sees an innocent woman getting framed for murder, and when the Lone Wolf gets drawn in when he vows to clear her name in any way he can. The plot twists and turns come thick and fast here and they never forget the laughs either. I'll watch more.

And the lady is the true gem..

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 3 November 2015]

Almost forgotten today, actress Jean Muir once had the potential of being one of the great leading ladies of the silver screen. In the mid-1930s, she was a promising young actress at Warner Brothers, and as a talented young heroin almost achieved a stardom on the level of Stanwyck, Davis, Crawford and Hepburn. Reminding me of Ann Harding with her severe blonde hairstyle, she played both noble heroines and ladies with sordid pasts. However, a lengthy career eluded her, and after several years in relative obscurity, she returned in this second feature, the third of the Warren Williams series of Lone Wolf comedy mysteries where once again she is the heroine, although this time there was an element of mystery surrounding her.

Muir is involved in a murder committed around the theft of jewelry belonging to her imperious aunt, and with criminals and the Lone Wolf, Warren William, on her trail, it up to the assistance of William and his aide-de-camp, Eric Blore, to help prove her innocence.

This is a fast moving and fun-filled adventure, featuring tons of hysterically acerbic dialogue and some wonderful character performances. Once again, William is on the right side of the law even though the law itself, led by Thurston Hall and the always incompetent cop Fred Kelsey, believe otherwise. They do more to hinder the case that he is on the verge of solving rather than help him, and as usual, he leave them with eggs on their face as he solves the crime and rescues the pretty Muir from the bad men who are after more than just her aunts jewelry.

While B detective comedies were a common movie staple in the thirties and forties, the Lone Wolf is an above average entry in the the movies because of the presence of Warren William who as a dependable ladies man leading actor in the early to mid thirties gracefully moved into the B features and retain his dignity. It is ironic that at Warner Brothers he had work with Muir before, so there seems to be a friendly chemistry between them that makes their jobs seem a lot more fun. Eric Blore gets some of the best lines, and also some of the best wise cracks thrown at him at his expense. The witty screenplay and fast moving action makes this movie just fly by and it is indeed an entertaining reminder of what Hollywood used to produce on a weekly basis.

Enjoyable detective film

[coltras35 · 8/10 · 14 December 2020]

Enjoyable Lone Wolf film with plenty of twists in the plot and a hero who is suave and cunning. The witty one liners from the characters melds well with the snappy pace.

The Lone Wolf Meets a Lady

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 30 November 2023]

"The cleverest wolf.... still ends up as a fur coat!" A witticism from the long-suffering "Insp. Crane" (Thurston Hall) as he yet again finds himself accusing his constant antagonist "Lanyard" (Warren William) of being embroiled in (fake) jewellery theft and murder! This time though, he and loyal "Jamison" (Eric Blore) are taking the fall for "Joan" (Jean Muir) who had teed up an advantageous marriage with the son of a wealthy woman before she finds herself accused of murder. After an high-speed near miss with our sleuths, she finds her future is wrapped up with their's. With the police on their trail, "Lanyard" et al must rush to find out just what happened and who did what. This adventure provides some better examples of the quickly paced and engaging banter between William and Blore, with the latter frequently making observations that raise a smile and he juggles his innate curiosity with him "never denying his cowardice"... Sure, there's little jeopardy here but Muir has a bit more to her as the put-upon dame and there's actually more comedy to appreciate here, too.