Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back (1934)

Algy, Bulldog Drummond's right-hand-man, is getting married. Bulldog attends; on the way home, in the fog, he enters the (apparently deserted) mansion of Prince Achmed in search of a phone.... See full summary »

Director:

Roy Del Ruth

Writers:

Nunnally Johnson (screenplay), Henry Lehrman (adaptation)

Stars:

Ronald Colman, Loretta Young, Warner Oland

Cast

Cast overview:
Ronald Colman	...	Capt. Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond
Loretta Young	...	Lola Field
Warner Oland	...	Prince Achmed
Charles Butterworth	...	Algy 'Mousey' Longworth
Una Merkel	...	Gwen
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Colonel Alfred Reginald Neilsen
Arthur Hohl	...	Dr. Sothern
George Regas	...	Singh
Ethel Griffies	...	Mrs. Field
Mischa Auer	...	Hassan
Douglas Gerrard	...	Parker - Drummond's Valet
Halliwell Hobbes	...	First Bobby
E.E. Clive	...	Bobby With Mustache

Storyline

Algy, Bulldog Drummond's right-hand-man, is getting married. Bulldog attends; on the way home, in the fog, he enters the (apparently deserted) mansion of Prince Achmed in search of a phone. He finds none, but he does find a body - which disappears when he summons a bobby. Bodies keep disappearing as Drummond keeps summoning the authorities, particularly his long-suffering upstairs neighbor, Captain Nielsen; the ever faithful Algy also finds his wedding night disrupted by, among other things, some emergency code-breaking. And of course, there's a beautiful woman (there's always a beautiful woman in the case), Lola, who turns out to be the daughter of the dead man who started all this.

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Plot Keywords:

1930s | wedding | mansion | bulldog drummond | fog | 

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Taglines:

It's a crime...if you miss this romantic adventure.... (Print Ad-Evening Star, ((Washington DC)) 27 July 1934)

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Genres:

Comedy | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

E.E. Clive, who plays a London bobby, would go on to play Drummond's valet Tenny in eight films in the "Paramount" Drummond series.

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Quotes

Capt. Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond: [after finding servant Parker tied up for the second time] Where DO you get all this rope?

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Connections

Followed by Bulldog Drummond's Revenge (1937)

User Reviews

Top five series detective film.

This is not only the best Bulldog Drummond film, it is simply one of the best series detective films ever made and I would even go so far as to say it is one of the ten best classic (e.g. pre-1950) detective films ever made. It is not a mystery in the sense that the perpetrator is evident from near the start of the film...the real mystery is why the crimes, including kidnapping and murder, are being committed (another crime is why until recently we have not been able to buy watchable home video copies!). The merits of this film are well stated by the late William K. Everson in his book "The Detective in Film" but for the record: the director Roy Del Ruth does a great job of keeping the action moving; the lively cast, including Ronald Colman, Loretta Young, C. Aubrey Smith, Charles Butterworth, Una Merkel, and of course, Warner Oland, is first-rate from top to bottom; the script by Nunnally Johnson is witty and intelligent; and its production values including fabulous sets like Oland's living room in his cavernous London mansion, are untouchable. This film, which is part screwball comedy as well as detective film, is in my view the only one which comes close to being as good as The Thin Man (1934) in weaving the two genres together. I can not believe there is anyone who thinks this is a bad film -- those who rate it low must be having a bad day or confusing it with the 1947 Columbia "B" remake of the same title with Ron Randall! It is too bad that copyright hassles have never made it available for television broadcast in North America; otherwise I think this would be a very well known and regarded film rather than one known mainly to die-hard genre specialists.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 August 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1