A failing newspaper, taken over by a greedy and unstable businessman, decides to hike up its ratings by focusing more on sensationalism, including, crime stories. Based on a suggestion from-- of all people-- Inspector Crane-- they decide to hire Michael Lanyard to serialize his memoirs, and along the way, show up to host the presentation of a fabulous jewel. Next thing, the jewel is stolen, Crane accuses Lanyard of the theft, and, oddly enough, the man who cut the stone is kidnapped, which the police seem completely unaware of and disinterested in. Once again, Lanyard has no choice but to nail the real crooks to prove his innocence to a police inspector who hasn't displayed an intelligent idea in his head for the last 15 years.
Following the previous film 2 years earlier, there was a LONE WOLF radio show from Mutual, in which, apparently, both Gerald Mohr & Walter Coy played Lanyard. I'd really love to hear some of those, to see how they stand up. But when Columbia decided to do this, they recast everybody. Was this intended to start a new era of the film series, or was it just a one-off throwaway that somehow got onto the studio's production schedule? I suppose in 3 STOOGES terms, this would be a "Joe Besser" episode...
Ron Randell is "Michael Lanyard". He wasn't particularly bad, but he was definitely lacking the charms of pretty much EVERY actor who preceded him in the part. He'd played "Bulldog Drummond" in 2 films before this, but I've also seen him in TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, KING OF KINGS, THE LONGEST DAY, a WILD WILD WEST and a PROTECTORS. But it's a 2nd-season OUTER LIMITS episode, "The Duplicate Man", that he really impressed me in. Elements of that story turned up later in BLADE RUNNER, but, frankly, I prefer the OL version of the story! I wish he was better in this.
Alan Mobray is "Jamison", who probably brings the one bit of actual class to this film. More serious than any of his predecessors, the one really odd thing is how this version of Jamison seems perfectly happy having gone straight, yet is worried that his boss might be tempted back to his old ways-- which is the complete opposite of their relationship in every single previous film in the series! Did whoever wrote this thing even bother watching any of the earlier films? I suspect not. I've enjoyed Mowbray in a number of films, including SHERLOCK HOLMES (1932), A STUDY IN SCARLET (1933), CHARLIE CHAN IN LONDON, THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE, TERROR BY NIGHT, MY DARLING CLEMENTINE, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, as well as episodes of MIKE HAMMER (1958) and THE MAN FROM UNCLE.
William Frawley is "Inspector Crane", and his version of the character is so limited, so one-note, and so BRAIN-DEAD, he almost makes me wish for Thurston Hall, who at least had some personality to go with his non-stop idiocy. Becoming a regular on I LOVE LUCY must have really been a boost to his career, though I've heard that Vivian Vance couldn't stand him!
Douglass Dumbrille is "John J. Murdock", the rich investor who acquired the newspaper in a "trade", and is determined to make money off of it. While at first his decisions seem to work out for all involved, the instant there's trouble, he flip-flops and fires both his new editor and new crime reporter (typical behavior of a Wall Street type), then changes his tune when it appears things will work out after all. He could almost have been one of the inspirations for "J. Jonah Jameson" in the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN comic-books. A much-better actor than this would indicate, I've also seen him in I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG, TREASURE ISLAND (1934), THE LONE WOLF RETURNS (1935), A DAY AT THE RACES, MR. MOTO IN DANGER ISLAND, CHARLIE CHAN AT TREASURE ISLAND, CITY IN DARKNESS, MICHAEL SHAYNE: PRIVATE DETECTIVE, ELLERY QUEEN AND THE PERFECT CRIME, CASTLE IN THE DESERT, JULIUS CAESAR (1953), THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, SHOCK TREATMENT (1964), and one episode of BATMAN ("A Death Worse Than Fate").
Between the dull crime story we also see some romance brewing for both Lanyard and Jamison with a pair of reporters at the paper; the more amusing (and confusing) involves a former WAC who one moment really goes for Jamison, at another uses judo on him without meaning to, and they go from one scene to another either being crazy about each other or wanting nothing to do with each other.
Sadly, it's no surprise to me why this was Columbia's final LONE WOLF film. 6 years later, it would be followed by THE LONE WOLF tv series, involving entirely-different people on both sides of the cameras. There would also be ONE more "Lone Wolf" film, based on Louis Joseph Vance's writings-- but unofficially, as its producers actually had the rights to an entirely-different character, but insanely decided to base their film on Vance's work rather than the one they actually claimed they were doing. That 1997 film was far from the only time that kind of thing happened, either. What the hell IS it with Hollywood anyway?
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