Customer Reviews

Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Though this started out as an "A" production, the lower budget series that followed was great fun. The "B" series of Bulldog Drummond had John Howard in the role Ronald Colman had made successful.The very cute Heather Angel was Hugh's fun bride-to-be, Phyllis Clavering. E.E. Clive was great as Bulldog's valet, Tenny, and Reginald Denny offered moments of amusement as his affable pal, Algy. H.B. Warner was fun as Colonel Nielson and Elizabeth Patterson swell as Phyllis' Aunt Blanche, always skeptical that Bulldog would ever make it to the alter with Phyllis.

James Horn directed this one with a screenplay from Garnett Weston based on "The Temple Tower" by H.C. "Sapper" McNeile. This particular entry is quite fun, as Hugh finds adventure in his own home. Five other times Bulldog's nose for mystery and adventure has kept him from the alter with Phyllis, and when a professor shows up at Rockingham on the eve of the nuptuals with a book containing directions to a hidden treasure in the world underneath Bulldog's home, adventure can't be far away.

A secret cipher and the possibility of treasure is just too much for Hugh and his pals to resist, wedding or not! The fun really starts and the pace picks up once the book is stolen and a man is murdered. Phyllis is game, however, and joins in the chase with moxy, asking for a gun. She may need it when she's taken hostage by the killer and the treasure is found, Bulldog and gang on the chase to save her.

There is a dream sequence that lets Hugh recall some of his exploits from previous entries which is campy fun. Leo Carroll makes a good "B" villan and Howard adds the right touch as the man-about-town who can't resist a good adventure. Heather Angel is cute as a button throughout and an ending with a laugh makes this a particularly enjoyable outing for Bulldog and gang. Those who enjoy "B" films, especially series, will like this one a lot. A fun double feature for a Saturday morning!

Where were we? Phyllis Claverling is once more impatiently waiting for Hugh Drummond to make her his wife. She's been left standing at the altar several times already while Hugh -- `Bulldog' to friends and enemies alike -- goes chasing off to solve ingenious crimes. This time the wedding is scheduled to take place at Drummond's Rockingham estate. Little does Phyllis know that a decidedly odd professor, horrid murder, a secret cipher and a hidden fortune somewhere on the estate will postpone the nuptials once again.

By now John Barrymore, who had lent a faded, poignant but authoritative presence to the part of Colonel Neilson, head of Britain's most secret service, had gone. Colonel Neilson is now played by the fine, skeletal and unauthoritative H. B. Warner, an actor who was much more interesting on the rare occasions when he played a villain. Hanging on in the series is John Howard, bland and manly as Drummond, Reginald Denny as Drummond's twit of a best friend, Heather Angel as Phyllis and, best of all, E. E. Clive as `Tenny' Tennison, Drummond's aged, efficient and acerbic valet.

Dithering and eccentric Professor Downie shows up at Rockingham just after the wedding party has arrived to inform Drummond and his wedding guests that a fabled treasure in jewels belonging to Charles I, worth at least one million pounds, is hidden somewhere in the dank passages underneath Rockingham Tower. Foolish legend? Professor Downie's corpse, discovered later that evening, implies not.

Once Hugh starts investigating, the clichés of a dark old mansion storyline kick in: Dripping passageways, a spiked ceiling clattering slowly downward, a swirling abyss of tidal water...all good stuff but a little late to save this 56-minute programmer. Before we get to them we have to wade through a four-minute dream sequence in which Hugh flashes back through movie clips to his past adventures and wedding frustrations. This time-wasting sequence is just more semi-amusing distraction that the screenwriters use to eat up time, to economise and to keep us away from exploring the bowels of Rockingham. The serio-comedy mystery is half way over before anyone even starts thinking about creeping down secret passages. By then the writers have told us who the murderer is.

I'm afraid there's not much to Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police except tired comedy unless you, like the Bulldog and Phyllis, thrive on delayed gratification.

Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police is in the public domain. The version I saw is nothing to brag about, but it at least doesn't show much damage.

Bulldog Drummond's Secret Police, 1939 film

The film begins with an American steam train running on the tracks. Hugh Drummond is racing along the highway to beat it to the crossing! [A very dangerous act, unless it is in a movie.] A stranger asks for directions at the train station. What is the month? Algy catches a vase. A new servant arrives [note body language]. Absent-minded Professor Downie arrives to tell about the treasure on Hugh's property. Hugh has a dream - or is it a nightmare? Flashbacks to earlier films. Hugh awakes to a fight with a stranger in the dark, the book with the cipher is stolen. Downie calls with news, but the line is cut. They arrive too late. Tenny notices something, then burns a newspaper in the fireplace. Hugh breaks the simple substitution cipher. Seaton also notes the message. There is a fight in the night, the burglar alarm goes off.

Seaton meets a Bobby and shoots him! But they don't know Seaton's identity. Is he hiding in the house? How did he get away? "Vine-climbing Dracula"? The police report finding a body in the woods, someone who was seen at the train station. Colonel Neilson deduces what happened - a body substitution! Bolton finds the old secret passageway, and Phyllis finds him. Will the heroes be trapped in a room where the spiked ceiling drops down? Can they escape? Will there be more threats and danger for the heroes? Will they triumph at the end? The next day the wedding begins. Will there be an explosive surprise? Will Phyllis and her aunt Blanche leave on a hunting trip?

The mixture of comedy and drama in these stories is unusual. While this story is set in England it seems to be filmed entirely in Hollywood. Was the book better than the movie? This movie echoes "The Musgrave Ritual" from the Sherlock Holmes series. The "Secret Police" in the title is misleading.

Hue Drummond (John Howard) is finally again (fifth time) going to get married to Phyllis Clavering (Heather Angel.) His soon to be aunt-in-law Blanche (Elizabeth Patterson) worries that he will get into some sort of trouble before the event happens.

As usual Hue shrugs this off and as usual he gets into trouble. Being married means he must move from the loge to the towers. There he meets a bumbling Prof. Downie (Forrester Harvey) that says that somewhere in the towers is a treasure, Also that a criminal Henry Seaton (played by...Wouldn't you like to know) was also looking for the treasure before being was locked up. Luckily they hired a new butler Boulton (Leo G. Carroll) that can act as a guard when needed.

The standard creeping around and murders start appearing.

Will this interfere with the wedding plans?

There are a whole slew of Bulldog Drummond films and books, by different authors and staring different Bulldogs. This film Screen play by Garnett Weston is based on a novel "Temple Tower" by H.C. (Snapper) McNeile. Herman Cyril McNeile (1888-1937) an English crime writer and the creator of the Bulldog Drummond series.

Bulldog Drummond and the Female of the Species

I purchased 5 Bulldog Drummond movies. All arrived scratched and unplayable. After polishing the scratches out I was able to play most of them. Extremely disappointed in this product.

Hue Drummond (John Howard) is finally again (fifth time) going to get married to Phyllis Clavering (Heather Angel.) His soon to be aunt-in-law Blanche (Elizabeth Patterson) worries that he will get into some sort of trouble before the event happens.

As usual Hue shrugs this off and as usual he gets into trouble. Being married means he must move from the loge to the towers. There he meets a bumbling Prof. Downie (Forrester Harvey) that says that somewhere in the towers is a treasure, Also that a criminal Henry Seaton (played by...Wouldn't you like to know) was also looking for the treasure before being was locked up. Luckily they hired a new butler Boulton (Leo G. Carroll) that can act as a guard when needed.

The standard creeping around and murders start appearing.

Will this interfere with the wedding plans?

There are a whole slew of Bulldog Drummond films and books, by different authors and staring different Bulldogs. This film Screen play by Garnett Weston is based on a novel "Temple Tower" by H.C. (Snapper) McNeile. Herman Cyril McNeile (1888-1937) an English crime writer and the creator of the Bulldog Drummond series.

Bulldog Drummond and the Female of the Species